Finding the Best Match: A Ranking Procedure of Fish Species Combinations for Polyculture Development

Area of Science:

• Aquaculture
• Animal Husbandry
• Ecology

Background:

• Polyculture, the rearing of multiple species, offers potential for aquaculture but can have mixed outcomes.
• Optimizing polyculture requires selecting compatible and complementary species.
• Integrating socio-economic factors and stakeholder priorities is crucial for successful implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a ranking procedure for candidate fish polycultures.
• To incorporate multi-trait assessment and stakeholder priorities into species selection.
• To rank polyculture combinations based on production and welfare benefits for target species.

Main Methods:

• Developed a ranking procedure involving weighting evaluation results by stakeholder priorities.
• Assessed differentiation between candidate species combinations using weighted results.
• Applied the procedure to three fish polyculture test cases in recirculating aquaculture systems.

Main Results:

• The ranking of candidate polycultures varied depending on the stakeholder priority scenarios (production, welfare, or both).
• Ranking shifts were observed in two out of three test cases, underscoring the impact of differing priorities.
• Evaluated benefits based on survival rates, morphology, behavior, and physiological traits of target species.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ranking procedure effectively integrates multi-trait assessment and stakeholder priorities.
• Stakeholder priorities significantly influence the selection of optimal fish polyculture combinations.
• Careful consideration of stakeholder expectations is essential for successful and beneficial polyculture development.