Aquaculture is the breeding, raising, and harvesting of plants and animals in water. It can occur in freshwater or saltwater and in natural and man-made environments. Saltwater species commonly produced include oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, and salmon. Typical freshwater species include trout, catfish, tilapia, and carp. Aquaculture is not new and has been practiced since the beginnings of civilization. However, current food demands and the recently-realized exceptional nutritional value of fish are increasing commercial aquaculture around the world.
Aquaculture's Global Significance
Aquaculture provides 50 percent of the fish and shellfish consumed in the world, most of it produced in the natural marine environment. The global production volume tripled between 1995 and 2007. The United States currently ranks tenth in aquaculture production with the largest production sector in shellfish. U.S. production is almost exclusively on land in man-made ponds. However, this production is much too low to meet demand. The widely-publicized health benefits of low-fat fish protein and omega-3 fish oils is increasing U.S. fish consumption. Approximately 84 percent of the fish consumed is imported and about 50 percent of that is produced by aquaculture. The U.S. maintains an annual seafood trade deficit of over $9 billion.
Increased Commercial Aquaculture is Controversial
Scientists disagree on whether increased commercial aquaculture will be the answer to the world's future food production needs or, instead, an environmental disaster. Aquaculture is more efficient, more productive, and more economical than securing wild-caught fish. However, some scientists see increased aquaculture in the natural marine environment as damaging.
Risks include the release of large amounts of concentrated waste into confined locations, the release of drugs used to increase production efficiencies, transfer of parasites and diseases into the wild, and increased pressure on natural fish populations used as feed stock. Fishmeal and fish oil from wild-caught species, such as herring and sardine, are needed to feed farmed fish. These species are forage fish for carnivorous fish and marine mammals and birds. Their harvest for use in concentrated feeding situations puts a significant stress on the ability of the marine ecosystem to provide for all its inhabitants.
According to scientists at Stanford University, it can take up to five pounds of wild fish to produce one pound of farmed salmon. This is identified as a net protein loss and is seen by fisheries scientists as unsustainable. These scientists are suggesting continued research into possible feed substitutes such as those made from grain and livestock byproducts and possibly even modified land plants gentically enhanced with omega-3 oils. Another alternative is to increase the land-based production of vegetarian fish such as tilapia and carp.
Regulating Commercial Aquaculture in the U.S.
Regardless of whether scientists view increased commercial aquaculture as advisable or as potentially harmful, they agree that strict regulatory control of both wild-caught fisheries and aquaculture production is absolutely necessary for the health of the marine ecosystem. The U.S. government recently ruled that commercial aquaculture would be allowed for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Obama Administration issued the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Regulating Offshore Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2009. This plan will allow The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to oversee the initiation of aquaculture industries in the Gulf. The Council must draft, and submit for review, regulations controlling the new industry.
Currently, no overarching federal regulations exist to control or monitor aquaculture production in U.S. marine waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) supported the Gulf FMP. NOAA announced it will develop a detailed national policy for sustainable marine aquaculture and will work closely with The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to insure that any local regulations adhere to nationally-developed guidelines. Environmental activist groups such as the Pew Environmental Group and Food & Water Watch are concerned that the Gulf FMP will allow commercial offshore aquaculture to proceed too rapidly and that regulations will be drafted without sufficient concern for the potential risks.
Even though aquaculture has been practiced for thousands of years, concentrated commercial production is still a relatively new industry and regulation of that industry is incomplete in both the U.S. and the rest of the world. The need for an economical, efficient supply of fish protein and oils is undeniable to many. But environmentalists caution that need must be balanced effectively with the need to maintain the health and sustainability of natural marine ecosystems.
Sources
Dean, Cornelia. "Rules Guiding Fish Farming in the Gulf Are Readied." The New York Times, September 4, 2009.
"Obama's Gulf of Mexico Fishery Decision Called a Recipe for Disaster." The Daily Green, September 4, 2009.
Real, Natalie. "NOAA Backs Obama's Bulf of Mexico Aquaculture Move." FIS.com, September 4, 2009.
Shwartz, Mark. "Stanford Study: Half of the Fish Consumed Globally is Now Raised on Farms." Media Newswire, September 14, 2009.
"What is Aquaculture?" National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
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