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Biofloc Systems for Sustainable Production of Economically Important Aquatic Species: A Review

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  • Muziri Mugwanya

    (Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt)

  • Mahmoud A. O. Dawood

    (Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
    Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt)

  • Fahad Kimera

    (Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt)

  • Hani Sewilam

    (Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
    Department of Engineering Hydrology, The RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany)

Abstract

The increasing global population has led to an increase in food demand; consequently, aquaculture is one of the food production sectors that has offered opportunities to alleviate hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. However, the development of a sustainable aquaculture industry has been hindered by the limited availability of natural resources as well as its negative impact on the surrounding environment. Hence, there is an urgent need to search for better aquacultural production systems that, despite their high productivity and profitability, utilize fewer resources such as water, energy, land, and capital in conjunction with a negligible impact on the environment. Biofloc technology (BFT) is one of the most exciting and promising sustainable aquaculture systems; it takes into account the intensive culture of aquatic species, zero water exchange, and improved water quality as a result of beneficial microbial biomass activity, which, at the same time, can be utilized as a nutritious aquaculture feed, thus lowering the costs of production. Furthermore, BFT permits the installation of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems in which the wastes of one organism are utilized as feed by another organism, without a detrimental effect on co-cultured species. This review, therefore, highlights the basics of BFT, factors associated with BFT for the successful production of aquatic species, the significance of this food production system for the sustainable production of economically important aquatic species, its economic aspects, drawbacks, limitations, and recommended management aspects for sustainable aquaculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Muziri Mugwanya & Mahmoud A. O. Dawood & Fahad Kimera & Hani Sewilam, 2021. "Biofloc Systems for Sustainable Production of Economically Important Aquatic Species: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7255-:d:584376
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vincenzo D’Apice & Giovanni Ferri, 2010. "Introduction," Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions, in: Financial Instability, pages 1-5, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Cited by:

    1. Md Ali Emam & Markus Leibrecht & Tinggui Chen, 2021. "Fish Exports and the Growth of the Agricultural Sector: The Case of South and Southeast Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-14, October.

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