Aquaculture pond use

Management Activity

Outdoor ponds are used for the production of a variety of aquaculture species including prawns and barramundi.  The water in the ponds can become high in contaminants, e.g. waste output from farmed aquatic species.   The wastewater from the ponds requires careful management to aviod potential negative environmental impacts.  Many farms use special ponds (See: Settling ponds) to allow sediments and attached contaminants to settle out of the water before it is released into waterways.  Other farms operate mixed enterprises and reuse the water for irrigation (See: Irrigation with effluent water)

The direct impacts of aquaculture pond use may include:

• Increased deep drainage where pond walls and floor are ‘leaky’
• Increased water loss through evaporation
• If overflow or drainage directly into natural waterways occurs it may result in:
  • Increased water nutrient concentrations 
  • Increased water faecal contamination 
  • Increased water chemical contamination 
  • Increased water sediment load 
  • Altered water temperature 
  • Increased pest animals 

Last updated 7 September 2010

Land Manager's Monitoring Guide

• Monitoring overview
• Selecting indicators
• - Enterprise or production systems
• - Land practices
• - Management activity
• - Impact
• Indicators