IMTA

The development of AMTI, by a complementary team of experts, will reduce the environmental impact while increasing the social benefits generated by employment in marginalized areas, offering a viable alternative to conventional aquaculture.

In Mexico, the high demand for fish would tend to push industries to develop sea-based aquaculture. However, the fragile marine ecosystems of the Caribbean would be threatened by the establishment of a conventional aquaculture producing waste and asphyxiating the environment.

The project aims to develop a land-based Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system using undrground salt water, an abundant resource in the Yucatan Peninsula. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is a very promising technique for growing and breeding several species at the same time. The waste produced by certain species provides food for the others. It is a more sustainable aquaculture because the amount of food needed is less important, and the water is naturally purified by the organisms present in the “circuit”.

The aim of the project is to explore the potential of this innovative land-based aquaculture and to promote the development of this technology to protect fragile Caribbean marine ecosystems (mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass beds). The abundance of underground saltwater in the Yucatan peninsula would allow the relocation of aquaculture sites up to 100 km offshore in the region.