Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California

Global food production, both aquatic and terrestrial, is rife with sustainability issues. Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry that is on track to surpass wild-caught fishery production by 2030. The integration of aquaculture and agriculture systems could help to reduce some of their respective...

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Main Authors: Duncan Gwynne, Pallab K. Sarker, Anne R. Kapuscinski, Benjamin V. Schoffstall, Devin Fitzgerald, Megan Deevy, Joji Muramoto, Uchasha Sarker, Stavros Boutris, Catalina Sutter, Emily Thompson, Lucas Raymond
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Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Fishes
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/10/2/85
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author Duncan Gwynne
Pallab K. Sarker
Anne R. Kapuscinski
Benjamin V. Schoffstall
Devin Fitzgerald
Megan Deevy
Joji Muramoto
Uchasha Sarker
Stavros Boutris
Catalina Sutter
Emily Thompson
Lucas Raymond
author_facet Duncan Gwynne
Pallab K. Sarker
Anne R. Kapuscinski
Benjamin V. Schoffstall
Devin Fitzgerald
Megan Deevy
Joji Muramoto
Uchasha Sarker
Stavros Boutris
Catalina Sutter
Emily Thompson
Lucas Raymond
author_sort Duncan Gwynne
collection DOAJ
description Global food production, both aquatic and terrestrial, is rife with sustainability issues. Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry that is on track to surpass wild-caught fishery production by 2030. The integration of aquaculture and agriculture systems could help to reduce some of their respective and shared environmental issues. Integrated Aquaculture–Agriculture (IAA) has been shown to provide a variety of benefits to both aquaculture and agriculture including increased system water use efficiency (WUE), a reduction in fertilizer use, and increases in total farm yield and resilience. This study was performed to examine the potential for rainbow trout aquaculture effluent to improve the yield, nutrient composition, and WUE of lettuce, as well as act as a partial fertilizer replacement. We used four irrigation treatments throughout the experiment: city water, aquaculture effluent, city water with added organic fertilizer, and aquaculture effluent with added organic fertilizer. Throughout the trial, there were some issues of herbivory in the growing plot, but overall, the lettuce receiving city water with organic fertilizer (30. ± 3.4 g/plant) showed significantly higher fresh biomass than effluent treatments (18 ± 1.4 g/plant and 17 ± 2.9 g/plant) at the end of the trial. We did not detect any significant differences among treatments in the macro- and micronutrients of the lettuce shoots and roots. However, the WUE of effluent treatments (4.4 ± 0.030 kg/m<sup>3</sup> and 1.0 ± 0.070 kg/m<sup>3</sup>) was greater than that of organic fertilizer (0.28 ± 0.050 kg/m<sup>3</sup>) and control treatments (0.23 ± 0.040 kg/m<sup>3</sup>). The results indicate that adopting IAA in California could improve statewide WUE and conserve water for sustainable agricultural production.
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spelling doaj-art-aaa621a4205b43e5b090f88670aa5dd02025-08-20T03:12:20ZengMDPI AGFishes2410-38882025-02-011028510.3390/fishes10020085Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in CaliforniaDuncan Gwynne0Pallab K. Sarker1Anne R. Kapuscinski2Benjamin V. Schoffstall3Devin Fitzgerald4Megan Deevy5Joji Muramoto6Uchasha Sarker7Stavros Boutris8Catalina Sutter9Emily Thompson10Lucas Raymond11Environmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USASanta Cruz High School, 415 Walnut Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEnvironmental Studies Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USADepartment of Applied Environmental Science, California State University Monterey Bay, 100 Campus Ctr, Seaside, CA 93955, USADepartment of Applied Environmental Science, California State University Monterey Bay, 100 Campus Ctr, Seaside, CA 93955, USAGlobal food production, both aquatic and terrestrial, is rife with sustainability issues. Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry that is on track to surpass wild-caught fishery production by 2030. The integration of aquaculture and agriculture systems could help to reduce some of their respective and shared environmental issues. Integrated Aquaculture–Agriculture (IAA) has been shown to provide a variety of benefits to both aquaculture and agriculture including increased system water use efficiency (WUE), a reduction in fertilizer use, and increases in total farm yield and resilience. This study was performed to examine the potential for rainbow trout aquaculture effluent to improve the yield, nutrient composition, and WUE of lettuce, as well as act as a partial fertilizer replacement. We used four irrigation treatments throughout the experiment: city water, aquaculture effluent, city water with added organic fertilizer, and aquaculture effluent with added organic fertilizer. Throughout the trial, there were some issues of herbivory in the growing plot, but overall, the lettuce receiving city water with organic fertilizer (30. ± 3.4 g/plant) showed significantly higher fresh biomass than effluent treatments (18 ± 1.4 g/plant and 17 ± 2.9 g/plant) at the end of the trial. We did not detect any significant differences among treatments in the macro- and micronutrients of the lettuce shoots and roots. However, the WUE of effluent treatments (4.4 ± 0.030 kg/m<sup>3</sup> and 1.0 ± 0.070 kg/m<sup>3</sup>) was greater than that of organic fertilizer (0.28 ± 0.050 kg/m<sup>3</sup>) and control treatments (0.23 ± 0.040 kg/m<sup>3</sup>). The results indicate that adopting IAA in California could improve statewide WUE and conserve water for sustainable agricultural production.https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/10/2/85integrated aquaculture–agriculturewater use efficiency<i>Lactuca sativa</i>recirculating aquaculture systems<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>
spellingShingle Duncan Gwynne
Pallab K. Sarker
Anne R. Kapuscinski
Benjamin V. Schoffstall
Devin Fitzgerald
Megan Deevy
Joji Muramoto
Uchasha Sarker
Stavros Boutris
Catalina Sutter
Emily Thompson
Lucas Raymond
Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California
Fishes
integrated aquaculture–agriculture
water use efficiency
<i>Lactuca sativa</i>
recirculating aquaculture systems
<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>
title Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California
title_full Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California
title_fullStr Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California
title_short Investigating the Benefits of Integrating Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) and Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i>) Cultivation in California
title_sort investigating the benefits of integrating rainbow trout i oncorhynchus mykiss i and lettuce i lactuca sativa i cultivation in california
topic integrated aquaculture–agriculture
water use efficiency
<i>Lactuca sativa</i>
recirculating aquaculture systems
<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/10/2/85
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