Aquaculture water use refers to the quantity, quality, and management of water required for culturing aquatic organisms in controlled or semi-controlled systems, and encompasses both consumptive and non-consumptive components. It includes water withdrawals for ponds, raceways, cages, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), and integrated multi-trophic systems, as well as flows for dilution, temperature regulation, oxygenation, and waste dispersion. Scientifically, it is characterized through metrics such as water footprint, evaporation and seepage losses, exchange rates, and pollution loading, and is central to assessing environmental impacts, resource efficiency, carrying capacity, and sustainability of aquaculture operations within watershed and coastal-zone management frameworks.
The volume of water drawn from Scotland's rivers and lochs by the agricultural sector surged by more than 500% during periods of water scarcity in recent years, new research has found. The University of Strathclyde study ...
Environment
May 18, 2026
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A new study found that cultivating seaweed species alongside marine finfish in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) operations, where seaweeds receive nutrient-rich effluent from fish production, can significantly ...
Biotechnology
May 5, 2026
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Greenhouse gas emissions are heating our atmosphere and oceans, and turning seawater more acidic. One of the myriad expected impacts of these conditions is a reduction in farming yields of shellfish, such as oysters and mussels. ...
Ecology
Apr 20, 2026
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When Storm Amy battered the Scottish Highlands in early October, it tore through a salmon farm's sea pens, releasing around 75,000 fish into open water in Loch Linnhe. The scale of the escape is alarming. It comes at a time ...
Ecology
Oct 14, 2025
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