There are several reasons environmentalists hate aquaculture which may or may not apply here: - Most aquaculture is not disconnected from natural waterways (so

There are several reasons environmentalists hate aquaculture which may or may not apply here: - Most aquaculture is not disconnected from natural waterways (sometime its a caged area in a natural waterway). This means depleting resources and waste dumping which hurts the natural ecology. - The problems of high density farming: genetic diversity issues, antibiotic use / superbug breeding grounds / diseases - Fish farms use feed made from by-catch creating some incentive for it. - It can "look wrong." This may cause people to look for reasons. On the other hand, aquaculture can be a self sufficient facility in the desert that deals with filters etc or even produces vegetables as a by product. I think relatively few aquaculture businesses actually operate like this, but many could be. The two biggest species (by far if you measure by weight) in aquaculture are tilapia (mild white fish for Americans) & carp (strong oild fish for Chinese). Both of these are easy (high density, grain eating, hardy etc.) freshwater species and would be easy to make eco friendly. *As a hobby many people do aquaponics. They grow plants hydroponically using bacteria to convert the ammonia from fish waste into plant food. Tilapia are a popular choice. I'm not sure if this particular approach is most commercially viable, but it works as a proof of concept for environmentally sound tilapia growing. It sounds like a lot of fun.