AQ 710 – Advanced Aquaculture
Lecture 3. Current Status and Trends
of Aquaculture
Present State of Aquaculture
• Although traditionally fish farming was a part of rural life in
certain areas, the present day aquaculture has a much greater
significance in socio-economic dev’t & natural resource mgt.
• The world capture fishery production is believed to have
leveled-off & the production of preferred species have
remained stationary or in some cases, diminished while the
demand for human consumption has increased due to
increase in the world’s population & increased utilization
through new or improved processing & marketing of value-
added products. Any significant increase due to harvesting of
new unconventional species for food is considered unrealistic
due to problems of consumer acceptance, harvesting
technology & cost.
Present State of Aquaculture
• If we look at capture fishery production data, there
is deficit to meet the requirement for demand and
the only major means presently known to make up
for the deficit is an accelerated dev’t of aquaculture
• Aquaculture is one of the few options for increasing
global production in the 21st century
• One principal benefit of farming fish & shellfish is
that the majority of its products are sold fresh to the
consumers
Present State of Aquaculture
• Although aquaculture has been,
historically, a small-scale activity,
some spectacular successes have
been achieved in large-scale
commercial farming
• It is true that aquaculture
contributes probably not more
than 50% of what the capture
fishery contributes on a global
basis, despite the fact that in
certain areas & sectors, the
volume of production & economic
significance are much greater.
Present State of Aquaculture
• The promotional efforts of dedicated institutions &
individuals have created the recognition of the potential of
aquaculture & provided the climate suitable for testing
theories & practices on a much larger scale than had been
possibly before
Present State of Aquaculture
• It has been demonstrated that aquaculture programs have a
longer gestation period, in comparison with fishing or other
forms of food production
• Even when tested technologies are adopted, the construction
of physical facilities (i.e., ponds), solution of site-specific
problems, attainment of skills by workers, etc. take
considerable time
• Lack of allowance for such time-lags has often resulted in the
premature termination of many enterprise
• In a discussion of the worldwide state of aquaculture, individual
success & failures can serve only as indicators
• Aquaculture continuous to grow, however, growth rates for
aquaculture production are slowing, partly owing to public
concerns about aquaculture practices & fish quality.
Aquaculture Statistics
• The type of statistics that will be needed for an
appraisal of the fish production are, unfortunately,
unavailable. In the absence of suitable mechanisms
for the collection of aquaculture statistics in most
countries, the Food & Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) has been making estimates
of world production at frequent intervals, based
largely on data provided by various governments. It
is difficult to determine the accuracy of the
estimates, as different types of computations have
been used in certain countries.
Aquaculture Statistics
• It is also likely that the production from many small-
scale farming operations are overlooked, as
government institutions may have had no records of
them & their harvests may not reach major markets.
• The possibility of the increases in estimates being due
to better coverage cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless,
the available figures clearly show the main trend in
production & demonstrate convincingly that
aquaculture is a growth industry
Challenge to Culture of New Species
• In Japan, for example, the culture of Kanpachi
(amber jack, Seriola dumerili) whose seeds
were imported from China led to Anisakis
infection outbreak in 2006
• The culture necessitated the domestic
aquaculture seed production technology for
this species of fish
Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture
• IMTA (which promotes
economic & environmental
sustainability) & organic
aquaculture are on the rise.
• By converting solid & soluble
nutrients from fed organisms &
their feed into harvestable
crops &/or extractive
organisms & by increasing
economic diversification, it
promotes economic &
environmental sustainability.
Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture
• The potential for contamination is a food safety &
quality concern
• Some of its other merits include curbing topsoil
erosion, improving soil fertility, protecting
groundwater & saving energy.
Japan’s Seaweed Production
• Japan is the second-most important aquatic-plant-
producing country in terms of value (US$1.1 billion),
owing to its high-priced Nori production.
• Japanese kelp (Laminaria japonica) showed the
highest production, followed by Wakame (Undaria
pinnatifida) & Nori (Porphya tenera).
Climate Change
• Climate change is a threat to the sustainability of capture
fisheries & aquaculture dev’t. Impacts occur as a result
of gradual warming (global scale) & associated physical
changes, as well as consequences of the increased
frequency of extreme weather events.
• In addition to action to mitigate the factors driving climate
change, urgent adaptation measures are required in response
to opportunities for & threats to food & livelihood provision
arising from climate variations.
Impacts of Climate Change
• Warmer-water species are being displaced towards
the poles & experiencing changes in habitat size &
productivity.
• Ecosystem productivity is likely to decline in lower
altitudes & increase in high latitudes.
• Climate change alters marine & freshwater food
webs, with unpredictable consequences for fish
production.
• Increased risks of species invasions & the spread of
vector-borne diseases
Impacts of Climate Change
• Differential warming between land & oceans &
between polar & tropical regions will affect the
intensity, frequency & seasonality of climate
patterns (e.g. El Niño) & extreme weather events
(e.g. floods, droughts & storms) &, hence, the
stability of marine & FW resources affected by them
• Sea-level rise, glacier melting, ocean acidification &
changes in precipitation, groundwater & river flows
will affect coral reefs, wetlands, rivers, lakes &
estuaries significantly.
An industry here to stay
• The changing picture of aquaculture dev’t around the world is not
easy to envision. The safest prediction is that aquaculture is not
going to disappear, because a large part of the general public
wants its products
• The consumers are responding favorably to the many benefits
offered by farmed fish & shellfish
• Because of the quantities available & the almost year-round
reliability of supplies, the processors, distributors & marketers
are now fully integrated into the industry. This is one of the most
difficult but important barriers for many emerging food industry
to overcome, & it took aquaculture over two decades to achieve.
An industry here to stay
• Production is safely strengthened by
a number of complementary
technologies, all of which have been
developed through competent
research. Producers are raising
crops competently, year after year,
using a variety of production
systems & practices that operate
economically at an industrial level.
As a result, the number of
producers in many countries is far
above the critical mass needed to
create an economically important
subsector that is of value to any
government setting goals or making
policies for agriculture or fisheries.
A rising storm of public opinion
• Notwithstanding that farmers are now skilled in the
mgt & operation of many different production
technologies for aquaculture, sooner rather than
later, there may be nowhere remaining for their
farms. The sites most suitable for aquaculture,
which is more environmentally compatible than
many other dev’t activities, are rapidly disappearing.
Everywhere in the world, there are a number of
different human interventions that are continuously
increasing the competition for land & water, with
little regard for the long-term consequences
A rising storm of public opinion
• One social issue that is beginning to constrain aquaculture &
all other traditional rural industries in the 21st century is the
clamor for an improved & less stressful quality of life. This
human & quite reasonable goal is based on the desire for a
family home, a well-paid job, & regular hours of work. In the
developed world, improvement in the quality of life is
invariably idealized in the minds of the public as working far
away from the pressure of the cities & the pollution of heavy
industries, perhaps to live & enjoy the peace of the rural
environment. In the developing world, it is the opposite.
Improvement is idealized as living in a city & enjoying its
glamour, far away from the endlessly dull life in the
countryside, & the drudgery of the family farm.
A rising storm of public opinion
• Another issue of growing concern is the preference for foods that
are raised in very specific ways. In particular, this includes foods
that are grown without the use of “chemicals” – that is, farm
products that were not subjected to use of herbicides, pesticides,
growth hormones, feed stimulants, or anything that might be
considered unnatural. For such organically raised products, many
are prepared to pay more. Some are also avoiding farmed
products that they believe are reared inhumanely, such as chicken
raised in barriers, or even fish grown in floating cages. Other
groups of consumers are avoiding products that have undergone
some genetic modification. The denominator in all these
reactions that is becoming increasingly more common is a
growing trend against intensive farming. For the world’s
expanding population, this is a serious trend.
A rising storm of public opinion
• Majority of people in the world depend on intensive farming for
food, as has been the case in the past. Certainly, without the
combined skills of the scientists, agricultural engineers, &
farmers who intensified the production of cereals & many other
crops, there would have been an even greater number of people
who were not fed at all during the last 40 years or so.
• A third issue common to both developed & developing countries
is the growing political pressure imposed on elected officials to
devote more of the countryside & coastal regions than to
nature conservation. Much of this has been a consequence of
the economic growth in the tourism and recreation in recent
years.
A rising storm of public opinion
• A larger portion of the general public now has more free
time. The work force is retiring earlier with money to spend
on vacations and new homes along the coastal sun-belts.
Ironically, the increasing damage to the environment
caused by tourism is just beginning to become or has not
yet become a political issue.
A rising storm of public opinion
• The consequence of migration is already apparent. Gov’t of
developing countries that are facing large population growth
& movement are greatly overstretched to provide housing
&jobs for their people. They are being compelled to take
more & more agricultural land for housing & factories, & to
clear forest lands to provide building materials & fuel at an
even greater rate than before. These strategies are putting
the food producing capacity at risk. Many have agricultural
lands & water resources that are already unproductive.
Invariably, the holdings & family farms are greatly fragmented
& small, & irrigation waters are even now in short supply.
A rising storm of public opinion
• In developed regions, the situation is not as acute. Many
countries have already made significant advances in
population control. Furthermore, they have far greater
resources of agricultural land per capita for the
population for food, & they have managed forestry land
for collection & storage of water. They also have
adequate technical & financial resources to conserve &
reuse water.
• Nonetheless although these issues are not as serious,
competition among the various sectors for the available
resources is equally fierce. And public opinion counts
with politicians.
Water for aquaculture vs other uses
• The use of water for aquaculture production,
particularly the necessary good water quality that is
fundamental for most practices will be an
increasingly low priority - much lower for example,
than water for drinking, industrial use, urban use, &
crop irrigation.
Water for aquaculture vs other uses
• Furthermore, the quality of water for aquaculture will
also be affected by loss of land-cover & by pollution.
• The face of agriculture & fisheries is changing not only
through fair competition, but also through the general
indifference & defiance of the public at large
• Selfishness & greed are the two unpleasant attributes
that easily characterized the societies of the 21st
century
• Selfishness is widely manifest by the growing &
effective defiance by individuals that anything that run
counter to their own ideas & preferences.
Inhumane treatment to animals
• There is the increasing perception by some members of
the public that all intensive farming (& the keeping of
animals in zoos or a traveling circus) is unkind to
animals. Not content with simply exercising their
democratic right to express their opinion by boycotting
farmed products in the marketplace or supporting
ecolabeling, more & more sympathizers are animating
their views by vandalizing farms & releasing the
captive livestock. Their action are taken without regard
for any consequences to the environment that they
purportedly wish to protect.
Interference to man’s enjoyment
• Another growing body of the public is determined to defy any
interference in their enjoyment of their personal lifestyles &
pastimes.
• For example, anything that constrains their supposed right to
roam on any open land on foot or on wheels, or to navigate on
any open water with their motorized pleasure craft; they object
strongly to fences or farm structures that obstruct their free
movement.
• Others admonish anything that might lower the value of their
ever-encroaching suburban properties on rural lands. No matter
who was there first, they object in particular to the smells and
noises of farming practices and consider their farm structures
unsightly.
Social media
• In spite of the tremendous
benefits of the so-called “super-
highway” for making information
available to everyone, public
opinion is not always well-
informed.
• The information put into the
public worldwide computer
network systems requires no
authentication & guarantees no
accuracy. Consequently, the
superhighway has become a
conduit for misinformation.
Defiance & indifference
• Some of the most biased accusations, for example, have
been unsubstantiated statements on the potential for
farm fish in net-pens to escape & interfere with the
general biodiversity of the local fauna, the excessive use
of therapeutic in feeds that go into the environment, &
the wastage of coastal mangrove forests for shrimp
ponds
Solutions
• Although some of these accusations have been
justifiable areas of concern in the past, many gov’ts
have worked with their respective industries to
minimize the problems, & significant progress has
been made. Furthermore, the industry will always
continue to resolve such issues, because they
invariably have a bearing on the economic
performance of the business & it is therefore in its
interest to find a solution.
Assignment 3
• Do you agree that social media has become a
conduit for misinformation regarding
aquaculture? Justify your answer
• In your opinion, why is climate change a
threat to the sustainability of capture fisheries
and aquaculture development.
• Submit assignment via email