Chapter 4: Open Water Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) in Coastal Ecosystem: The Status and Prospects in Malaysia

Abstract

Globally, fish is an important source of affordable animal protein for humans. Amid the growing demand for seafood, aquaculture plays an important role to fill the supply shortfall of the stagnated capture fisheries to cater to the needs of the rising popu 'C' water due to the constraints of low technological inputs. The single-trophic intensive cage culture is increasingly facing sudden massive fish death due to coastal pollution resulting from land-based anthropogenic activities and cage culture operation itself. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) combines farming of different trophic species in proximity for symbiotic and complementary functions to foster ecological resilience, harmony and sustainability, as well as to help reduce diseases. Despite its infancy, IMTA has good prospects in bio-mitigating coastal pollution, restoring and preserving the vulnerable coastal ecosystems in Malaysia. There is no one-size-for-all IMTA system. An optimum species combination needs to be empirically determined based on the local economic and ecological scenarios.