Tratamiento de aguas residuales pesqueras

GENERAL INTRODUCTION Pollution due to human activity, lately linked to population pressure, has such a destructive force that it produces a severe and irreversible effect on life on earth. The excessive and irrational use of resources, the destruction of complete ecosystems, the forcing of plants and animals into extinction, the generation of toxic wastes (and the great quantity of not so toxicwastes) and all the related phenomenon, end up almost totally uncontrolled because of their false appearance of being beneficial to human beings. It cannot be denied that the generation of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes is an inevitable consequence of industrial, agricultural and domestic activity. Nevertheless, the impact of human activity on the environment could be minimized ensuring asustainable quality of life, probably for its own survival. While the conservation of the resources, the better use of the resources and the equilibrium of the human population are some of the activities that have a great influence on the sustainability of the planet, the reduction of the generation of residues, improvements in the treatment and use of wastes are the remaining essential components of thefinal strategy for the maintenance of quality of the global environment. (73)

The elimination of wastes is the direct source of water contamination problems, coastal waters being considered more severe and even though they make up only the 10% of the surface of the oceans, they provide 99% of the catch of fish and seafood
(4).

Marine

contamination, that is defined as the man’sintroduction of substances that cause negative effects into the marine environment harming life’s resources, place man’s health in jeopardy, obstructs marine activity, including fishing, diminishes the quality of the sea, and therefore the use of sea water, and reduces the possibility of holding interest in those environments”
(120).

In our country, this is a current problem generated by sewage pipesfrom the cities that directly dump waste waters into the ocean without any treatment: the

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waste waters from the coastal and sea industries (3); the fish meal and fish oil manufacturers being some of the main producers of organic wastes in the coastal zone of Peru (29).

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I.- CURRENT SITUATION

1- Industrial fishing and its effect on the environment

The Peruviancoast is one of the richest in marine diversity. Richness, which is reflected in the great amount of pre Inca, Inca, colonial and current cultures developed on the coastal line, such as the Paracas, Mochica, Lima, Nazca and Pachacamac cultures. The presence of the cold Humboldt Current creates an ideal environment for the development of great quantities of phytoplankton and zooplankton that allow forthe growth of a great quantity and variety of marine species. There is also a zone of marine outcrop that stimulates the proliferation of phytoplankton and zooplankton and consequently, brings about a great production of hydro biological resources. As a result, the Peruvian fishing industry has had a great technological development and an ongoing increase in its production capacity, especiallythe production plants of fishmeal and fish oil.

Graph 1: Fish oil and fish meal production areas in Peru

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Fishmeal is a very important component in the production of balanced feed for aquaculture, poultry farming, stockbreeding, etc., to which it contributes with protein and oils. Fish oil is also used in aquaculture, as well as for the production of eating oil, margarine,pharmaceutical products, colors and soaps. In Peru fishmeal and fish oil are mainly obtained from the Peruvian anchovies, jack mackerels and mackerel.

Peru is one of the major producers of fishmeal and fish oil worldwide, also presently holding the biggest fish industry in the world. The production of fishmeal and fish oil holds the second place in the income of the country (1.2 % of Gross Domestic...