36 Environmental impact of aquaculture

In addition to organic waste, there is a significant problem

caused by erosion of the ponds. The resulting sediment builds up
■ 00
on the pond bottom and is often flushed out when the ponds are 5 60
.
harvested. Although this practice has been banned in Thailand, 3D

some farms still have central drains which operate on a continuous b

basis for pond cleaning, and which discharge directly to the £ u
receiving waters (Dierberg and Kiattisimkul, 1996).
The nutrient budgets for Thai shrimp ponds (Figure 2.4) indicate
6
so
03
that 35% of nitrogen entering the pond is flushed into coastal 3
waters. If the pond sediment is also flushed out with the
wastewater, that total rises to 66%. For phosphorus, the impact of
flushing sediments into the coastal environment is even more
pronounced, with 84% of the input phosphorus being contained in
the pond sediments (Briggs, 1994). It is important to remember,
however, that as long as the sediments are not exposed to anoxic
waters the phosphorus in them is largely unavailable as a nutrient.
Chemicals in the. wastewater are also of concern with regard to
their impact on the marine environment (GESAMP, 1991; Hopkins
et al., 1995). In particular, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and
other antibacterial agents has proved in the longer term to have
been counterproductive. Resistant strains of pathogens have
developed, making treatment harder and more costly, and
ultimately increasing mortalities (Karunasagar et al., 1994;
Hopkins et al., 1995). Hatchery-reared post-larvae, having been
continually protected against disease by the prophylactic use of
these agents, are much more likely to succumb to disease during

f
the grow-out stage. Furthermore, antibiotic residues detected in
harvested shrimp seriously affected sales of Thai shrimp to Japan
in 1991 and 1992 and brought about a 27% reduction in the price of
Thai shrimp on world markets almost overnight. There are
concerns that in the marine environment residues of these
chemicals may disrupt natural bacterial decomposition processes
and alter the structure of marine microbial communities (Briggs,
1994).

CASE 2.2: IMPACT OF TROUT FARM WASTEWATER

ON A STREAM ECOSYSTEM (Camargo,
1992)

Rio Tajufia is a limestone stream, typical of the Tajo Basin in the

Gaudalajara region of central Spain. Its waters are hard and
alkaline as a result of the dissolution of minerals from the
calcareous bedrock, and on average flow at a rate of 0.6 m3s-1 (this
varies with season). The stream ranges from 2 to 6 m in width, and
consists of a series of riffles (shallow, rocky sections) and deeper
pools. About 13 km from the source of the river is a trout farm,
producing about 75 t of trout annually. Water is abstracted from the
stream, fed through a series of trout ponds, then discharged via a