About Aquaculture
A wide variety of animal and plant species are produced through aquaculture: fin fish; shrimp, prawns and crabs; clams, oysters and mussels; as well as seaweeds and other aquatic plants.
Aquaculture provides nearly 50 percent, of the annual world fisheries production of 110 million tones of food fish in 2006. Half of all aquaculture production is fin fish, a quarter is aquatic plants and the remaining quarter is made up of crustacea (such as shrimp, prawns, crabs) and mollusks such as clams, oysters and mussels.
The growth in production of the major species groups continues, although the increases seen in the past decade have been smaller than those of the 1980s and 1990s. The period 2000–06 witnessed strong growth in the production of crustaceans in particular, and in marine fish. Production growth for other species groups has begun to slow, and the overall rate of growth, while still substantial, is not of the order seen in the previous two decades.
Most cultured marine species are of relatively high commercial value, sometimes because wild stocks are small or declining. While the overall share of farmed fish in marine fin fish production has stayed quite low, for the species that are farmed, aquaculture frequently dominates the market. This is the case for species such as the Japanese seabass, gilthead seabream, red drum and bastard halibut. In fact, for species such as these, the amounts now produced by aquaculture are often substantially higher than the past highest catch recorded by capture fisheries.
Cultured Aquatic Species
A wide variety of animal and plant species are produced through aquaculture: fin fish; shrimp, prawns and crabs; clams, oysters and mussels; as well as seaweeds and other aquatic plants.
Aquaculture provides nearly 50 percent, of the annual world fisheries production of 110 million tones of food fish in 2006. Half of all aquaculture production is fin fish, a quarter is aquatic plants and the remaining quarter is made up of crustacea (such as shrimp, prawns, crabs) and mollusks such as clams, oysters and mussels.
The growth in production of the major species groups continues, although the increases seen in the past decade have been smaller than those of the 1980s and 1990s. The period 2000–06 witnessed strong growth in the production of crustaceans in particular, and in marine fish. Production growth for other species groups has begun to slow, and the overall rate of growth, while still substantial, is not of the order seen in the previous two decades.
Most cultured marine species are of relatively high commercial value, sometimes because wild stocks are small or declining. While the overall share of farmed fish in marine fin fish production has stayed quite low, for the species that are farmed, aquaculture frequently dominates the market. This is the case for species such as the Japanese seabass, gilthead seabream, red drum and bastard halibut. In fact, for species such as these, the amounts now produced by aquaculture are often substantially higher than the past highest catch recorded by capture fisheries.
Cultured Aquatic Species
Aquaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing sector, now accounts for almost 50 percent of the world’s food fish and is perceived as having the greatest potential to meet the growing demand for aquatic food. Given the projected population growth over the next two decades, it is estimated that at least an additional 40 million tones of aquatic food will be required by 2030 to maintain the current per capita consumption.
FAO regularly collects information on global aquaculture production, value and development through official reports from its member countries. These data are analyzed, and the status and trends of the sector’s development are regularly reported through two main publications of the FAO Fisheries Department: The state of world fisheries and aquaculture (SOFIA) and Review of the state of world aquaculture, as well as via occasional special publications such as Aquaculture in the third millennium (NACA/FAO, 2001).
Aquaculture is making an important contribution to global production and a number of key development trends are taking place. It is apparent that the aquaculture sector continues to intensify and diversify, to use new species and modifying its systems and practices. Aquaculture is doing this with the growing awareness that it must be done through the responsible use of the resources upon which it depends and to society in general.
Markets, trade and consumption preferences, strongly influence the growth of the sector, with clear demands for production of safe and quality products. As a consequence, increasing emphasis is placed on enhanced enforcement of regulation and better governance of the sector. It is increasingly realized that this cannot be achieved without the participation of the producers in decision making and regulation process, which has led to efforts to empower farmers and their associations and move towards increasing self-regulation. These factors are all contributing towards improving management of the sector, typically through promoting “better management” practices of producers.
FAO regularly collects information on global aquaculture production, value and development through official reports from its member countries. These data are analyzed, and the status and trends of the sector’s development are regularly reported through two main publications of the FAO Fisheries Department: The state of world fisheries and aquaculture (SOFIA) and Review of the state of world aquaculture, as well as via occasional special publications such as Aquaculture in the third millennium (NACA/FAO, 2001).
Aquaculture is making an important contribution to global production and a number of key development trends are taking place. It is apparent that the aquaculture sector continues to intensify and diversify, to use new species and modifying its systems and practices. Aquaculture is doing this with the growing awareness that it must be done through the responsible use of the resources upon which it depends and to society in general.
Markets, trade and consumption preferences, strongly influence the growth of the sector, with clear demands for production of safe and quality products. As a consequence, increasing emphasis is placed on enhanced enforcement of regulation and better governance of the sector. It is increasingly realized that this cannot be achieved without the participation of the producers in decision making and regulation process, which has led to efforts to empower farmers and their associations and move towards increasing self-regulation. These factors are all contributing towards improving management of the sector, typically through promoting “better management” practices of producers.