Combined Fish-Vegetable Farming Catching On-英语听力

[00:00.100]From VOA Learning English, [00:01.970]this is the Agriculture Report. [00:05.380]Aquaponics is a new agricultural method [00:10.090]that combines growing vegetables and within fish. [00:15.100]The word aquaponics is also new, [00:19.800]it comes from aquaculture and hydroponics. [00:26.060]Aquaculture means fish farming, [00:29.920]and hydroponics means growing plants without soil. [00:36.140]Supporters of aquaponics say it is an efficient way [00:41.550]to produce high-quality healthful food. [00:46.270]However, it is yet unknown [00:48.780]if the method is an environmental [00:52.020]or financial improvement to traditional farming. [00:56.490]240 fish swimming in a container or tank [01:02.650]at Cylburn Aquaponics farm in Baltimore, Maryland. [01:07.770]Farm manager Laura Genello feeds them breakfast. [01:13.630]"Hey, guys." [01:23.200]The tank water is rich with fish waste, [01:27.520]it flows through a system that removes what is not wanted, [01:31.770]the water then flows into vegetable crops nearby. [01:36.240]The floating farm grows [01:38.050]about five to ten kilograms of produce a week. [01:41.860]Ms Genello expects to raise about 250 kilograms of fish a year. [01:49.330]Environmentalist like aquaponics because fishing [01:54.520]is threatening the exists of many wild species. [01:58.530]At least half of the world's food fish are raised in farms, [02:04.490]waste from all those fish causes pollution. [02:10.110]Dave Love is a researcher at Johns Hopkins University. [02:15.220]"There are fewer and fewer fish in the ocean [02:17.280]and more and more fish will be raised on farms. [02:19.480]The trick is, how do we do that responsibly, [02:22.950]sustainably and in ways that make fish farmers money?" [02:27.110]Ellen Perlman is an aquaponics farmer also near Baltimore. [02:32.970]She is growing lettuces and other vegetables [02:37.130]she says are hard to find in winter. [02:40.290]"They grow well in greenhouses in the winter, [02:42.940]and where also you gonna get a fresh red romaine, [02:47.200]and this is grown locally in a greenhouse [02:50.210]in the middle of the winter. " [02:52.370]However, the fish tanks need to be heated [02:55.260]when the temperatures fall, that costs money. [02:59.680]It is one reason Ms Perlman has not made a profit yet. [03:04.600]Back at Cylburn, Laura Genell notes that aquaponics still move. [03:11.100]She says parts of the system still need improvement. [03:16.260]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Special English.