Aquaculture: global status and trends

Abstract

Aquaculture contributed 43 per cent of aquatic animal food for human consumption in 2007 (e.g. fish, crustaceans and molluscs, but excluding mammals, reptiles and aquatic plants) and is expected to grow further to meet the future demand. It is very diverse and, contrary to many perceptions, dominated by shellfish and herbivorous and omnivorous pond fish either entirely or partly utilizing natural productivity. The rapid growth in the production of carnivorous species such as salmon, shrimp and catfish has been driven by globalizing trade and favourable economics of larger scale intensive farming. Most aquaculture systems rely on low/uncosted environmental goods and services, so a critical issue for the future is whether these are brought into company accounts and the consequent effects this would have on production economics. Failing that, increased competition for natural resources will force governments to allocate strategically or leave the market to determine their use depending on activities that can extract the highest value. Further uncertainties include the impact of climate change, future fisheries supplies (for competition and feed supply), practical limits in terms of scale and in the economics of integration and the development and acceptability of new bio-engineering technologies.In the medium term, increased output is likely to require expansion in new environments, further intensification and efficiency gains for more sustainable and cost-effective production. The trend towards enhanced intensive systems with key monocultures remains strong and, at least for the foreseeable future, will be a significant contributor to future supplies. Dependence on external feeds (including fish), water and energy are key issues. Some new species will enter production and policies that support the reduction of resource footprints and improve integration could lead to new developments as well as reversing decline in some more traditional systems.

Exploring Patterns of Seafood Provision Revealed in the Global Ocean Health Index

“…However, it was the only country scoring above 75, and only 3 of the 169 Index reporting units scored over 50. If the EIF index is a proxy for the economic importance of all seafood, its positive correlation with mariculture scores (as well as fisheries catch) suggests that in countries with low fisheries scores and high mariculture scores, mariculture provided an alternative source of protein when commercial fisheries were degraded (Edwards 1997), or there was greater economic incentive to switch from commercial fisheries to cultured seafood (Bostock et al 2010). There was no latitudinal pattern, but most high mariculture scores were in East Asia.…”

An assessment of the economic contribution of EU aquaculture production and the influence of policies for its sustainable development

“…This has significantly reduced labour costs as well as providing safer working conditions in the marine environment (Bostock et al 2010).…”

Tradeoffs among Ecosystem Services Associated with Global Tilapia Introductions

“…Since 2002 tilapia (Cichlidae: primarily of genera Oreochromis, Tilapia, and Serranochromis. In the remainder of this paper, "tilapia" refers to these species collectively) have been one of the fastest growing global aquaculture sectors (Bostock et al, 2010), expanding twice as fast as fisheries based on salmonids or carps (FAO, 2011). Given the rapid expansion of tilapia aquaculture, many decisions are being made to introduce fishes into new watersheds which may have far-reaching ecological, social, and economic effects through changes to ecosystem services.…”