Aquaculture And Fisheries Resources
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Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks,
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
and other organisms of value such as
aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
s (e.g.
lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
). Aquaculture involves cultivating
freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
, brackish water and saltwater populations under controlled or semi-natural conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish.
Mariculture Mariculture or marine farming is a specialized branch of aquaculture (which includes freshwater aquaculture) involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other animal products, in enclosed sections of the open ocean ( offshore mari ...
, commonly known as marine farming, refers specifically to aquaculture practiced in seawater habitats and lagoons, opposed to in freshwater aquaculture.
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is a type of aquaculture that consists of fish farming to obtain fish products as food. Aquaculture can also be defined as the breeding, growing, and harvesting of fish and other aquatic plants, also known as farming in water. It is an environmental source of food and commercial product which help to improve healthier habitats and used to reconstruct population of endangered aquatic species. Technology has increased the growth of fish in coastal marine waters and open oceans due to the increased demand for seafood. Aquaculture can be conducted in completely artificial facilities built on land (onshore aquaculture), as in the case of fish tank, ponds, aquaponics or
raceway RaceTrac, Inc. is an American corporation that operates a chain of gasoline service stations across the Southern United States. The firm is Georgia's third largest private company, with sales of $9.1 billion in 2013. History The company was fou ...
s, where the living conditions rely on human control such as water quality (oxygen), feed, temperature. Alternatively, they can be conducted on well-sheltered shallow waters nearshore of a body of water (inshore aquaculture), where the cultivated species are subjected to a relatively more naturalistic environments; or on fenced/enclosed sections of open water away from the shore (offshore aquaculture), where the species are either cultured in cages, racks or bags, and are exposed to more diverse natural conditions such as water currents (such as ocean currents),
diel vertical migration Diel vertical migration (DVM), also known as diurnal vertical migration, is a pattern of movement used by some organisms, such as copepods, living in the ocean and in lakes. The word ''diel'' comes from the Latin ''dies'' day, and means a 24-h ...
and nutrient cycles. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aquaculture "is understood to mean the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated." The reported output from global aquaculture operations in 2019 was over 120 million tonnes valued at US$274 billion.FAO FIGIS Database (2022
Global Aquaculture Production 1950-2019
Retrieved 2 February 2022
However, there are issues about the reliability of the reported figures. Further, in current aquaculture practice, products from several kilograms of wild fish are used to produce one kilogram of a piscivorous fish like salmon. Plant and insect-based feeds are also being developed to help reduce wild fish been used for aquaculture feed. Particular kinds of aquaculture include fish farming, shrimp farming, oyster farming, mariculture,
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, algaculture (such as seaweed farming), and the cultivation of ornamental fish. Particular methods include aquaponics and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, both of which integrate fish farming and aquatic plant farming. The FAO describes aquaculture as one of the industries most directly affected by climate change and its impacts. Some forms of aquaculture have negative impacts on the environment, such as through nutrient pollution or disease transfer to wild populations.


Overview

Harvest stagnation in wild fisheries and
overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...
of popular marine species, combined with a growing demand for high-quality protein, encouraged aquaculturists to domesticate other marine species.The Case for Fish and Oyster Farming
," Carl Marziali, University of Southern California Trojan Family Magazine, May 17, 2009.
At the outset of modern aquaculture, many were optimistic that a "
Blue Revolution The Blue Revolution refers to the significant growth and intensification of global aquaculture production -domestication and farming of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants- from the middle of the 20th century to present, particularly in under ...
" could take place in aquaculture, just as the Green Revolution of the 20th century had revolutionized agriculture. Although land animals had long been domesticated, most seafood species were still caught from the wild. Concerned about the impact of growing demand for seafood on the world's oceans, prominent ocean explorer
Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...
wrote in 1973: "With earth's burgeoning human populations to feed, we must turn to the sea with new understanding and new technology." About 430 (97%) of the species cultured were domesticated during the 20th and 21st centuries, of which an estimated 106 came in the decade to 2007. Given the long-term importance of agriculture, to date, only 0.08% of known land plant species and 0.0002% of known land animal species have been domesticated, compared with 0.17% of known marine plant species and 0.13% of known marine animal species. Domestication typically involves about a decade of scientific research. Domesticating aquatic species involves fewer risks to humans than do land animals, which took a large toll in human lives. Most major human diseases originated in domesticated animals, including diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria, that like most infectious diseases, move to humans from animals. No human pathogens of comparable virulence have yet emerged from marine species. Biological control methods to manage parasites are already being used, such as cleaner fish (e.g. lumpsuckers and wrasse) to control sea lice populations in salmon farming. Models are being used to help with spatial planning and siting of fish farms in order to minimize impact. The decline in wild fish stocks has increased the demand for farmed fish. However, finding alternative sources of protein and oil for fish feed is necessary so the aquaculture industry can grow sustainably; otherwise, it represents a great risk for the over-exploitation of forage fish. Aquaculture production now exceeds capture fishery production and together the relative GDP contribution has ranged from 0.01 to 10%. Singling out aquaculture's relative contribution to GDP, however, is not easily derived due to lack of data. Another recent issue following the banning in 2008 of organotins by the International Maritime Organization is the need to find environmentally friendly, but still effective, compounds with antifouling effects. Many new natural compounds are discovered every year, but producing them on a large enough scale for commercial purposes is almost impossible. It is highly probable that future developments in this field will rely on microorganisms, but greater funding and further research is needed to overcome the lack of knowledge in this field.


Species groups


Aquatic plants

Microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...
, also referred to as
phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...
,
microphytes Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist individu ...
, or
planktonic algae Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), m ...
, constitute the majority of cultivated
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
. Macroalgae commonly known as
seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
also have many commercial and industrial uses, but due to their size and specific requirements, they are not easily cultivated on a large scale and are most often taken in the wild. In 2016, aquaculture was the source of 96.5 percent by volume of the total 31.2 million tonnes of wild-collected and cultivated aquatic plants combined. Global production of farmed aquatic plants, overwhelmingly dominated by seaweeds, grew in output volume from 13.5 million tonnes in 1995 to just over 30 million tonnes in 2016.


Seaweed farming


Fish

The farming of fish is the most common form of aquaculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks,
fish pond A fish pond or fishpond is a controlled pond, small artificial lake or retention basin that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, for recreational fishing, or for ornamental purposes. Fish ponds are a classical g ...
s, or ocean enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species' natural numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Worldwide, the most important fish species used in fish farming are, in order,
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
, salmon, tilapia, and catfish. In the Mediterranean, young bluefin tuna are netted at sea and towed slowly towards the shore. They are then interned in
offshore Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Off ...
pens (sometimes made from floating HDPE pipe) where they are further grown for the market. In 2009, researchers in Australia managed for the first time to coax southern bluefin tuna to breed in landlocked tanks. Southern bluefin tuna are also caught in the wild and fattened in grow-out sea cages in southern
Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...
, South Australia. A similar process is used in the salmon-farming section of this industry; juveniles are taken from hatcheries and a variety of methods are used to aid them in their maturation. For example, as stated above, some of the most important fish species in the industry, salmon, can be grown using a cage system. This is done by having netted cages, preferably in open water that has a strong flow, and feeding the salmon a special food mixture that aids their growth. This process allows for year-round growth of the fish, thus a higher harvest during the correct seasons. An additional method, known sometimes as sea ranching, has also been used within the industry. Sea ranching involves raising fish in a hatchery for a brief time and then releasing them into marine waters for further development, whereupon the fish are recaptured when they have matured.


Crustaceans

Commercial
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
farming began in the 1970s, and production grew steeply thereafter. Global production reached more than 1.6 million tonnes in 2003, worth about US$9 billion. About 75% of farmed shrimp is produced in Asia, in particular in China and Thailand. The other 25% is produced mainly in Latin America, where Brazil is the largest producer. Thailand is the largest exporter. Shrimp farming has changed from its traditional, small-scale form in Southeast Asia into a global industry. Technological advances have led to ever higher densities per unit area, and broodstock is shipped worldwide. Virtually all farmed shrimp are penaeids (i.e., shrimp of the family Penaeidae), and just two species of shrimp, the
Pacific white shrimp Whiteleg shrimp (''Litopenaeus vannamei'', synonym ''Penaeus vannamei''), also known as Pacific white shrimp or King prawn, is a species of prawn of the eastern Pacific Ocean commonly caught or farmed for food. Description ''L. vannamei'' grow ...
and the
giant tiger prawn ''Penaeus monodon'', commonly known as the giant tiger prawn, Asian tiger shrimp, black tiger shrimp, and other names, is a marine crustacean that is widely reared for food. Taxonomy ''Penaeus monodon'' was first described by Johan Christian ...
, account for about 80% of all farmed shrimp. These industrial monocultures are very susceptible to disease, which has decimated shrimp populations across entire regions. Increasing ecological problems, repeated disease outbreaks, and pressure and criticism from both
nongovernmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s and consumer countries led to changes in the industry in the late 1990s and generally stronger regulations. In 1999, governments, industry representatives, and environmental organizations initiated a program aimed at developing and promoting more
sustainable farming Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem se ...
practices through the Seafood Watch program. Freshwater prawn farming shares many characteristics with, including many problems with, marine shrimp farming. Unique problems are introduced by the developmental lifecycle of the main species, the giant river prawn.New, M. B.:
Farming Freshwater Prawns
'; FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 428, 2002. .
The global annual production of freshwater prawns (excluding
crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
and
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s) in 2007 was about 460,000 tonnes, exceeding 1.86 billion dollars. Additionally, China produced about 370,000 tonnes of Chinese river crab.Data extracted from th
FAO Fisheries Global Aquaculture Production Database
for freshwater crustaceans. The most recent data are from 2003 and sometimes contain estimates. Retrieved June 28, 2005.
In addition astaciculture is the freshwater farming of crayfish (mostly in the US, Australia, and Europe).


Molluscs

Aquacultured shellfish include various oyster,
mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
, and clam species. These bivalves are filter and/or deposit feeders, which rely on ambient primary production rather than inputs of fish or other feed. As such, shellfish aquaculture is generally perceived as benign or even beneficial. Depending on the species and local conditions, bivalve molluscs are either grown on the beach, on longlines, or suspended from rafts and harvested by hand or by dredging. In May 2017 a Belgian consortium installed the first of two trial mussel farms on a wind farm in the North Sea.
Abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...
farming began in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Japan and China. Since the mid-1990s, this industry has become increasingly successful.
Overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...
and poaching have reduced wild populations to the extent that farmed abalone now supplies most abalone meat. Sustainably farmed molluscs can be certified by Seafood Watch and other organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). WWF initiated the "Aquaculture Dialogues" in 2004 to develop measurable and performance-based standards for responsibly farmed seafood. In 2009, WWF co-founded the
Aquaculture Stewardship Council The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is an independent non-profit organisation and labelling organization that establishes protocol on farmed seafood while ensuring sustainable aquaculture. The ASC provides producers with a certification of e ...
with the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative to manage the global standards and certification programs. After trials in 2012, a commercial "sea ranch" was set up in Flinders Bay, Western Australia, to raise abalone. The ranch is based on an artificial reef made up of 5000 () separate concrete units called ''abitats'' (abalone habitats). The 900 kg abitats can host 400 abalone each. The reef is seeded with young abalone from an onshore hatchery. The abalone feed on seaweed that has grown naturally on the habitats, with the ecosystem enrichment of the bay also resulting in growing numbers of dhufish, pink snapper, wrasse, and Samson fish, among other species. Brad Adams, from the company, has emphasised the similarity to wild abalone and the difference from shore-based aquaculture. "We're not aquaculture, we're ranching, because once they're in the water they look after themselves."


Other groups

Other groups include aquatic reptiles, amphibians, and miscellaneous invertebrates, such as echinoderms and jellyfish. They are separately graphed at the top right of this section, since they do not contribute enough volume to show clearly on the main graph. Commercially harvested echinoderms include
sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...
s and
sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
s. In China, sea cucumbers are farmed in artificial ponds as large as .


Global fish production

Global fish production peaked at about 171 million tonnes in 2016, with aquaculture representing 47 percent of the total and 53 percent if non-food uses (including reduction to fishmeal and fish oil) are excluded. With capture fishery production relatively static since the late 1980s, aquaculture has been responsible for the continuing growth in the supply of fish for human consumption. Global aquaculture production (including aquatic plants) in 2016 was 110.2 million tonnes, with the first-sale value estimated at US$244 billion. Three years later, in 2019 the reported output from global aquaculture operations was over 120 million tonnes valued at US$274 billion. The contribution of aquaculture to the global production of capture fisheries and aquaculture combined has risen continuously, reaching 46.8 percent in 2016, up from 25.7 percent in 2000. With 5.8 percent annual growth rate during the period 2001–2016, aquaculture continues to grow faster than other major food production sectors, but it no longer has the high annual growth rates experienced in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2012, the total world production of fisheries was 158 million tonnes, of which aquaculture contributed 66.6 million tonnes, about 42%. FAO (2014
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014 (SOFIA)
/ref> The growth rate of worldwide aquaculture has been sustained and rapid, averaging about 8% per year for over 30 years, while the take from wild fisheries has been essentially flat for the last decade. The aquaculture market reached $86 billion in 2009. Aquaculture is an especially important economic activity in China. Between 1980 and 1997, the Chinese Bureau of Fisheries reports, aquaculture harvests grew at an annual rate of 16.7%, jumping from 1.9 million tonnes to nearly 23 million tonnes. In 2005, China accounted for 70% of world production. Aquaculture is also currently one of the fastest-growing areas of food production in the U.S. About 90% of all U.S. shrimp consumption is farmed and imported. In recent years, salmon aquaculture has become a major export in southern Chile, especially in
Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune spa ...
, Chile's fastest-growing city. A United Nations report titled ''The State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture'' released in May 2014 maintained fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of some 60 million people in Asia and Africa. FAO estimates that in 2016, overall, women accounted for nearly 14 percent of all people directly engaged in the fisheries and aquaculture primary sector.


Over-reporting by China

China overwhelmingly dominates the world in reported aquaculture output, reporting a total output which is double that of the rest of the world put together. However, there are some historical issues with the accuracy of China's returns. In 2001, scientists Reg Watson and Daniel Pauly expressed concerns that China was over reporting its catch from wild fisheries in the 1990s. They said that made it appear that the global catch since 1988 was increasing annually by 300,000 tonnes, whereas it was really shrinking annually by 350,000 tonnes. Watson and Pauly suggested this may be have been related to Chinese policies where state entities that monitored the economy were also tasked with increasing output. Also, until more recently, the promotion of Chinese officials was based on production increases from their own areas. China disputed this claim. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Yang Jian, director general of the Agriculture Ministry's Bureau of Fisheries, as saying that China's figures were "basically correct". However, the FAO accepted there were issues with the reliability of China's statistical returns, and for a period treated data from China, including the aquaculture data, apart from the rest of the world.


Aquacultural methods


Mariculture

Mariculture Mariculture or marine farming is a specialized branch of aquaculture (which includes freshwater aquaculture) involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other animal products, in enclosed sections of the open ocean ( offshore mari ...
refers to the cultivation of marine organisms in seawater, usually in sheltered coastal or offshore waters. The farming of marine fish is an example of mariculture, and so also is the farming of marine crustaceans (such as
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
), mollusks (such as oysters), and seaweed. Channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus''), hard clams (''Mercenaria mercenaria'') and Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') are prominent in the U.S. mariculture. Mariculture may consist of raising the organisms on or in artificial enclosures such as in floating netted enclosures for salmon and on racks for oysters. In the case of enclosed salmon, they are fed by the operators; oysters on racks filter feed on naturally available food. Abalone have been farmed on an artificial reef consuming seaweed which grows naturally on the reef units.


Integrated

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is a practice in which the byproducts (wastes) from one species are recycled to become inputs ( fertilizers,
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
) for another. Fed aquaculture (for example, fish,
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
) is combined with inorganic extractive and organic extractive (for example,
shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...
) aquaculture to create balanced systems for environmental sustainability (biomitigation), economic stability (product diversification and risk reduction) and social acceptability (better management practices). "Multi-trophic" refers to the incorporation of species from different trophic or nutritional levels in the same system.Chopin T. 2006. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture. What it is, and why you should care ... and don't confuse it with polyculture. Northern Aquaculture, Vol. 12, No. 4, July/August 2006, pg. 4. This is one potential distinction from the age-old practice of aquatic polyculture, which could simply be the co-culture of different fish species from the same trophic level. In this case, these organisms may all share the same biological and chemical processes, with few
synergistic Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together". History In Christi ...
benefits, which could potentially lead to significant shifts in the ecosystem. Some traditional polyculture systems may, in fact, incorporate a greater diversity of species, occupying several niches, as extensive cultures (low intensity, low management) within the same pond. A working IMTA system can result in greater total production based on mutual benefits to the co-cultured species and improved ecosystem health, even if the production of individual species is lower than in a monoculture over a short-term period. Sometimes the term "integrated aquaculture" is used to describe the integration of monocultures through water transfer. For all intents and purposes, however, the terms "IMTA" and "integrated aquaculture" differ only in their degree of descriptiveness. Aquaponics, fractionated aquaculture, integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems, integrated peri-urban-aquaculture systems, and integrated fisheries-aquaculture systems are other variations of the IMTA concept.


Urban aquaculture


Netting materials

Various materials, including nylon,
polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
, polypropylene, polyethylene, plastic-coated welded wire, rubber, patented rope products (Spectra, Thorn-D, Dyneema), galvanized steel and copper are used for netting in aquaculture fish enclosures around the world. All of these materials are selected for a variety of reasons, including design feasibility, material strength, cost, and corrosion resistance. Recently, copper alloys have become important netting materials in aquaculture because they are antimicrobial (i.e., they destroy bacteria, viruses, fungi,
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
, and other microbes) and they therefore prevent biofouling (i.e., the undesirable accumulation, adhesion, and growth of microorganisms, plants, algae, tubeworms, barnacles, mollusks, and other organisms). By inhibiting microbial growth, copper alloy aquaculture cages avoid costly net changes that are necessary with other materials. The resistance of organism growth on copper alloy nets also provides a cleaner and healthier environment for farmed fish to grow and thrive.


Issues

If performed without consideration for potential local environmental impacts, aquaculture in inland waters can result in more environmental damage than wild fisheries, though with less waste produced per kg on a global scale. Local concerns with aquaculture in inland waters may include waste handling, side-effects of
antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
s, competition between farmed and wild animals, and the potential introduction of invasive plant and animal species, or foreign pathogens, particularly if unprocessed fish are used to feed more marketable
carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
fish. If non-local live feeds are used, aquaculture may introduce exotic plants or animals with disastrous effects. Improvements in methods resulting from advances in research and the availability of commercial feeds has reduced some of these concerns since their greater prevalence in the 1990s and 2000s . Fish waste is organic and composed of nutrients necessary in all components of aquatic food webs. In-ocean aquaculture often produces much higher than normal fish waste concentrations. The waste collects on the ocean bottom, damaging or eliminating bottom-dwelling life. Waste can also decrease dissolved oxygen levels in the water column, putting further pressure on wild animals. An alternative model to food being added to the ecosystem, is the installation of artificial reef structures to increase the habitat niches available, without the need to add any more than ambient feed and nutrient. This has been used in the "ranching" of abalone in Western Australia.


Impacts on wild fish

Some carnivorous and omnivorous farmed fish species are fed wild forage fish. Although carnivorous farmed fish represented only 13 percent of aquaculture production by weight in 2000, they represented 34 percent of aquaculture production by value. Farming of carnivorous species like salmon and shrimp leads to a high demand for forage fish to match the nutrition they get in the wild. Fish do not actually produce omega-3 fatty acids, but instead accumulate them from either consuming
microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...
that produce these fatty acids, as is the case with forage fish like
herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
and sardines, or, as is the case with fatty predatory fish, like salmon, by eating prey fish that have accumulated omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae. To satisfy this requirement, more than 50 percent of the world fish oil production is fed to farmed salmon. Farmed salmon consume more wild fish than they generate as a final product, although the efficiency of production is improving. To produce one kilograms of farmed salmon, products from several kilograms of wild fish are fed to them – this can be described as the "fish-in-fish-out" (FIFO) ratio. In 1995, salmon had a FIFO ratio of 7.5 (meaning 7.5 kilograms of wild fish feed were required to produce one kilogram of salmon); by 2006 the ratio had fallen to 4.9. Additionally, a growing share of fish oil and fishmeal come from residues (byproducts of fish processing), rather than dedicated whole fish. In 2012, 34 percent of fish oil and 28 percent of fishmeal came from residues. However, fishmeal and oil from residues instead of whole fish have a different composition with more ash and less protein, which may limit its potential use for aquaculture. As the salmon farming industry expands, it requires more wild forage fish for feed, at a time when seventy-five percent of the world's monitored fisheries are already near to or have exceeded their maximum sustainable yield. Seafood Choices Alliance (2005
It's all about salmon
The industrial-scale extraction of wild forage fish for salmon farming then impacts the survivability of the wild predator fish who rely on them for food. An important step in reducing the impact of aquaculture on wild fish is shifting carnivorous species to plant-based feeds. Salmon feeds, for example, have gone from containing only fishmeal and oil to containing 40 percent plant protein. The USDA has also experimented with using grain-based feeds for farmed trout. When properly formulated (and often mixed with fishmeal or oil), plant-based feeds can provide proper nutrition and similar growth rates in carnivorous farmed fish. Another impact aquaculture production can have on wild fish is the risk of fish escaping from coastal pens, where they can interbreed with their wild counterparts, diluting wild genetic stocks. Escaped fish can become
invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...
, out-competing native species.


Animal welfare

As with the farming of terrestrial animals, social attitudes influence the need for humane practices and regulations in farmed marine animals. Under the guidelines advised by the Farm Animal Welfare Council good animal welfare means both fitness and a sense of well-being in the animal's physical and mental state. This can be defined by the Five Freedoms: * Freedom from hunger & thirst * Freedom from discomfort * Freedom from pain, disease, or injury * Freedom to express normal behaviour * Freedom from fear and distress However, the controversial issue in aquaculture is whether fish and farmed marine invertebrates are actually sentient, or have the perception and awareness to experience suffering. Although no evidence of this has been found in marine invertebrates, recent studies conclude that fish do have the necessary receptors (
nociceptors A nociceptor ("pain receptor" from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sens ...
) to sense noxious stimuli and so are likely to experience states of pain, fear and stress. Consequently, welfare in aquaculture is directed at vertebrates, finfish in particular.


Common welfare concerns

Welfare in aquaculture can be impacted by a number of issues such as stocking densities, behavioural interactions, disease and
parasitism Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...
. A major problem in determining the cause of impaired welfare is that these issues are often all interrelated and influence each other at different times. Optimal stocking density is often defined by the
carrying capacity The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available. The carrying capacity is defined as t ...
of the stocked environment and the amount of individual space needed by the fish, which is very species specific. Although behavioural interactions such as shoaling may mean that high stocking densities are beneficial to some species, in many cultured species high stocking densities may be of concern. Crowding can constrain normal swimming behaviour, as well as increase aggressive and competitive behaviours such as cannibalism, feed competition, territoriality and dominance/subordination hierarchies. This potentially increases the risk of tissue damage due to abrasion from fish-to-fish contact or fish-to-cage contact. Fish can suffer reductions in food intake and food conversion efficiency. In addition, high stocking densities can result in water flow being insufficient, creating inadequate oxygen supply and waste product removal. Dissolved oxygen is essential for fish respiration and concentrations below critical levels can induce stress and even lead to asphyxiation. Ammonia, a nitrogen excretion product, is highly toxic to fish at accumulated levels, particularly when oxygen concentrations are low. Many of these interactions and effects cause stress in the fish, which can be a major factor in facilitating fish disease. For many parasites, infestation depends on the host's degree of mobility, the density of the host population and vulnerability of the host's defence system. Sea lice are the primary parasitic problem for finfish in aquaculture, high numbers causing widespread skin erosion and haemorrhaging, gill congestion, and increased mucus production. There are also a number of prominent viral and bacterial pathogens that can have severe effects on internal organs and nervous systems.


Improving welfare

The key to improving welfare of marine cultured organisms is to reduce stress to a minimum, as prolonged or repeated stress can cause a range of adverse effects. Attempts to minimise stress can occur throughout the culture process. Understanding and providing required environmental enrichment can be vital for reducing stress and benefit aquaculture objects such as improved growth body condition and reduced damage from aggression. During grow-out it is important to keep stocking densities at appropriate levels specific to each species, as well as separating size classes and grading to reduce aggressive behavioural interactions. Keeping nets and cages clean can assist positive water flow to reduce the risk of water degradation. Not surprisingly disease and parasitism can have a major effect on fish welfare and it is important for farmers not only to manage infected stock but also to apply disease prevention measures. However, prevention methods, such as vaccination, can also induce stress because of the extra handling and injection. Other methods include adding antibiotics to feed, adding chemicals into water for treatment baths and biological control, such as using
cleaner wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...
to remove lice from farmed salmon. Many steps are involved in transport, including capture, food deprivation to reduce faecal contamination of transport water, transfer to transport vehicle via nets or pumps, plus transport and transfer to the delivery location. During transport water needs to be maintained to a high quality, with regulated temperature, sufficient oxygen and minimal waste products. In some cases anaesthetics may be used in small doses to calm fish before transport. Aquaculture is sometimes part of an environmental rehabilitation program or as an aid in conserving endangered species.


Coastal ecosystems

Aquaculture is becoming a significant threat to coastal ecosystems. About 20 percent of mangrove forests have been destroyed since 1980, partly due to shrimp farming. An
extended cost In accounting, an extended cost is the unit cost The unit cost is the price incurred by a company to produce, store and sell one unit of a particular product. Unit costs include all fixed costs and all variable costs Variable costs are costs ...
–benefit analysis of the total economic value of shrimp aquaculture built on mangrove ecosystems found that the external costs were much higher than the external benefits. Over four decades, of Indonesian mangroves have been converted to shrimp farms. Most of these farms are abandoned within a decade because of the toxin build-up and
nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
loss.


Pollution from sea cage aquaculture

Salmon farms are typically sited in pristine coastal ecosystems which they then pollute. A farm with 200,000 salmon discharges more fecal waste than a city of 60,000 people. This waste is discharged directly into the surrounding aquatic environment, untreated, often containing antibiotics and
pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
s." There is also an accumulation of
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on the benthos (seafloor) near the salmon farms, particularly copper and zinc. {{cite web, author=FAO , url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Oncorhynchus_kisutch/en , title=Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme ''Oncorhynchus kisutch'' (Walbaum, 1792), access-date= 8 May 2009. In 2016, mass fish kill events impacted salmon farmers along Chile's coast and the wider ecology. Increases in aquaculture production and its associated effluent were considered to be possible contributing factors to fish and molluscan mortality. Sea cage aquaculture is responsible for nutrient enrichment of the waters in which they are established. This results from fish wastes and uneaten feed inputs. Elements of most concern are nitrogen and phosphorus which can promote algal growth, including harmful algal blooms which can be toxic to fish. Flushing times, current speeds, distance from the shore and water depth are important considerations when locating sea cages in order to minimize the impacts of nutrient enrichment on coastal ecosystems. The extent of the effects of pollution from sea-cage aquaculture varies depending on where the cages are located, which species are kept, how densely cages are stocked and what the fish are fed. Important species-specific variables include the species' food conversion ratio (FCR) and nitrogen retention.


Freshwater ecosystems

Whole-lake experiments carried out at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, Canada, have displayed the potential for cage aquaculture to source numerous changes in freshwater ecosystems. Following the initiation of an experimental
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
cage farm in a small
boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...
lake, dramatic reductions in mysis concentrations associated with a decrease in dissolved oxygen were observed. Significant increases in ammonium and total phosphorus, a driver for eutrophication in freshwater systems, were measured in the hypolimnion of the lake. Annual phosphorus inputs from aquaculture waste exceeded that of natural inputs from atmospheric deposition and inflows, and phytoplankton biomass has had a fourfold annual increase following the initiation of the experimental farm.


Genetic modification

A type of salmon called the AquAdvantage salmon has been genetically modified for faster growth, although it has not been approved for commercial use, due to controversy. The altered salmon incorporates a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon that allows it to reach full size in 16–28 months, instead of the normal 36 months for Atlantic salmon, and while consuming 25 percent less feed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewed the AquAdvantage salmon in a draft environmental assessment and determined that it "would not have a significant impact (FONSI) on the U.S. environment."


Fish diseases, parasites and vaccines

A major difficulty for aquaculture is the tendency towards monoculture and the associated risk of widespread disease. Aquaculture is also associated with environmental risks; for instance, shrimp farming has caused the destruction of important
mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...
s throughout southeast Asia. In the 1990s, disease wiped out China's farmed
Farrer's scallop Farrer's scallop (''Chlamys farreri''), also known as the Chinese scallop, is a species of marine bivalve mollusk is the scallop family; Pectinidae. History of aquaculture This species is farmed at an industrial level off mainland China, but ...
and white shrimp and required their replacement by other species.


Needs of the aquaculture sector in vaccines

Aquaculture has an average annual growth rate of 9.2%, however, the success and continued expansion of the fish farming sector is highly dependent on the control of fish pathogens including a wide range of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. In 2014, it was estimated that these parasites cost the global salmon farming industry up to 400 million Euros. This represents 6–10% of the production value of the affected countries, but it can go up to 20% (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2014). Since pathogens quickly spread within a population of cultured fish, their control is vital for the sector. Historically, the use of antibiotics was against bacterial epizootics but the production of animal proteins has to be sustainable, which means that preventive measures that are acceptable from a biological and environmental point of view should be used to keep disease problems in aquaculture at an acceptable level. So, this added to the efficiency of vaccines resulted in an immediate and permanent reduction in the use of antibiotics in the 90s. In the beginning, there were fish immersion vaccines efficient against the vibriosis but proved ineffective against the furunculosis, hence the arrival of injectable vaccines: first water-based and after oil-based, much more efficient (Sommerset, 2005).


Development of new vaccines

It is the important mortality in cages among farmed fish, the debates around DNA injection vaccines, although effective, their safety and their side effects but also societal expectations for cleaner fish and security, lead research on new vaccine vectors. Several initiatives are financed by the European Union to develop a rapid and cost-effective approach to using bacteria in feed to make vaccines, in particular thanks to lactic bacteria whose DNA is modified (Boudinot, 2006). In fact, vaccinating farmed fish by injection is time-consuming and costly, so vaccines can be administered orally or by immersion by being added to feed or directly into water. This allows vaccinating many individuals at the same time while limiting the associated handling and stress. Indeed, many tests are necessary because the antigens of the vaccines must be adapted to each species or not present a certain level of variability or they will not have any effect. For example, tests have been done with two species: ''Lepeophtheirus salmonis'' (from which the antigens were collected) and ''Caligus rogercresseyi'' (which was vaccinated with the antigens), although the homology between the two species is important, the level of variability made the protection ineffective (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2014).


Recent vaccines development in aquaculture

There are 24 vaccines available and one for lobsters. The first vaccine was used in the USA against enteric red mouth in 1976. However, there are 19 companies and some small stakeholders are producing vaccines for aquaculture nowadays. The novel approaches are a way forward to prevent the loss of 10% of aquaculture through disease. Genetically modified vaccines are not being used in the EU due to societal concerns and regulations. Meanwhile, DNA vaccines are now authorised in the EU. There are challenges in fish vaccine development, immune response due to lack of potent adjScientists are considering microdose application in future. But there are also exciting opportunities in aquaculture vaccinology due to the low cost of technology, regulations change and novel antigen expression and delivery systems. In Norway subunit vaccine (VP2 peptide) against infectious pancreatic necrosis is being used. In Canada, a licensed DNA vaccine against Infectious hematopoietic necrosis has been launched for industry use. Fish have large mucosal surfaces, so the preferred route is immersion, intraperitoneal and oral respectively. Nanoparticles are in progress for delivery purposes. The common antibodies produced are IgM and IgT. Normally booster is not required ifn Fish because more memory cells are produced in response to the booster rather than an increased level of antibodies. mRNA vaccines are alternative to DNA vaccines because they are more safe, stable, easily producible at a large scale and mass immunization potential. Recently these are used in cancer prevention and therapeutics. Studies in rabies has shown that efficacy depends on dose and route of administration. These are still in infancy.{{cite journal , last1=Adams , first1=Alexandra , title=Progress, challenges and opportunities in fish vaccine development , journal=Fish & Shellfish Immunology , date=July 2019 , volume=90 , pages=210–214 , doi=10.1016/j.fsi.2019.04.066, pmid=31039441, hdl=1893/29828 , s2cid=141624380


Economic gains

In 2014, the aquaculture produced fish overtook wild caught fish, in supply for human food. This means there is a huge demand for vaccines, in prevention of diseases. The reported annual loss fish, calculates to >10 billion USD. This is from approximately 10% of all fishes dying from infectious diseases. The high annual losses increases the demand for vaccines. Even though there are about 24 traditionally used vaccines, there is still demand for more vaccines. The breakthrough of DNA-vaccines has sunk the cost of vaccines. The alternative to vaccines would be antibiotics and chemotherapy, which are more expensive and with bigger drawbacks. DNA-vaccines have become the most cost-efficient method of preventing infectious diseases. This bouts well for DNA-vaccines becoming the new standard both in fish vaccines, and in general vaccines.


Salinization/acidification of soils

Sediment from abandoned aquaculture farms can remain hypersaline,
acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
ic and eroded. This material can remain unusable for aquaculture purposes for long periods thereafter. Various chemical treatments, such as adding lime, can aggravate the problem by modify the physicochemical characteristics of the sediment.


Plastic pollution

Aquaculture produces a range of marine debris, depending on the product and location. The most frequently documented type of plastic is expanded polystyrene (EPS), used extensively in floats and sea cage collars (MEPC 2020). Other common waste items include cage nets and plastic harvest bins. A review of aquaculture as a source of marine litter in the North, Baltic and Mediterranean Seas identified 64 different items, 19 of which were unique to aquaculture . Estimates of the amount of aquaculture waste entering the oceans vary widely, depending on the methodologies used. For example, in the European Economic Area loss estimates have varied from a low of 3,000 tonnes to 41,000 tonnes per year.


Ecological benefits

{{see also, Nitrate vulnerable zone While some forms of aquaculture can be devastating to ecosystems, such as shrimp farming in mangroves, other forms can be beneficial. Shellfish aquaculture adds substantial filter feeding capacity to an environment which can significantly improve water quality. A single oyster can filter 15 gallons of water a day, removing microscopic algal cells. By removing these cells, shellfish are removing nitrogen and other nutrients from the system and either retaining it or releasing it as waste which sinks to the bottom. By harvesting these shellfish, the nitrogen they retained is completely removed from the system. Raising and harvesting kelp and other macroalgae directly remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Repackaging these nutrients can relieve eutrophic, or nutrient-rich, conditions known for their low dissolved oxygen which can decimate species diversity and abundance of marine life. Removing algal cells from the water also increases light penetration, allowing plants such as eelgrass to reestablish themselves and further increase oxygen levels.{{citation needed, date=October 2020 Aquaculture in an area can provide for crucial
ecological function Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
s for the inhabitants. Shellfish beds or cages can provide habitat structure. This structure can be used as shelter by invertebrates, small fish or crustaceans to potentially increase their abundance and maintain biodiversity. Increased shelter raises stocks of prey fish and small crustaceans by increasing recruitment opportunities in turn providing more prey for higher trophic levels. One study estimated that 10 square meters of oyster reef could enhance an ecosystem's
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
by 2.57 kg
Herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
shellfish will also be preyed on. This moves energy directly from primary producers to higher trophic levels potentially skipping out on multiple energetically costly trophic jumps which would increase biomass in the ecosystem.{{citation needed, date=October 2020 Seaweed farming is a
carbon negative Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), also known as negative emissions, is a process in which carbon dioxide gas () is removed from the atmosphere and sequestered for long periods of time. Similarly, greenhouse gas removal (GGR) or negative greenho ...
crop, with a high potential for
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
.{{Cite journal, last1=Duarte, first1=Carlos M., last2=Wu, first2=Jiaping, last3=Xiao, first3=Xi, last4=Bruhn, first4=Annette, last5=Krause-Jensen, first5=Dorte, date=2017, title=Can Seaweed Farming Play a Role in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation?, journal=Frontiers in Marine Science, language=en, volume=4, doi=10.3389/fmars.2017.00100, issn=2296-7745, doi-access=free The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate recommends "further research attention" as a mitigation tactic.{{Cite book, last1=Bindoff, first1=N. L., title=IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, last2=Cheung, first2=W. W. L., last3=Kairo, first3=J. G., last4=Arístegui, first4=J., last5=Guinder, first5=V. A., last6=Hallberg, first6=R., last7=Hilmi, first7=N. J. M., last8=Jiao, first8=N., last9=Karim, first9=Md S., year=2019, pages=447–587, chapter=Chapter 5: Changing Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities, ref={{harvid, IPCC SROCC Ch5, 2019 , display-authors=4, chapter-url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/3/2019/11/09_SROCC_Ch05_FINAL.pdf, first10=L., last16=Williamson, first16=P., last15=Tagliabue, first15=A., last14=Suga, last12=Purca Cuicapusa, last13=Rinkevich, first13=B., first12=S. R., last11=O'Donoghue, first11=S., last10=Levin, first14=T. Regenerative ocean farming is a polyculture farming system that grows a mix of seaweeds and shellfish while sequestering carbon, decreasing nitrogen in the water and increasing oxygen, helping to regenerate and restore local habitat like reef ecosystems.


Prospects

Global wild fisheries are in decline, with valuable habitat such as estuaries in critical condition. The aquaculture or farming of piscivorous fish, like salmon, does not help the problem because they need to eat products from other fish, such as
fish meal Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisheri ...
and fish oil. Studies have shown that salmon farming has major negative impacts on wild salmon, as well as the forage fish that need to be caught to feed them. Knapp G, Roheim CA and Anderson JL (2007
''The Great Salmon Run: Competition Between Wild And Farmed Salmon''
{dead link, date=April 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes World Wildlife Fund. {{ISBN, 978-0-89164-175-9
Fish that are higher on the food chain are less efficient sources of food energy. Apart from fish and shrimp, some aquaculture undertakings, such as seaweed and filter-feeding bivalve mollusks like oysters, clams,
mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
s and
scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
s, are relatively benign and even environmentally restorative. Filter-feeders filter pollutants as well as nutrients from the water, improving water quality. Seaweeds extract nutrients such as inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus directly from the water, and filter-feeding mollusks can extract nutrients as they feed on particulates, such as
phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...
and
detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...
.{{cite web , url=http://mdsg.md.cgclientx.com/sites/default/files/files/105-Environmental%20Effects.pdf , author=Rice, M.A. , title=Environmental impacts of shellfish aquaculture , year=2008 , access-date=2009-10-08 , author-link=Michael A. Rice , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005103506/http://mdsg.md.cgclientx.com/sites/default/files/files/105-Environmental%20Effects.pdf , archive-date=2015-10-05 , url-status=dead Some profitable aquaculture cooperatives promote sustainable practices. New methods lessen the risk of biological and chemical pollution through minimizing fish stress, fallowing netpens, and applying integrated pest management. Vaccines are being used more and more to reduce
antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
use for disease control. Onshore recirculating aquaculture systems, facilities using polyculture techniques, and properly sited facilities (for example, offshore areas with strong currents) are examples of ways to manage negative environmental effects.
Recirculating aquaculture systems Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are used in home aquaria and for fish production where water exchange is limited and the use of biofiltration is required to reduce ammonia toxicity. Other types of filtration and environmental control are ...
(RAS) recycle water by circulating it through filters to remove fish waste and food and then recirculating it back into the tanks. This saves water and the waste gathered can be used in
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
or, in some cases, could even be treated and used on land. While RAS was developed with freshwater fish in mind, scientists associated with the
Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...
have found a way to rear saltwater fish using RAS in low-salinity waters.{{cite web , url= http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb09/seafood0209.htm , title=Growing Premium Seafood-Inland! , publisher=USDA Agricultural Research Service , date=February 2009 Although saltwater fish are raised in off-shore cages or caught with nets in water that typically has a salinity of 35 parts per thousand (ppt), scientists were able to produce healthy pompano, a saltwater fish, in tanks with a salinity of only 5 ppt. Commercializing low-salinity RAS are predicted to have positive environmental and economical effects. Unwanted nutrients from the fish food would not be added to the ocean and the risk of transmitting diseases between wild and farm-raised fish would greatly be reduced. The price of expensive saltwater fish, such as the pompano and cobia used in the experiments, would be reduced. However, before any of this can be done researchers must study every aspect of the fish's lifecycle, including the amount of ammonia and nitrate the fish will tolerate in the water, what to feed the fish during each stage of its lifecycle, the
stocking rate Livestock grazing comparison is a method of comparing the numbers and density of livestock grazing in agriculture. Various units of measurement are used, usually based on the grazing equivalent of one adult cow, or in some areas on that of one she ...
that will produce the healthiest fish, etc. Some 16 countries now use
geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...
for aquaculture, including China, Israel, and the United States.{{Cite book , editor-last=Brown , editor-first=Lester Russell , editor-link=Lester Brown, url={{google books , plainurl=y , id=-oK7QgAACAAJ, title=Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble , date=2006 , publisher=W. W. Norton & Company , isbn=978-0-393-32831-8 , language=en, chapter-url=http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB2/pb2ch10.pdf , chapter=Stabilizing Climate, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235731/http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB2/pb2ch10.pdf , archive-date=2007-09-26 , p= 199 In California, for example, 15 fish farms produce tilapia, bass, and catfish with warm water from underground. This warmer water enables fish to grow all year round and mature more quickly. Collectively these California farms produce 4.5 million kilograms of fish each year.


Global goals

The UN
Sustainable Development Goal 14 Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Goal 14 or SDG 14) is about "Life below water" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas ...
("life below water"), Target 14.7 includes aquaculture: "By 2030, increase the economic benefits to small island developing states and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism".United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/71/313
Ritchie, Roser, Mispy, Ortiz-Ospina.
SDG 14 - Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals
" ''SDG-Tracker.org, website'' (2018).
Aquaculture's contribution to GDP is not included in SDG Target 14.7 but methods for quantifying this have been explored by FAO.


National laws, regulations, and management

Laws governing aquaculture practices vary greatly by country and are often not closely regulated or easily traceable. In the United States, land-based and nearshore aquaculture is regulated at the federal and state levels; however, no national laws govern
offshore aquaculture Offshore aquaculture, also known as open water aquaculture or open ocean aquaculture, is an emerging approach to mariculture (seawater aquafarming) where fish farms are positioned in deeper and less sheltered waters some distance away from the ...
in U.S. exclusive economic zone waters. In June 2011, the Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released national aquaculture policies to address this issue and "to meet the growing demand for healthy seafood, to create jobs in coastal communities, and restore vital ecosystems." Large aquaculture facilities (i.e. those producing {{convert, 20000, lb, kg per year) which discharge wastewater are required to obtain permits pursuant to the
Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...
. Facilities that produce at least {{convert, 100000, lb, kg of fish, molluscs or crustaceans a year are subject to specific national discharge standards. Other permitted facilities are subject to effluent limitations that are developed on a case-by-case basis.


By country

Aquaculture by Country: {{World topic, Aquaculture in, title=Aquaculture by country, noredlinks=yes, state=show


History

The Gunditjmara, the local
Aboriginal Australian people Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
in south-western Victoria, Australia, may have raised short-finned eels as early as about 4,580 BCE.{{cite web, title=National Heritage Places - Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape, url=http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/budj-bim, access-date=30 January 2020, website=Australian Government. Dept of Agriculture, Water and the Environment See also attached documents: National Heritage List ''Location and Boundary Map'', and ''Government Gazette'', 20 July 2004. Evidence indicates they developed about {{convert, 100, km2, sqmi, abbr=on of volcanic floodplains in the vicinity of Lake Condah into a complex of channels and dams, and used woven
traps TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome (TRAPSsubscription needed) is a periodic fever syndrome associated with mutations in a receptor (biochemistry), receptor for the molecule tumor necrosis factors, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) that is inheri ...
to capture eels, and preserve them to eat all year round. The
Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Budj Bim, also known as Mount Eccles, is a dormant volcano near Macarthur, Victoria, Macarthur in southwestern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It lies within the geologically-defined area known as the Newer Volcanics Province, which ...
, a World Heritage Site, is thought to be one of the oldest aquaculture sites in the world.{{cite web, date=6 July 2019, title=World heritage Places - Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, url=http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/budj-bim, access-date=11 March 2020, website=Australian Government. Dept of the Environment and Energy Oral tradition in China tells of the culture of the common carp, '' Cyprinus carpio'', as long ago as 2000–2100 BCE (around 4,000 years BP), but the earliest significant evidence lies in the literature, in the earliest monograph on fish culture called ''The Classic of Fish Culture'', by Fan Li, written around 475 BCE ({{circa, 2475 BP). Another ancient Chinese guide to aquaculture was by Yang Yu Jing, written around 460 BCE, showing that carp farming was becoming more sophisticated. The
Jiahu Jiahu () was the site of a Neolithic settlement based in the central plain of ancient China, near the Yellow River. It is located between the floodplains of the Ni River to the north, and the Sha River to the south, north of the modern city ...
site in China has circumstantial archeological evidence as possibly the oldest aquaculture locations, dating from 6200BCE (about 8,200 years BP), but this is speculative.{{cite news, last1=Smith, first1=Kiona N., date=17 September 2019, title=Aquaculture may be the future of seafood, but its past is ancient, work=
Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...
, url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/09/fish-farming-may-be-much-older-than-we-thought/, url-status=dead, access-date=17 September 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917164315/https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/09/fish-farming-may-be-much-older-than-we-thought/, archive-date=17 September 2019
When the waters subsided after river floods, some fish, mainly
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
, were trapped in lakes. Early aquaculturists fed their brood using nymphs and
silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
faeces, and ate them.{{cite journal, last1=Sisma-Ventura, first1=Guy, last2=Tütken, first2=Thomas, last3=Zohar, first3=Irit, last4=Pack, first4=Andreas, last5=Sivan, first5=Dorit, last6=Lernau, first6=Omri, last7=Gilboa, first7=Ayelet, last8=Bar-Oz, first8=Guy, date=2018, title=Tooth oxygen isotopes reveal Late Bronze Age origin of Mediterranean fish aquaculture and trade, journal=Scientific Reports, volume=8, issue=1, pages=14086, bibcode=2018NatSR...814086G, doi=10.1038/s41598-018-32468-1, pmc=6148281, pmid=30237483 Ancient Egyptians might have farmed fish (especially gilt-head bream) from Lake Bardawil about 1,500 BCE (about 3,500 BP), and they traded them with Canaan. '' Gim'' cultivation is the oldest aquaculture in Korea.{{Cite web, last=강, first=제원, title=gim, script-title=ko:김, url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Index?contents_id=E0008581, website= Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, publisher=
Academy of Korean Studies Academy of Korean Studies (한국학중앙연구원, AKS) is a South Korean research and educational institute with the purpose of establishing profound research on Korean culture. It was established on June 22, 1978, by Ministry of Education & ...
, language=ko
Early cultivation methods used bamboo or oak sticks, which were replaced by newer methods that utilized nets in the 19th century.{{Cite web, title=gim, script-title=ko:김, url=http://premium.britannica.co.kr/bol/topic.asp?article_id=b03g1434a, access-date=5 June 2017, website= Encyclopædia Britannica, language=ko Floating rafts have been used for mass production since the 1920s. Japanese cultivated
seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
by providing bamboo poles and, later, nets and oyster shells to serve as anchoring surfaces for
spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...
s. Romans bred fish in ponds and farmed oysters in coastal lagoons before 100 CE. In central Europe, early Christian monasteries adopted Roman aquacultural practices. Aquaculture spread in Europe during the Middle Ages since away from the seacoasts and the big rivers, fish had to be salted so they did not rot. Improvements in transportation during the 19th century made fresh fish easily available and inexpensive, even in inland areas, making aquaculture less popular. The 15th-century fishponds of the Trebon Basin in the Czech Republic are maintained as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hawaiians constructed oceanic fish ponds. A remarkable example is the "Menehune" fishpond dating from at least 1,000 years ago, at Alekoko. Legend says that it was constructed by the mythical Menehune dwarf people. In the first half of the 18th century, German Stephan Ludwig Jacobi experimented with external fertilization of
brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
s and salmon. He wrote an article ''"Von der künstlichen Erzeugung der Forellen und Lachse"'' (''On the Artificial Production of Trout and Salmon'') summarizing his findings, and is regarded as the founder of artificial fish rearing in Europe. By the latter decades of the 18th century, oyster farming had begun in estuaries along the Atlantic Coast of North America. The word aquaculture appeared in an 1855 newspaper article in reference to the harvesting of ice. It also appeared in descriptions of the terrestrial agricultural practise of sub-irrigation in the late 19th century before becoming associated primarily with the cultivation of aquatic plant and animal species. In 1859, Stephen Ainsworth of West Bloomfield, New York, began experiments with
brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
. By 1864, Seth Green had established a commercial fish-hatching operation at Caledonia Springs, near Rochester, New York. By 1866, with the involvement of Dr. W. W. Fletcher of Concord, Massachusetts, artificial
fish hatcheries A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...
were underway in both Canada and the United States. When the Dildo Island fish hatchery opened in Newfoundland in 1889, it was the largest and most advanced in the world. The word aquaculture was used in descriptions of the hatcheries experiments with cod and lobster in 1890. By the 1920s, the American Fish Culture Company of
Carolina, Rhode Island Carolina is a village that straddles the border of the towns of Charlestown and Richmond on the Pawcatuck River in Washington County, Rhode Island. Rhode Island Route 112 passes through the village. Carolina is identified as a census-designated ...
, founded in the 1870s was one of the leading producers of trout. During the 1940s, they had perfected the method of manipulating the day and night cycle of fish so that they could be artificially spawned year around. Californians harvested wild kelp and attempted to manage supply around 1900, later labeling it a wartime resource.{{cite journal, last1=Neushul, first1=Peter, year=1989, title=Seaweed for War: California's World War I Kelp Industry, journal=Technology and Culture, volume=30, issue=3, pages=561–583, doi=10.2307/3105951, jstor=3105951 {{clear


See also

{{Portal, Water, Marine life * Agroecology * Alligator farm * Fisheries science *
Fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
* Industrial aquaculture * List of commercially important fish species * Maggots used as food for fish * Oyster farming * Recirculating aquaculture system *
Resource decoupling In economic and environmental fields, decoupling refers to an economy that would be able to grow without corresponding increases in environmental pressure. In many economies, increasing production (GDP) currently raises pressure on the environme ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em


Sources

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podcast
* {{cite journal , last1 = Ferreira , first1 = J. G. , last2 = Hawkins , first2 = A.J.S. , last3 = Bricker , first3 = S.B. , year = 2007 , title = Management of productivity, environmental effects and profitability of shellfish aquaculture – The Farm Aquaculture Resource Management (FARM) model , url=http://www.longline.co.uk/site/publications/farm.pdf , journal = Aquaculture , volume = 264 , issue = 1–4, pages = 160–174 , doi=10.1016/j.aquaculture.2006.12.017 * GESAMP (2008

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The Scottish Association for Marine Science and Napier University. 2002. Review and synthesis of the environmental impacts of aquaculture
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Free content work

{{Free-content attribution , title = In brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018 , author = FAO , publisher = FAO , page numbers = , source = , documentURL = http://www.fao.org/3/ca0191en/ca0191en.pdf , license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_brief,_The_State_of_World_Fisheries_and_Aquaculture,_2018.pdf , license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO {{Free-content attribution , title = Drowning in Plastics – Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics , publisher = United Nations Environment Programme , documentURL = https://www.unep.org/resources/report/drowning-plastics-marine-litter-and-plastic-waste-vital-graphics , license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Nations_Environment_Programme_Drowning_in_Plastics_%E2%80%93_Marine_Litter_and_Plastic_Waste_Vital_Graphics.pdf , license = Cc BY-SA 3.0 IGO


External links

{{Wiktionary {{Commons category, Aquaculture
Aquaculture topic page from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
* {{Cite web, title = Aquaculture Factsheet, url = http://waittinstitute.org/aquaculture/, access-date = 2015-06-08, publisher = Waitt Institute, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150617102308/http://waittinstitute.org/aquaculture/, archive-date = 2015-06-17, url-status = dead * {{Curlie, Business/Agriculture_and_Forestry/Aquaculture/, Aquaculture * {{Curlie, Science/Agriculture/Aquaculture, Aquaculture science
The Coastal Resources Center

NOAA aquaculture

The University of Hawaii's AquacultureHub
{{Library resources box , by=no , onlinebooks=no , others=no , about=yes , label=Aquaculture {{Fishing industry topics, expanded=aquaculture {{Fisheries and fishing {{Agriculture footer {{Authority control Domesticated animals Buildings and structures used to confine animals Sustainable food system