What is Aquaculture?
Aquaculture is an industry that encompasses the cultivation of aquatic plants and animals in controlled systems for commercial, recreation or resource management purposes. The most widely accepted short definition of Aquaculture is the cultivation of any aquatic (freshwater and marine) species of plant or animal.
Aquaculture for food production is similar to other forms of animal husbandry, the animals are cared for, protected and fed with the intention of increasing their quantity and value. The holding and farming of fish also reduces the effort otherwise required to locate and capture supplies from wild stocks. Fish farming has boosted consumer confidence in product quality while helping to ensure more orderly and timely harvesting / distribution of fresh seafood products.
Aqua Farming, like agriculture in general, is an industry born out of necessity. Humankind invented agriculture to meet the food demands of an ever increasing population, (we needed to farm crops and animals). Reliance on hunting and gathering from wild resources alone could not, cannot and will not sustain our need for food. Fish and shellfish are no exception, indeed many wild fish stocks that were once considered to be "vast and endless", are now over fished and labeled as unsustainable in their present state.
Why farm fish?
The need to solve planetary over fishing of wild fish stocks represents the inherit requirement for aqua farming. Our ability to feed ourselves remains an issue of paramount importance. In simple terms we must find a way to make more from what we have. One way to do that is to increase the resource performance and enhance supplies. Farming helps to bridge that gap.
Fish Farming is a versatile and flexible industry encompassing a wide range of methods designed to meet various needs and to fulfill different purposes. Hatchery production of young fish to restock lakes, streams and oceans is a form of aquaculture that