Growing fish in water from coal mines safe
USA: Fish farmers in the Appalachian mountains in the eastern part of the United States are using water from old and closed coal mines to raise increasing numbers of trout, catfish and salmon. And, there is no need to worry. Independent experts have verified that the water is clean.
According to an article by the Worldwatch Institute, the same independent experts say that the fish that are being raised in the mine waters are not only safe, but they may also be healthier than fish grown in conventional aquaculture operations.
Though some abandoned coal mines in Appalachia are polluted with toxic metals, some have been spared, and the water sources that accumulate are considered clean enough to raise fish. Pipes carry the water directly to the aquaculture operations without any treatment. If the old mine sites are found too polluted, the coal companies are required to build treatment facilities capable of returning the water to "health".
It is estimated that about a dozen mine sites can supply enough water for large scale fish farming capable of producing approximately 45 tons per year. In the past eight years four farm sites have taken advantage of mine water. There are plans to add a new farm every one to two years.
