Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the farming of fish, shrimp, abalones, algae, and other seafood. Aquaculture supplies fish, such as catfish, salmon, and trout. It was developed a few thousand years ago in China. Aquaculture supplies over 20% of all the seafood harvested.
Fish farming has been practiced, in some parts of the world, for thousands of years. Goldfish originated about a thousand years ago in carp farms in China, and the Roman Empire farmed oysters and other seafood. Today, half of the seafood eaten in the U.S. is farmed. To help meet the growing global demand for seafood, aquaculture is growing fast.[1]
The environmental impact of fish farming varies widely, depending on the species being farmed, the methods used and where the farm is located. When good practices are used, it's possible to farm seafood in a way that has very little impact to the environment. Such operations limit habitat damage, disease, escapes of farmed fish and the use of wild fish as feed.
Aquaculture Media
- 2019-03-16 01 Aquaculture in Chile.jpg
Aquaculture fish farming in the fjords south of Castro, Chile
- Global capture fisheries and aquaculture production, 1990-2030.svg
Global capture fisheries and aquaculture production reported by FAO, 1990–2030
World aquaculture production of food fish and aquatic plants, 1990–2016
Aquaculture production (2019)
World capture fisheries and aquaculture production by main producers (2018), from FAO's Statistical Yearbook 2020
Cultivating emergent aquatic plants in floating containers
An en:abalone farm. [1]
Basin in modern sturgeon farm
Aquaculture production by region
This diagram represents the effects of aquaculture or aquatic farming on its surrounding environment. It depicts the adverse environmental impacts it may have on local ecosystems.
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