Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Innovation and Commercial Adoption of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems: A Brazilian Perspective

If Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) are widely regarded as one of the most promising technologies for sustainable aquaculture, why has their commercial adoption remained relatively limited in countries such as Brazil? Despite the remarkable scientific progress achieved in RAS technology over the past decade, a significant gap remains between experimental advances and their widespread commercial implementation. Most published studies have focused on optimising individual system components, including biofiltration efficiency, water quality management, feeding strategies, functional additives, microbial communities, and fish performance under controlled experimental conditions. Although these studies have substantially advanced our understanding of RAS operation, relatively few have critically evaluated whether the reported technological improvements remain effective, economically viable, or operationally feasible when transferred to commercial production systems. Consequently, many innovations that demonstrate promising biological outcomes at laboratory or pilot scales have yet to be validated under the technical, economic, and logistical constraints faced by commercial aquaculture enterprises. The Brazilian evidence indicates a heterogeneous but increasingly mature scientific landscape. Shrimp production provides relatively strong evidence for intensive RAS, biofloc, low-water-exchange, and integrated systems, whereas marine fish and mollusc production remains more strongly concentrated on experimental and pilot-scale optimisation. The future of RAS will not depend solely on further technological innovation, but on the successful integration of biological performance, engineering efficiency, economic feasibility, and practical scalability into commercially viable production systems.