Gray water footprint of whiteleg shrimp intensive pond systems in brackish water

Abstract

This study aimed to identify, with the gray water footprint methodology, the water consumption and contaminant potential of intensive pond system of Litopenaeus vannamei. The study was conducted at the Yakult Experimental Farm - UFSC from September, 2014 to January, 2015, with zero water exchange, and with the environmental relevance substance the total phosphorus. The gray water footprint of intensive system of marine shrimp obtained was of 1,315.11 m³ per ton produced. This volume represents 68% of the volume used in production. The gray water footprint of intensive system of marine shrimp was influenced by the current legislation, as it is very permissive for total phosphorus releases end up leading to values that may be in disagreement with the assimilative capacity of the receiving body, affecting the aquatic ecosystem. For new gray water footprint calculations in Brazil there is a suggestion of the use of trophic state index as a maximum acceptable concentration reference of water bodies.