Sustainability in Ponds Management: Recent Developments, Challenges and Prospects

Sustainable aquaculture growth necessitates innovative strategies to meet the global protein demand while minimizing environmental impacts. This narrative review synthesizes the current understanding and emerging approaches for optimizing nutrient cycling and trophic transfer efficiency in pond-based aquaculture systems. We highlight two primary strategies: ‘demand-oriented feeding’, which adaptively balances feed inputs with natural food availability, and the ‘nutritious pond concept’, which enhances pond ecology through carbon/nitrogen ratio management and waste-driven nutrient recycling. A critical examination of the scalability and environmental trade-offs associated with these strategies is also presented. Despite the challenges presented by these strategies, their combination could create a more dynamic, ecosystem-based approach to aquaculture that is more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly, contributing to the development of ponds as sustainable, productive ecosystems that enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and support economic viability. Finally, we explored polyculture as an ecological strategy, highlighting its synergistic mechanisms for maximizing food web efficiency and its potential to enhance the two primary strategies.