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Economic Analysis and Development of the Nile Tilapia Cultivated in the Nursery Using Reject Brine as Water Support

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Abstract

Reverse osmosis desalination is a solution for water supply in rural communities in the semi-arid region. However, the disposal of waste generated in the process has been a challenge. Thus, a study was conducted to evaluate the economic viability and development of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cultivated in nurseries using water support, the rejected brine from the brackish water treatment plant. The study was conducted in the rural community of Serra Mossoró, Mossoró, RN, Brazil, benefited by the “Água Doce” program with a desalination plant. For this, two nurseries were built for fish farming and a tank to receive fish effluent. Each nursery was populated with 700 male Nile tilapia fingerlings. To determine fish growth, biometric analyses of head length, partial length, total length, height, width, and average weight were performed every 30 days after stocking. The economic analysis consisted of identifying the financial inflows and outflows. The results showed that all biometric parameters increased linearly with the time of cultivation, indicating that tilapia development and production using reject brine were satisfactory, making this waste feasible in fish farming. Economically, the project proved to be unfeasible in the short term, requiring a longer execution time of the generated cash flows to cover the initial investment. Despite this, the project generated positive social and environmental impacts. The raising of tilapia is a viable alternative for draining saline waste and ensuring food and nutritional security for family farming.

Highlights

  • The use of rejected brine from desalination plants for the rearing of tilapia was tested.

  • The economic viability of the activity can only be achieved after 2 years.

  • The activity is a positive alternative to dispose of rejected brine properly.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid, UFERSA, Francisco Mota Avenue, 572, Mossoró, 59625-900, Brazil

    Ana Cláudia Medeiros Souza, Nildo da Silva Dias, Maria Valdiglezia de Mesquita Arruda, Cleyton dos Santos Fernandes, Gerson Talles Nogueira Nobre, Maria Luiza Lima Ferreira Peixoto, Osvaldo Nogueira de Sousa Neto, Francisco Valfísio da Silva & Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá

  2. Department of Environmental Management, State University of Rio Grande Do Norte, UERN, Mossoró, Brazil

    Halysson Rubens Alves & Márcia Regina Farias da Silva

Authors
  1. Ana Cláudia Medeiros Souza
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  2. Nildo da Silva Dias
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  3. Maria Valdiglezia de Mesquita Arruda
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  4. Cleyton dos Santos Fernandes
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  5. Halysson Rubens Alves
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  6. Gerson Talles Nogueira Nobre
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  7. Maria Luiza Lima Ferreira Peixoto
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  8. Osvaldo Nogueira de Sousa Neto
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  9. Márcia Regina Farias da Silva
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  10. Francisco Valfísio da Silva
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  11. Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation and data collection and analysis were performed by Ana Cláudia Medeiros Souza, Nildo da Silva Dias, Gerson Talles Nogueira Nobre, Halysson Rubens Alves, Maria Luiza Lima Ferreira Peixoto, Cleyton dos Santos Fernandes, and Osvaldo Nogueira de Sousa Neto. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ana Cláudia Medeiros Souza, Maria Valdiglezia de Mesquita Arruda, Márcia Regina Farias da Silva, Francisco Valfísio da Silva, and Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá. All authors commented on previous versions and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Valdiglezia de Mesquita Arruda.

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Souza, A.C.M., Dias, N.d., Arruda, M.V.d. et al. Economic Analysis and Development of the Nile Tilapia Cultivated in the Nursery Using Reject Brine as Water Support. Water Air Soil Pollut 233, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05481-w

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