Final report Smart Marine Aquaponics

Aquaponics is a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) which combines the cultivation of fish with the growing of plants. Similar to vertical farming, aquaponics is one of the new forms of space and resource efficient methods of food production. The mechanical and electronic technology essential to a sustainable management of the living system(s) is still at an early stage of development. Systemic imbalance frequently occurs in current practice and leads to costly and time consuming problems that threaten the commercial viability of aquaponics at all scales of application.

The smart marine aquaponics (SMA) project endeavoured to explore opportunities in two key areas of RAS development. Firstly by focusing upon what could be the most resource efficient type of RAS, namely one using marine conditions and life forms. Secondly by addressing what is commonly accepted as one of the greatest obstacles to prolonged system stability and efficiency, the process known as fecal waste mineralization. The transformation of fecal waste excreted by aquatic fauna into the nutrients for aquatic plants can be assisted or hampered by water conditions and in turn, accumulating in its untransformed state, can reduce the ability of the water to support flora and fauna. SMA applied sensors to actual and simulated forms of marine based RAS to measure and optimize the effects of mechanical intervention in the process of mineralization.