Inland saline aquaculture

Increasing demand for aquaculture has led to the development of new production systems. Inland saline aquaculture, defined here as land-based aquaculture using saline groundwater, occurs in several countries including Israel, the USA, India and Australia. A number of species are cultured, or are being evaluated for their potential, including finfish such as tilapia, Asian sea bass and trout, shrimp and oysters. Sources of saline groundwater include ephemeral and permanent saline lakes, saline water extracted with coal seam gas and saline groundwater extracted from aquifers. Saline groundwater is extracted in some areas to protect the root zone of plants. Characteristics of saline-affected land are described, with particular focus on Australia and India. Another emerging source of saline groundwater is the coal bed methane gas industry. Saline water accompanies extraction of the gas and, while it can be a major environmental problem for the gas industry, it presents an opportunity for aquaculture. Saline groundwater can differ in chemistry compared with coastal seawater and adjusting the chemistry or choosing species that are tolerant to the differences is one of the major challenges for expansion of inland saline aquaculture. The chemistry of different sources of water is described and common methods of adjusting the chemistry described. Finally, case studies of inland saline aquaculture are presented for Australia, India, Israel and the USA. Novel food production methods, such as inland saline aquaculture, are needed to increase aquaculture production and meet increasing demands for seafood.