Biofloc technology

Human population is continually and rapidly growing, experts predicted that worlds population would be 9.6 billion by year 2050 and demand of more and nutritious food is increasing so there is need that food industry also expends it's ways with the help of research and technology to fulfil the demand of growing population.Biofloc technology is one of the ways that is considered as a center need of time. This technology helps to reduce the utilization of natural resources like water and land and furthermore help to protect the nature . It improves the water quality by adjusting the amount of carbon and nitrogen which help in creating the proteinaceous feed in the water tank . This feed is best for fish and help them to grow faster.Fish produce ammonia from leftover feed and their waste products. Ammonia in biofloc tank produced but inside biofloc tanks they have beneficial microorganism and for those beneficial microorganisms works efficiently we need to supply them carbohydrates. When we supply enough carbohydrates (e.g. molasses, sugar)those microorganism will multiply and threat the ammonia that is present inside the water tank. Then this ammonia will transform into another form of protein.So ammonia will be removed. And protein is consumed by fish. So in that way you reduced the amount of commercially prepared feed.

Biotechnology is playing a part in this system. A branch, Microbial biotechnology, which deals with the use of microorganisms to ensure the safety, security, and usefulness of food, producing high quality products, proper human nutrition, and protection against plant and animal diseases, is emerging with various new technologies for sustainable development in the agricultural field. However, the use of microbial biotechnology in sustainable development in aquaculture is particularly important because of the important role of micro-organisms in establishing and managing ecosystems, especially cycling, water quality control, and disease control in the cultural system (Timmis et al. 2017). However, many microbial biotechnologies or in developmental phase have been used to increase productivity in aquaculture by creating a friendly environment to support the growth of other aquatic organisms. These are the key elements of pollution removel and recycling (Bossier and Caesars 2017; Kabir and Aba 2019; Liu et al. 2019). Biofloc technology is one of the finest techniques of biotechnologies built with the best eco-friendly technology not only in high productivity but also in sustainable development (Emerenciano et al. 2017; Abakari et al. 2020a). The scientific concepts of Biofloc technology have grown in integration and independence through two groups of researchers. Steve Hopkins led one at the Waddell Mariculture Center, South Carolina, and the other group was led by Avnimelech in Israel (Hopkins et al. 1993; Avnimelech et al. 1994). In both cases, the concepts of microbial suspension and heterotrophic feed web have been used to produce a dynamic microbial community to degrade and create organic fossils collected in the water with limited or water exchange, which replaced the traditional farming water exchange systems (Hopkins et al. 1993; Avnimelech et al. 1994). In Biofloc technology, microbes work by regulating water quality through nitrogen control, leading to increased protein synthesis, which acts as a food source for aquatic species. In addition, bacteria in Biofloc tecnology play an important role in biosecurity by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms (Emerenciano et al. 2017).

 

Biofloc technology has many benefits that distinguish it from traditional systems, such as the eco-friendly culture system which has a zero water drainage system. It is preferred over systems due to its high potential to reduce environmental impact, improve land and water use efficiency, maintain good water quality through minimal water use and exchange within rearing ponds, and biofloc-rich protein production as an additional feed for aquatic organisms (Reddy 2019). Similarly, Arias-Moscoso et al. (2018) reported that biofloc could ensure clean water and higher biosecurity by reducing wastewater pollution and reducing the risk of transmission and spread of disease and pathogenic organisms. In addition, It improves survival, growth performance, and conversion and modification of feed  in the systems, urging its use as one of the most economical alternatives to other traditional systems. Biofloc production as an inexpensive and adequate feed, it also reduces the need for the use of a rich protein feed that leads to less expensive production of animals. Therefore, Biofloc technology also eased the burden on catching fishers in order to sell less expensive fish and seafood to the fish industry (Reddy 2019).

 

There are many weaknesses in the biofloc system, such as the urgent need for high aeration and water movement, leading to an increase in the demand for mixing and aeration. In addition, several dismerits are reported, such as reduced response time due to dissolved oxygen consumption in water and higher respiratory levels, potential contamination from nitrate accumulation, and requirement of starting the system and alkalinity supplementation (Reddy 2019). In addition, Biofloc technology performance may be inconsistent and depends on the seasonal variations (Reddy 2019). Finally, Biofloc technology required maintenance which is  sometimes more expensive.

 

Traditional fish farms are much expensive and inefficient as compared to biofloc water tank. A traditional fish farm in Pakistan produce fish (tilapia) at the rate of 160 / kg while by using biofloc technology the rate of producing that fish is 83/kg. Biofloc technology not only  has the potential to decrease expense of producing  the fish but also can improve the quantity and quality of the production.Biofloc technology is new in Pakistan as compared to other countries like India, Malaysia, Thiland  etc. Pakistani government should encourage and create the awareness to opt for biofloc technological fish farming. Loans , incentives and technical guidance are required. Pakistan can meet the increasing demand of health and low cost food by utilizing less land and water. Scientist role is crucial , extensive amount of research is required to streamline this technology in terms of functional parameter, connection to nutrient recycling, MAMP ( microbe associated moleculer pattern) production, immunological investigatios and it's consequences  on human health. 

 

References:

MAMDOH T. JAMAL,¹ MOHAMMED BROOM,¹ BANDAR A. AL-MUR,² MAMDOUH AL HARBI,¹ MOHAMMED GHANDOURAH,³ AHMED AL OTAIBI,⁴ and MD FAZLUL HAQUE^5,*   Biofloc Technology: Emerging Microbial Biotechnology for the Improvement of Aquaculture Productivity

Pol J Microbiol. 2020 Dec; 69(4): 401–409.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7812359/

 

RECENT TRENDS IN AQUACULTURE BIOFLOC FISH CULTURE

National Fisheries Development Board Department of Fisheries Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, RECENT TRENDS IN AQUACULTURE BIOFLOC FISH CULTURE

https://www.nfdb.gov.in/PDF/Biofloc%20booklet%20v6.pdf

 

BAIG ZAHID, 21 Jan 2021, BIOFLOC TECHNOLOGY HELPS BREED FISH BY USING MINIMUM RESOURCES

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40054265

 

By: Anam Siddiqui