Boyd Begins Water Quality Series in GA Advocate

he magazine Global Aquaculture Advocate is featuring a series of articles written by CRSP researcher Claude Boyd. These articles are part of the Responsible Aquaculture Program that was formed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance and has established recommendations for water quality standards for shrimp farm effluents. Standards were set for the following variables: pH, total suspended solids, total phosphorus, total ammonia nitrogen, five-day biochemical oxygen demand, and dissolved oxygen. In the next few issues of the Advocate, Boyd will discuss general information on a particular variable, how to measure the variable, and why it was selected as one of the standards. The first of Boyd's articles addresses pH and is featured in the February 2001 issue of the Advocate. The pH article begins with basics such as what pH is and the pH scale and then launches into factors that influence the pH level in ponds. The article concludes with practical aspects of pH such as how to measure and manage pH in aquaculture applications. The articles will serve as a useful guide for people starting in the shrimp aquaculture field and an appropriate supplement to those who are already well-informed on the subjects.