Abstract:
Inadequate production practices are widely used in aquaculture management, causing
excessive water and energy usage, as well as ecological damage. New approaches to sustainable
aquaculture attempt to increase production efficiency, while reducing the quantities generated of
wastewater and sludge. The sustainable operating techniques are often ineffective, expensive, and
difficult to implement. The present article proposes a zero-waste production system, designed
for growing fish and vegetables, using a new circular operational concept that creates synergies
between fish farming and horticulture. In order to optimize the operational flows with resources,
products, and wastes in an integrated zero-waste food production cluster, a business model was
designed associating three ecological production practices: a closed fishing pond, a technology for
growing vegetables in straw bales, and a composting system. The design had the role to assist the
transition toward multiple circular material flows, where the waste can be fully reintegrated into
the production processes. A comparative evaluation was conducted in three alternative growing
environments, namely, a soilless culture established in straw bales, a culture grown in soil that had
received compost fertilizer, and the conventional farming technique. When compared to conventional
methods, experiments showed a significant increase in the cluster’s cumulative productivity, resulting
in a 12% improvement in energy efficiency, 18% increase in food production, and 25% decrease in
operating expenses.
