Fish Poo Strawberries: How can aquaponics sustainably grow plants and fish?

“Aquaculture is the farming of fish,” Maddie Moate explains on her visit to BioAqua Farm in Somerset, England. “Hydroponics is growing plants with nutrient-rich water without soil.”

“When you combine aquaculture and hydroponics, you get aquaponics. Aquaponics is a type of ecosystem made by humans where fish, plants and bacteria live and work together. They help each other to stay clean, healthy and grow big and strong.

“So at its simplest, thanks to the amazing work done by bacteria, the fish waste is able to feed the plants, and the plants are able to help keep the water clean for the fish.”

Will fish poop change how we grow food? What does food grown “with fish poo and wee” taste like? How can bacteria help us clean water? And how is this farming combination—fish with fruits and vegetables—create a mutually beneficial, sustainable, circular system?

Learn answers to these questions, as well as what Maddie Moate thinks about eating a “fish poo strawberry” in her wonderfully informative aquaponics video above. From BioaquaFarm.co.uk :

“• Uses a fraction of the water, up to 90% less to soil farming
• No tilling, no weeding
• No chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers
• Grow two food products together, protein and vegetables
• High crop yield
• No waste – compared to soil and aquaculture
• Food security, grow your own food, indoors, cities, year-round
• Works in places with poor soil quality”

Find more from Maddie Moate on YouTube, Instagram, and at MaddieMoate.com.

Watch these related videos next:
• Using seawater and sunlight to grow sustainable food in the desert
• Inside Montreal’s Zero Waste Urban Greenhouses
• Hydroponic Spinach – How Does it Grow?
• How Gardening at School Enables Interdisciplinary Learning
• Growing food for the animals in Paignton Zoo’s Vertical Farm