Aquaponics is a system that imitates part of the natural cycle of nutrients within a largely closed system. It helps the environment in several ways, beginning with providing natural fertilizer to its crops by fostering the nitrification cycle where fish waste is converted to nutrients for the plants. This eliminates the need for chemical-based fertilizers. That’s a significant improvement because chemical-based fertilizers are produced in an environmentally devastating process that involves strip-mining phosphate rock and processing it into a usable form, which generates toxic, radioactive waste that must be stored in perpetuity. Failure of the storage facilities frequently threatens both waterways and local communities.
The semi-closed system of aquaponics also eliminates the need for pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. This is significant because runoff from irrigation and weather events carries these deadly toxins into local waterways, triggering fish kills, algae blooms and rendering the water undrinkable for downstream communities. Fish that survive but consume food affected by these spills can store toxins in their flesh, rendering them unfit for human consumption. Aquaponics do not use these chemicals at all and so there is no risk to the local wildlife or environment. Aquaponics also uses only about 10% of the water required for traditional soil-based agriculture. Farmers typically need to irrigate large areas of land to a depth of 12” or more so that roots are able to access adequate moisture. In an aquaponic setup, roots are exposed directly to the water, either through trickle or immersion systems, meaning that only water that is directly absorbed by the plants is lost, while the rest is cycled back to fish tanks. As clean water becomes scarcer and scarcer, this is critical, since aquaponics does not use nearly as much water, while water quality is maintained through natural recycling.
