Aquaculture
Big idea: Aquaculture is fish farming — raising aquatic organisms in controlled environments. It now provides over 50% of fish for human consumption and is the fastest-growing food production sector.
Advantages of aquaculture
- Reduces pressure on wild fish stocks
- More efficient protein production than land animals
- Reliable, year-round supply
- Can be done in many locations (coastal, inland, urban)
- Provides employment in rural/coastal areas
Disadvantages of aquaculture
- Pollution — waste, antibiotics, and chemicals contaminate water
- Disease — crowded conditions spread parasites and diseases
- Escapees — farmed fish escape and compete with/breed with wild populations
- Feed issues — carnivorous fish (salmon) need wild-caught fish as feed
- Habitat destruction — mangrove removal for shrimp farms
Aquaculture is not automatically sustainable! Farming herbivorous fish (tilapia, carp) is more sustainable than farming carnivores (salmon) that need fish meal.