Biologically Induced Deposition of Fine Suspended Particles by Filter-Feeding Bivalves in Land-Based Industrial Marine Aquaculture Wastewater

Industrial aquaculture wastewater contains large quantities of suspended particles that can be easily broken down physically. Introduction of macro-bio-filters, such as bivalve filter feeders, may offer the potential for treatment of fine suspended matter in industrial aquaculture wastewater. In this study, we employed two kinds of bivalve filter feeders, the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas and the blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, to deposit suspended solids from marine fish aquaculture wastewater in flow-through systems. Results showed that the biodeposition rate of suspended particles by C. gigas (shell height: 8.67 ± 0.99 cm) and M. galloprovincialis (shell height: 4.43 ± 0.98 cm) was 77.84 ± 7.77 and 6.37 ± 0.67 mg ind(-1) • d(-1), respectively. The total solid suspension (TSS) deposition rates of oyster and mussel treatments were 3.73 ± 0.27 and 2.76 ± 0.20 times higher than that of the control treatment without bivalves, respectively. The TSS deposition rates of bivalve treatments were significantly higher than the natural sedimentation rate of the control treatment (P < 0.001). Furthermore, organic matter and C, N in the sediments of bivalve treatments were significantly lower than those in the sediments of the control (P < 0.05). It was suggested that the filter feeders C. gigas and M. galloprovincialis had considerable potential to filter and accelerate the deposition of suspended particles from industrial aquaculture wastewater, and simultaneously yield value-added biological products.