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Table 1 Main aquaculture systems used across EU/EEA according to the EC [40]

From: Environmental risk assessment of veterinary medicinal products intended for use in aquaculture in Europe: the need for developing a harmonised approach

Environmental compartment

Farming method

Species farmed (examples)

Main features

Freshwater

Extensive (ponds)

Freshwater whitefish (Coregonidae), zander, pike, carp, catfish and crayfish

Natural or artificial ponds adapted to foster the development of the cultivated species

Intensive (tanks, raceways, earth ponds, recirculating aquaculture systems)

Rainbow trout, catfish and eel

Open-air concrete tanks, raceways (a cluster of consecutively connected tanks) or earth ponds of various sizes and depths adapted to the different developmental stages of the cultivated fish

In a raceway, river water is collected upstream and fed back to the river downstream after it has passed through all tanks

Recirculating aquaculture systems are closed systems in which effluents from the vessel containing the farmed species are subjected to quality-improving treatments (e.g. filtration and oxygenation) before being fed back to that same container

Marine

Extensive (lagoons and coastal ponds)

Sea bass, sea bream (Sparus aurata), eels and different species of mullets, crayfish and shellfish

Lagoons adapted to foster the development of the cultivated species

Intensive (sea cages)

Finfish (e.g. salmon), sea bass, sea bream and trout (to a lesser extent)

Fish are held captive in large pocket-shaped nets anchored to the seabed