What is aquaculture?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some sort of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world. The stocks raised in aquaculture operations are the private property of aquaculturists, who care for the crop throughout its rearing period by administering basic animal husbandry (e.g. providing housing and feed, protection from predators, veterinary attention, etc.). Upon reaching the preferred market size, aquaculture stocks are harvested for processing, sale and consumption. Aquaculture is an example of the agri-food business model whereby aquaculture producers invest in production systems, m
Aquaculture is the art, science, and business of cultivating aquatic plants and animals in fresh or marine waters. Aquaculture is practiced throughout the world. The best regions for aquaculture are located in what are called the “temporate zones”, the regions between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer and the Antarctic Circle and the Tropic of Capricorn. Most aquaculture produced, supplies the commercial food market. However many governments also employ aquaculture to stock rivers, lakes, and ponds for sport fishing. Aquaculture is also used to raise goldfish and tropical fish for decorative pools and home aquariums. Many different kinds of sea creatures are raised through aquaculture. Some of the more common and best know examples of aquaculture crops include: hard clam (quahog), oyster, scallop, soft shell clam, surf clam, blue mussel, summer flounder, carp, trout, catfish, striped bass, tilapia, salmon, cod, halibut, lobster, and prawn. Some cultured species are farmed only
The term Aquaculture covers all activities aimed at producing, processing and marketing aquatic animals and plants from fresh, brackish and salt waters. In narrow terms aquaculture embraces the use and manipulation of natural and artificial bodies of waters to produce species of fish required for human consumption and thus concerns all activities associated with breeding and culture of aquatic organisms. Aquaculture is an exciting and complex discipline that is at once an ancient art and yet a pioneering science. It is proving to be one of the best strategies for fulfilling the world’s growing food needs.
Aquaculture refers to the cultivation of water produce, and includes farms for fish, shellfish, algae, or other aquatic plants. The growers or farmers intervene in the rearing process by stocking the farms regularly, as well as feeding and protecting the farmed organisms from predators. Examples include raising catfish and tilapia in freshwater ponds, growing cultured pearls, and farming salmon in net pens in the bay. It has been used since at least 3500 B.C. in China, when farmers fed and raised carp that had been stranded in artificial lakes left behind when floodwaters receded.
Related Questions
- Why did the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) and NOAA Fisheries Service implement a quota for the Gulf of Mexico recreational greater amberjack fishery?
- What is NOAA Fisheries Service doing to account for changes in fishing effort due to the oil spill when estimating the length of 2010 recreational fishing seasons?
- What is aquaculture?
