A Smallholders’ Mariculture Device for Rearing Seafood: Environmentally Friendly and Providing Improved Quality

Tsang-Yuh Lin, Chung-Ling Chen, Yung-Yen Shih, Hsueh-Han Hsieh, Wei-Ji Huang, Peter H. Santschi and Chin-Chang Hung ()
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Tsang-Yuh Lin: Institute of Ocean Technology and Marine Affair, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Chung-Ling Chen: Institute of Ocean Technology and Marine Affair, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Yung-Yen Shih: Department of Applied Science, ROC Naval Academy, Kaohsiung 81345, Taiwan
Hsueh-Han Hsieh: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Wei-Ji Huang: Department of Applied Science, ROC Naval Academy, Kaohsiung 81345, Taiwan
Peter H. Santschi: Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Sciences, Texas A & M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77554, USA
Chin-Chang Hung: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The aquaculture industry in Taiwan grosses more than USD 1.1 billion annually; however, it also generates considerable waste discharge (causing eutrophication in estuarine and coastal waters) and heavy groundwater withdrawals (causing land subsidence in coastal areas). Many aquaculture facilities using earth ponds are affected by benthic algae, resulting in an earthy odor, and fixed-cage farms are difficult to relocate during cold weather events. In this study, we tested small-scale (~15 ton) mobile cage tanks for the nearshore rearing of white shrimp and grouper in the Yung-An district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. At the conclusion of the mariculture experiment, the content of free amino acids in shrimp and groupers reared in our mobile tanks surpassed that in animals reared locally in traditional earthy ponds. In a blind taste test involving 42 volunteers, groupers reared in mobile cage tanks were deemed more palatable than those raised in ponds. Our results demonstrate that small-scale mobile cage tanks are a feasible approach to the sustainable rearing of high-quality shrimp or fish. Note that wastewater from the mobile tanks is easily diluted by seawater, thereby reducing the likelihood of eutrophication in coastal regions. The proposed system could also be used for recreational fishing activities to increase income for smallholders of fishermen and/or aquaculture farmers.

Keywords: sustainable food production; mobile cage farms; flavors improvement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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