Characterized by enormous physiological plasticity, microalgae have been increasingly used for various practical and commercial purposes. With their ecological versatility Baltic microalgae seem to offer a variety of way to be utilized. Thus, the search for their potential application continues at the University of Gdańsk within the frame of the AquaVIP project.
The experiment carried out on green algae and diatom strains proved that water from RAS system with shrimps can be considered as an efficient microalgal growth medium. While the metabolic products of shrimp are considered a pollutant, for algae they are a valuable source of macro and micro elements necessary for growth. This allows them to be reused, closing the elemental cycle and making aquaculture more sustainable. Selected Baltic strains such as Bacillaria cf. paxillifera, Navicula perminuta or Oocystis submarina grew well in RAS waters of various chemical composition. Diverse nutrients proportions affected their biochemical composition (i.e., lipid, carbohydrate, protein, and photosynthetic pigment content) which allowed obtaining biomass of unique characteristics. The insights gained from the performed analyses constitute a starting point for further, more complex factorial experiments designed to lay down a culturing protocol for bigger scale biomass production.