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M. S. Miswan et al.
is primarily associated with its economic gains as benefits of supplying domestic
and foreign demands for the produce. According to Merino et al. (2012), as global
fisheries yield is constrained by ecosystems’ productivity and management effectiveness, per capita fish consumption can only be maintained or increased if aquaculture
makes an increasing contribution to the volume and stability of global fish supplies.
Therefore, due to the importance of this industry for the economic growth of the
nation, it is envisioned to continue to grow in the expected future.
The main function of aquaculture industries is to improve the quality and quantity of wastewater and to fully utilize the existing land and water resources such as
lake, pond, dams and river estuary (Fry et al. 2016). This leads to an expansion of the
industry in Malaysia to maximize gains obtainable from the utilization of the nation’s
natural resources. Despite economic benefits that can be accumulated in the expansion of these industries, it should not consider the negative environmental impacts
that follow lightly. Propagation of this sector must not compromise the state of the
environment of this country to the extent of having unwanted irreversible impacts of
the developments affecting the present livelihood and future generations. Therefore,
the management of aquaculture should be taken seriously to maintain the biodiversity, especially for aquatic life. The common fish species cultured are red tilapia
hybrid (Oreochromis sp.), catfish (Clarias sp.) and climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) (FAO 2008). However, it is noticeable that the development of aquaculture
and aquaponics worldwide is a rollback as shown in Fig. 8.1.
The decline is due to several factors including lack in genetic management and
poor hatchery procedures—particularly but not only in developing countries. These
lacking have significantly degraded the performance of many farmed species through
inbreeding, genetic drift and uncontrolled hybridization (Bostock et al. 2010). However, the growth of aquaculture for land-based and near-shore systems has peaked
due to political, environmental, economic and resource constraints. According to
Fig. 8.1, publications on the aquaculture in Malaysia were the highest in 2016 where
313 papers about aquaculture were published. However, research about aquaponics
in Malaysia is still below the unsatisfactory level compared to the neighbouring countries. Among the number of publications on aquaponics in 2015, only five papers
were published from Malaysia.
The development of aquaculture is currently ongoing, driven by new ideas and
innovations. Integrated aquaculture is gaining attention as an innovated system to
add value to water, recycle nutrients and wastes in the system to produce more crops.
Integration of crops is also regarded as an environmentally friendly practice which
intensifies the use of land (Ansar 2018). Integration of aquaculture and hydroponic is
known as aquaponics. It combines the rearing of aquatic organisms (mainly fish) and
plant production in a recirculating water system (Popp et al. 2018). The concept of
aquaponics is to reuse the nutrient-enriched water from the fish rearing tank for the
growth of plants in hydroponic system. In addition, aquaponics is a productive method
of producing fish and vegetables in a green, sustainable and energy-efficient system. Aquaponics presents opportunities to increase economical operations because
spaces, nutrients and water are optimized. This contributes to lower infrastructural
costs, production of inexpensive food and consequently poverty reduction.
M. S. Miswan et al.
is primarily associated with its economic gains as benefits of supplying domestic
and foreign demands for the produce. According to Merino et al. (2012), as global
fisheries yield is constrained by ecosystems’ productivity and management effectiveness, per capita fish consumption can only be maintained or increased if aquaculture
makes an increasing contribution to the volume and stability of global fish supplies.
Therefore, due to the importance of this industry for the economic growth of the
nation, it is envisioned to continue to grow in the expected future.
The main function of aquaculture industries is to improve the quality and quantity of wastewater and to fully utilize the existing land and water resources such as
lake, pond, dams and river estuary (Fry et al. 2016). This leads to an expansion of the
industry in Malaysia to maximize gains obtainable from the utilization of the nation’s
natural resources. Despite economic benefits that can be accumulated in the expansion of these industries, it should not consider the negative environmental impacts
that follow lightly. Propagation of this sector must not compromise the state of the
environment of this country to the extent of having unwanted irreversible impacts of
the developments affecting the present livelihood and future generations. Therefore,
the management of aquaculture should be taken seriously to maintain the biodiversity, especially for aquatic life. The common fish species cultured are red tilapia
hybrid (Oreochromis sp.), catfish (Clarias sp.) and climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) (FAO 2008). However, it is noticeable that the development of aquaculture
and aquaponics worldwide is a rollback as shown in Fig. 8.1.
The decline is due to several factors including lack in genetic management and
poor hatchery procedures—particularly but not only in developing countries. These
lacking have significantly degraded the performance of many farmed species through
inbreeding, genetic drift and uncontrolled hybridization (Bostock et al. 2010). However, the growth of aquaculture for land-based and near-shore systems has peaked
due to political, environmental, economic and resource constraints. According to
Fig. 8.1, publications on the aquaculture in Malaysia were the highest in 2016 where
313 papers about aquaculture were published. However, research about aquaponics
in Malaysia is still below the unsatisfactory level compared to the neighbouring countries. Among the number of publications on aquaponics in 2015, only five papers
were published from Malaysia.
The development of aquaculture is currently ongoing, driven by new ideas and
innovations. Integrated aquaculture is gaining attention as an innovated system to
add value to water, recycle nutrients and wastes in the system to produce more crops.
Integration of crops is also regarded as an environmentally friendly practice which
intensifies the use of land (Ansar 2018). Integration of aquaculture and hydroponic is
known as aquaponics. It combines the rearing of aquatic organisms (mainly fish) and
plant production in a recirculating water system (Popp et al. 2018). The concept of
aquaponics is to reuse the nutrient-enriched water from the fish rearing tank for the
growth of plants in hydroponic system. In addition, aquaponics is a productive method
of producing fish and vegetables in a green, sustainable and energy-efficient system. Aquaponics presents opportunities to increase economical operations because
spaces, nutrients and water are optimized. This contributes to lower infrastructural
costs, production of inexpensive food and consequently poverty reduction.