BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN AQUACULTURE

 BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN AQUACULTURE
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Best Management Practices in Aquaculture
The benthic impacts of net pen aquaculture are normally harmful to the environment. Best management practices are necessary to make the performance of net pen aquaculture facilities environmentally friendly (World Bank 2007). Setting up a net pen aquaculture facility has several steps and better management practices need to be carried out at all steps. In this section, the best practices in site selection, management of feeds, solid management and disposal, management of escapees, mortality removal and disposal, in addition to facility operation and maintenance will be covered. Net pen systems can be utilized for culture of varied species of marine fish. Sometimes, the effectiveness of the best management practices depend on the species of the fish as well as the design of the net pen facility. A practice might be effective in one facility and fail to work in another facility depending on the marine fish species and how the system has been designed. To attain the core goal of minimizing the benthic effects of net pen to the environment, a combination of practices in unique ways is recommended to achieve the intended objectives. The paper will focus on the management practices necessary at all steps and during all activities to meet sustainable development goals and protection of the environment.
Site Selection
The practices ought to be considered when selecting the site because productivity and safety of workers depend on the site on which the system has been set. Site selection is crucial for lowering the effects to the environment, determining the prime health of fish species and their productivity, control of the costs of production, and ensuring the safety of facility operators. Without proper site selection, the net pen farm operators lack ability to control the effects of the interaction between the fishes and the environment (Belle and Nash 2004). The performance of fish, their physiology, and their general health are highly dependent on the environmental conditions in which they are cultured. A proper selection of the site is fundamental in the reduction of the benthic effects of net pen to the environment as well maximization of fish output. In site selection, evaluation of farm sites is necessary to ensure that it is appropriate for the facility being set up and the fish species to be kept (Boyd and Tucker 2008). Experts recommend selection of a site that is not in depositional environment and must have good water exchange features because it is beneficial on output level of cultured species and environmental protection. Baseline surveys about the site are important to uncover the impacts on the safety of employees, the welfare of fish, and the quality of products. The scrutiny of the site also enables to discover whether there are potential pests and predators that are threats to fish production (Cross 2013). The selection must also ensure that negative impacts of the practice can be easily detected and managed in the right manner.
Feed Management
The food remnants and fish feces are the major sources of wastes generated from net pen farm. The collection and concentration of the wastes is normally a major challenge for the operators of net pen systems because the facilities operate in high-energy environments. Controlling the waste generation channel is important to minimize the impacts of the practice. The management of wastes from feeds starts from selection, utilization, and distribution of fish feeds. Proper management of feeds is based on optimal food conversion fraction and waste reduction (Page, 2013). The best practices under management of feed include proper storage of feed, handling, and the feeding of fish need to ensure that waste is not generated. The feeds should be stored in areas that are safe from rodents, excessive heat, and moisture. To ensure that feeds are not wasted in the facility, the farms need to calculate the amount of food that are consumed every day by the fish population in the system. The proper calculation of food conversion ratio helps the farms to plan well for the foods and minimize wastage of feeds. The farmers need to collaborate with manufacturers to supply them with feeds that have less contents of nutrients and discharges of solids via optimization of food formulas. The feeds should be formulated for maximum conversion of nutrients and minimize concentration of nutrients in water (Hargrave 2005). As a way of avoiding wastage of foods to the waters, farmers need to invent proper feeding equipment and examine them from time to time to ensure that they do not waste foods in water. Farmers should also chose fish species that have well-understood food conversion ratios to ensure that the foods are well utilized for maximum productivity. Farmers are advised to examine the bottom of their net