Agritechnica’ focuses on innovative solutions for aquaculture

“Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Show” – New DLG platform for future agriculture and food systems – at Agritechnica, Hannover, Germany from 12 to 18 November 2023. Between 12-18 November, “Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Show” will focus on monitored closed systems for food and feed production. November 13 is “Aquaculture Theme Day” and the focus is on fish, algae and shrimp – growth in water. The B2B meeting place, organized by DLG (German Agricultural Association) and taking place at the same time as Agritechnica in Hannover, will focus on innovative indoor aquaculture and closed water circulation systems, the use of renewable energies and the digitization of all processes.

The question that will be discussed in Hanover is how aquaculture – already one of the world’s fastest growing sectors of agriculture – will develop further and which of its promising potentials will be applied in a few years’ time. With a total volume of more than 80 million tonnes, over half of the fish and seafood consumed worldwide now comes from commercial aquaculture. By 2030, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 60 percent of fish and seafood consumed will come from supervised aquaculture.

Innovative solutions for aquaculture

Inhouse farming of aquatic organisms is becoming increasingly important and already represents a technology sector in its own right. The so-called recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) allow the production of fish and seafood independently of open waters, as the process water is treated, cleaned and returned to the production basins after use – an almost closed cycle!

In closed RAS systems, mainly freshwater fish are reared, such as catfish, pike perch, tilapia, eels and sturgeon. But saltwater recirculating systems for shrimp, sea bass, bream and king fish are also becoming popular on the market. In many Norwegian salmon farms, the young fish (smolts) are already housed under controlled conditions in recirculating systems.

Aquaponics – when plants and animals do things together

Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, i.e. plant cultivation without soil substrate. As a classic form of production in greenhouses and halls, it definitely belongs at the new “Inhouse Farming – Feed & Food Show”.

Aquaponics systems are indoor farms that are closed recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) based on a symbiosis of fish, plants and microorganisms. The process water of the fish is also used for the nutrient supply of plants, i.e. it is used twice. Aquaponics combines the rearing of fish in an aquaculture unit (fish farming and water treatment) with the soilless cultivation of crops in a joint production system. This is how food can be produced in a resource-saving yet efficient way.