Disclaimer: Please note and abide by copyright laws. Some items contained in these presentations are taken from copyrighted material without express permission of redistribution. These slides are archived here for your use in educational activities. Although an educational use exemption would apply, presentations are catalogued here for educational purposes only. Unit 1.2 Aquaponics History

Aquaponics History

History of Aquaponics Aztec Indians 1,000 AD Constructed rafts from reeds and rushes Floated in water Covered with soil from lake bottom Planted vegetable crops Roots grew through soil and dangled into the water

MODERN TIMES Fish farmers explore methods of raising fish that would allow for lowered reliance on land, water, and resources pond-raised catfish are raised at a rate of 0.005 to 0.007 pounds of fish per gallon of pond water Over the past 35 years fish farmers are moving away from traditional large pond culture to recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) ¾ lb. fish per gallon

UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS (UVI) Agricultural Experiment Station at UVI in St. Croix under the direction of Dr. James Rakocy Over 30 years of work in refining aquaponics systems Developed: Commercially viable raft system Plant-to-fish ratios Stocking ratios Methods and techniques

Crop Diversification Center Alberta, Canada under the direction of Dr. Nicolas Savidov Hydroponic vs. Aquaponic crop trials Aquaponic plants outperformed hydroponic plants It is assumed that the organic nature and continuous replacement of nutrients is a vital factor

Other Institutions/organizations Environmental Research Lab at the University of Arizona, Tucson Oregon State University Southern Illinois University Auburn University North Carolina State University University of Washington Texas A&M University NASA New Alchemy Institute Rodale Institute World Aquaculture Society American Society of Engineers Central Queensland University in Queensland, Australia RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia

HIGHLIGHTS 1977 Germany-Naegal Addition of hydroponic bed with tomatoes to remove nitrates from aquaculture effluents 1977 South Illinois University – William Lewis, et al. Ebb and flow gravel system integrated with catfish 1981 Canada – MacKay and Vantoever Salmon and tomato culture Experiments did not produce usable results due to mortalities from aeration failure 1984 UVI-Watter and Busch Aggregate sand hydroponic culture with tomatoes and tilapia 1993 North Carolina - McMurty Importance of quality and quantity of fish feed Increase in biofilter size leads to increased crop production

HIGHLIGHTS 1993 Marseilles, France – Quillere 1997 Seawright Peak production of aquaponic systems is dependent on recirculation 1997 Seawright Fish to plants ratios; results showed there is not single ratio of fish that can completely satisfy hydroponic crops 1980-present UVI - Dr. James Rakocy et al. Commercially viable system developed on the Virgin Islands 2003-present Burlington County Research and Demonstration Greenhouse, New Jersey Aquaponic greenhouse established; run by scientist from Rutgers University 2003-present Crop Diversification Center, Alberta, Canada New fish and plant species Cold climate systems Aquaponics vs. hydroponics

REFERENCE Nelson, R. L. Aquaponic Food Production Raising Fish and Plants for Food and Profit. 2008. Nelson and Pade, Inc. Montello, WI. Pgs. 27-32. With contributions from John S. Pade