Fish Production in Closed System (Biofloc)
[304-2, 413-1]

The program supports the sustainable development of fish farming and has presented positive results over the years, inserted in the largest fishing producer pole in Brazil – west region of Paraná.

In addition to the significant supply of production effluents in the water bodies generated during cultivation, to produce one kilo of fish in traditional systems, more than 20,000 liters of water are needed. In the case of fish production from Paraná, during the year (129,000 tons), it is estimated the use of 2.58 billion cubic meters of water – mostly from the Itaipu Reservoir basin.

With this scenario, support for the development and dissemination of sustainable models in aquaculture is one of the main focuses of the fish production in our waters program. Actions such as the cultivation of fish by the Biofloc Technology (BFT) system, translated as , guarantee a healthy environment for fish growth and reproduction and avoids the need for water renewal. They are highly efficient and important in the biosafety issue, mainly due to the possibility of serious pathologies of widespread dissemination, difficult control and eradication, jeopardizing the entire regional productive chain.

The biofloc is a cluster of microorganisms consisting of fungi, protozoa and bacteria. They are responsible for cycling and removing nutrients generated from the excretion process and leftover food during cultivation. The degradation of nitrogen-based, toxic to fish, allows the production of microbial protein (biofloco) which, in a second moment, can be used by fish during feeding.

The great challenge of Itaipu is in the insertion of this model in the west of Paraná, providing greater efficiency, water safety and competitiveness in the long term. The research and development activities with the BFT began in 2014, with tests conducted to produce fingerlings and juveniles. The main results are associated with high survival rates of for-but young (above 90%), high zootechnical performance and controlled management of the entire effluent produced.

The company is working on the implementation of a development and dissemination unit of sustainable technologies for aquaculture. Located in the biological refuge of Santa Helena, municipality near the largest producer pole in Brazil, the center will be a disseminator of new practices, applicable to the reality of the local productive arrangement, aiming longevity to the productive chain and guided by the use Rational nature of natural resources.