PRODUCTION OF ECONOMICALLY VIABLE PRAWN (MACROBRACHIUM ROSENBERGII) AND YELLOW PERCH (PERCA FLAVESCENS) BY UTILIZING BOTH WATER AND WASTE FROM A MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE SYSTEM

Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms, and hydroponics, the farming of plants in a soilless environment, are two very important sources of food and nutrition throughout the world. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) employs the use of several classes of organisms in a single system to create numerous organisms of economic viability, produce a large harvest in a brief amount of time, and to increase the sustainability and productivity of aquaculture systems. A system was built in the greenhouse at Bowling Green State University utilizing Perca flavascens, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, and 4 vegetable crops: Lactula sativa, Brassica oleraea, Ocimum basilicum, and Thymus vulgaris. Two goals were investigated during this project. The first was measuring the growth of Perca flavascens and Macrobrachium rosenbergii in a freshwater IMTA system. The other goal was to calculate the economic efficiency of the IMTA system by measuring growth parameters and costs. To date, there has been measurable growth in the Perca flavascens and Macrobrachium rosenbergii. After 49 days, the Macrobrachium rosenbergii increased from 0.98 grams to 3.70 grams, and the Perca flavascens increased from 2.25 grams to an average of 9.90 grams. Unfortunately, the Macrobrachium rosenbergii also proved to be opportunistically cannibalistic and survival has been fairly low. Our results show that Perca flavescens grow well in these systems, and it would be economically viable to conduct on a large scale.