Aquaculture and Marine Farming

EM has been used effectively to improve the water quality in marine farms around the world. It is common to see the use of high nutrition feeds in aquaculture however the flow on effect through wastage and excretion is increased sludge accumulation below cages and on the sea bed. This can increase the chance of diseases which often leads to the use of antibiotics which worsens the water quality. Also increased excretion and dead matter pile up under cages and shell fish rafts decreasing oxygen at the deeper levels.

This vicious cycle of high disease rate and water pollution restricts growth in many areas and also becomes a continual issue that marine farmers have to deal with. The application of EM to these farms can significantly increase the microbial activity in the surrounding water/sea and water/sea bed.

EM also has been recognised worldwide as a water treatment product. This will enable effects from conventional farming and industrialisation to be downgraded and in regards to waste water form households and rivers, this can be turned into a positive helping to revive the sea by providing nutrients and activity for our microbes.

Applications

EM Ready to Us – EM ready to use can be applied directly to the water surrounding the marine farming zone. Fish farms often struggle with over-stocking of the farms and the creation of excess ammonium nitrogen in the water.  The over-stocking creates an over-population problem and too much waste cause the fish to be susceptible to diseases.  The concentration of waste increases (BOD) microbial activity and drops dissolved oxygen (DO) in the ponds or tanks, starving the fish from oxygen. This stresses the animals and can kill them.  EM ready to use applied directly to the area is effective at controlling these issues. The application ratio for water applications are the same across the board, whether a fresh water pond or a stock pond. It is one part EM Microbial Inoculant per 10,000 parts water in the system. Frequency of application varies according to the type of fish grown and the type of system being used.

EM Mud Balls will both inhibit the growth of algae and break down any sludge and silt decreasing the impact on the environment and also lowering clean-up costs. Due to the beneficial microbes EM will also control ammonia levels and suppress any pathogens present.

Examples

• EM trials in Thailand have seen oysters being farmed in oyster rafts accelerate in growth due to the improved nutrition in the surrounding waters.
• EM trials in Vietnam have seen a significant increase in water quality in their shrimp farms. This has enabled harvesting up to 3 times a year up from once a year. 
• Full scale EM use at a trout farm in Austria has seen performance improve significantly. With EM, the interval of water change was exceeded by 100%, and the work reduced to below 1/12th of the previous level. The survival rate was increased from 70% to more than 93%, and the harvest almost doubled. In addition to using EM, they use no chemicals and thus greatly improving the environment