What is aquaculture?
Topic# 3071
By Rick Sokol
Aquaculture
The controlled cultivation of aquatic plants
and animals produced for several purposes.
 Food
 Stocking
 Bait
 Ornamental
 Industrial
Fish Farming
one facet of aquaculture
 Practiced for many centuries by:
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Chinese
Egyptians
Romans
 In this century, aquaculture has become an
important supplier of fish and other products.
Asia
most significant region in world for aquaculture
 Over 80% of total world production.
 Leading Producers
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China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand
and the Philippines (carp & seaweed dominating production)
 Use mixture of low and high levels of
technology along with traditional techniques.
U.S. Aquaculture
very small segment of total agricultural
production
 Relatively young and growing rapidly.
 Although increasing in popularity, majority
of fish eaten in U.S. are imported or are
harvested by commercial fishermen from
rivers, lakes and oceans.
Species farmed in the U.S.
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Channel catfish
Salmon
Trout
Bait
Ornamental fish
• Crawfish
• Shrimp
• Oysters
• Clams
• Other species such as tilapia,
hybrid striped bass, red drum,
alligators, white sturgeon and
aquatic plants are also produced,
but on a smaller scale.
Major Force
pushing growth of U.S. aquaculture
 Declining population of seafood species in the wild USDA's 1994 Aquaculture Situation & Outlook Report
 Other factors include:
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Desire for year-round supplies
Specific quality
Specific appearance
 These helped in the development of the domestic
trout and catfish industries.
 Wild harvest can’t supply enough fish for demand.
Present Day Aquaculture
 Competitive to the wild harvest of seafood.
 In the future, to become an integral part of the wild
harvest fishing industry.
 Allows management of wild resources to maintain
long-term sustained harvests.
 Management plans for controlled harvesting are being
developed as species depletion grows. Hatcheryraised fish will be important part of management.
Changing Lifestyles of
Consumer
 Increasing consumption of fish products will
contribute to aquaculture's future growth.
 If consumers view seafood as protein, then,
in the U.S. seafood consumption could
increase, currently it is small portion of
overall meat consumption.
Increase Production Efficiency
increases sales
 Reduce product prices
 Relative costs of products drive gains and
losses in consumption of meat products like
beef, pork and poultry.
 Major reason for rise in poultry consumption.
Feed Conversion
 Fish convert feed into flesh about 2x more
efficiently than chickens and 5-10x more than beef.
 Feed conversion rates of fish are higher than other
livestock:
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fish use foods that are less usable by land animals
require less energy from their foods
fish use entire pond, while land animals are confined to
the ground
Annual Yields
 The proper combination of species, control
of the environment and careful feeding
results in yields of 6,250 lbs/acre.
 Compared to 1,000 lbs/acre yield from beef.
 The lure of increased production and high
profits have accelerated the interest in
aquaculture.
New Advances in
Bioengineering
 Aquaculture producers have methods that
could radically change production processes.
 Use of gene transfer from one species to
another creating transgenic fish that are
genetically distinct.
Transgenic Research
 Enhance growth rate
 Increase tolerance to different water
temperatures
 Improve disease resistance
 Long-term impact on the ecosystem is
unknown. Scientists urge caution to prevent
accidental release until more is known.
Outlook for Future
 Fastest growing in U.S. agriculture, increasing
over 20% annually in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
 Recent statistics from 1980-1990, the average
annual growth/year of aquaculture worldwide
was 9.6%, outdistancing poultry meat, which
grew at 4.2% per year.
Consumer Awareness
 Nutritional value of fish products
 Greater acceptance in expanded markets
 Increased availability at competitive prices
 Expected to increase per capita consumption
dramatically in the next 10 to 20 years