Environmental Impact Assessment of Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) culture in south of Caspian Sea Cages

The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental effects of growing rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) culture in cages. Data analysis was performed using information related to the storage of rainbow trout in floating cages located in the southern part of the Caspian Sea. The results showed that according to estimating the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus output of the studied cages and their concentration at a depth of 25 meters sea level, the maximum fish farming capacity in the cage is about 100 tons of biomass produced. In the study of the average effects by the Iranian Leopold method, breeding 100 tons of rainbow trout in sea cages has negligible and weak destructive effects. The results of this study confirm the maximum production capacity of about 100 tons in each breeding complex in the southern part of the Caspian Sea by maintaining a distance of at least 500 meters from other complexes.