Fishing and farming methods

Pond culture

Pond culture

Pond culture is the farming of fish and crustaceans in ponds. There are two types of pond culture: extensive and intensive.

Extensive pond culture (organic)

Extensive pond culture is the farming of fish or crustaceans in ponds without adding additional feed. The fish live from algae and zooplankton that are naturally present. The growth of algae and zooplankton is sometimes stimulated by adding fertilizer and organic waste to the water. Extensive aquaculture is the only farming method where a really high feed efficiency can be reached. The feed efficiency indicates how many kg of fish can be produced per 1 kg of feed. Extensive pond culture has hardly any negative impact on the environment, provided that the species is native, and the construction of the ponds does not destroy high value ecosystems like mangroves. Extensive pond culture has a high feed efficiency but a low yield, which means a large area is needed to be able to farm 1 ton of fish.

Intensive pond culture

The production in intensive pond cultures is higher than natural production rates, as the water is aerated, and additional feed is given.

Aeration is mainly done by paddle wheels. The ponds themselves are closed systems but wastewater derived from these ponds is discharged in canals, rivers, or the sea. This untreated waste water has a negative impact on the environment. The construction and development of intensive production systems sometimes goes paired with the destruction of high value ecosystems like mangroves. Intensive pond culture has a high yield (ten times larger than that of extensive pond culture) but demands large areas and has a high energy demand.