Richard bray

History of Aquaponics
Dr. Mark McMurtry and Dr. James Rakocy are credited with the development of modern aquaponics systems. In 1969, McMurtry began exploring how to integrate growing practices together into mutually-beneficial relationships at his own New Alchemy Institute, while Rakocy created a small aquaponics system as his Doctor’s work at Auburn University.
Both men contributed to our modern aquaponics systems, with Rakocy and his colleagues developing the first commercial-sized aquaponic raft system, which completely eliminated the need for a grow media.
While these men are largely responsible for the aquaponics systems we use today, the concept of using fish and plants together in one production model is centuries old.
In the 15th century, the Aztecs created artificial floating islands called chinampas that resemble our modern raft system. The city of Tenochtitlan was the center of Aztec culture. It was located in the middle of a large lake, with surrounding cities built on the shoreline.
Due to a shortage of farmland, the Aztec people created a production method that used floating islands, chinampas, as a way to both grow crops and dispose of the city’s waste water. They built large rafts and filled them with soil, then planted crops and flowers and anchored the rafts in shallow water.
Later, the floating raft system was replaced with permanent structures built in the marshy lake beds. Fences built with mud and branches were constructed to reach 10’ in width and almost 3,000' in length.
Rows were constructed parallel to each other with canals of moving water running between them. This kept the crops irrigated, and also gave fish and waterfowl a constant source of food.
Nearly 1,000 years before the Aztecs built chinampas; Chinese agriculture had developed a similar system for irrigating and fertilizing rice paddies. Peking ducks kept on the water provided waste that the fish used for food. The waste from the fish provided the rice with essential nutrients, and the ducks ate the insects that were attracted by the rice paddies.
This system produced three products: rice, fish, and ducks. Each was a source of food, and each sustained the others.
Both systems serve as an example of sustainable food production. We can use the same concepts and techniques as we combine horticulture and aquaculture into productive home-based sources of organic meat and vegetables.