Vermiculture in Egypt: - FAO - Regional Office for the Near East and

Genetic contamination and pollution, both chemical and biological, are serious
blemishes on the face of responsible aquaculture; however, the solution is simple.
Floating or land-based solid-wall tanks, such as those already in use in British
Columbia, eliminate escapes altogether. Wastes and uneaten feed, all collected within
the tank, are pumped through a filter, eliminating their respective eutrophying and
polluting effects. The real problem with status quo aquaculture isn‟t genetic
contamination or pollution, but rather the inefficiency and un-sustainability of
fishmeal as used for fish feed.
Carnivorous finfish aquaculture, the type employed in salmon and tuna farming,
typically depends on fishmeal, an oily paste made from ground fishes such as
mackerel and sardines, for feed. Each pound of farmed fish for human consumption
demands many pounds of fishmeal throughout the farming process, presenting a
serious barrier to the expansion of responsible aquaculture. Tilapia, a onetime dining
hall staple, is only 25 percent calorie efficient, meaning that it takes four tons of
fishmeal to grow only one ton of tilapia. Sardines and mackerel serve as important
sources of protein worldwide and as the diet of larger, commercially valuable stocks.
New sources of feed must be developed in order to facilitate industrial expansion and
ease aquaculture‟s strain on the world‟s over-fished oceans.
Organic manures if not decomposed completely before application in aquaculture
pond may deteriorate the water quality as they utilize oxygen during decomposition.
Therefore, the amount of any organic manure to be added in the pond mainly depends
upon its biological oxygen demand (BOD), as their excessive use may cause severe
dissolved oxygen depletion in the pond and results in production of toxic gases like
CO2, H2S, NH3, etc., and can spread parasitic diseases.
A study suggests higher potential of utilizing vermicompost as compared to cow dung
and hence can be used more effectively for manuring semi-intensive carp culture
ponds without affecting the hydro biological parameters. In developing country like
India, agriculture and livestock work in integration, where livestock waste (mainly
cow dung) is the most commonly used organic manure in agriculture and aquaculture.
Hence, the small scale on farm integration of vermicomposting of livestock and
agriculture waste with the rural aquaculture (extensive/semi-intensive) holds ample
scope for developing economically and ecologically sustainable farming system for
the socio-economic upliftment of rural population in developing countries (Kaur and
Ansal, 2010).
The research on Carassius auratus, showed that a 10% supplement of E. fetida
earthworms in food, given to those fish, caused a doubling of their biomass. The
research on P. reticulata, fed on earthworms only, also showed benefits. Compared to
the group fed with Bio-vit, the fish were characterized by a larger number of broods
and larger numbers of surviving fry. From this research it can be seen that E. fetida is
a highly nutritious food that is eagerly eaten by all age groups of the examined species
of fish. For the advocates of the ecological box, it means another possible use of one
of its products. That is because in addition to using the vermicompost, it gives another
possibility of feeding selected aquarium fish with the produced biomass of
earthworms. The results of the research not only indicate the possibility of reducing
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