Aquaculture

What is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all types of water environments including ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. It includes the production of seafood from hatchery fish and shellfish which are grown to market size in ponds, tanks, cages, or raceways.  Stock restoration or "enhancement" is a form of aquaculture in which hatchery fish and shellfish are released into the wild to rebuild wild populations or coastal habitats such as oyster reefs.  Aquaculture also includes the production of ornamental fish for the aquarium trade, and growing plant species used in a range of food, pharmaceutical, nutritional, and biotechnology products. Goal of aquaculture - The principal goal of aquaculture science is to develop systems by which fish can be grown and harvested at large rates, while not causing environmental damage in the process.



There are two main branches of aquaculture: Marine Aquaculture and Freshwater Aquaculture.

How does Aquaculture work?



The main goal of Aquaculture is to cultivate a population of sea life within a controlled environment. By controlling the environment, the population of animals within the isolated area can be properly observed and maintained, and it will be a lot more accessible. Due to the increase in accessibility and convenience, many factors such as the reproduction rate, distribution rate and growth or declination of the population can be observed and controlled in order to improve the harvesting rate of the sea life.



How might Aquaculture impact the environment?

Below is a list of some potential culture systems and their environmental impacts.



Extensive Culture Systems:

Seaweed culture: May occupy formerly pristine reefs; rough weather losses; market competition; conflicts/failures, social disruption

Coastal bivalve culture (mussels, oysters, clams, cockles): Public health risks and consumer resistance (microbial diseases, red tides, industrial pollution; rough weather losses; seed shortages; market competition especially for export produce; failures, social disruption.

Coastal fishponds (mullets, milkfish, shrimps, tilapias): Destruction of ecosystems, especially mangroves; increasingly non-competitive with more intensive systems; non sustainable with high population growth; conflicts/failures, social disruption.

Pen and cage culture in eutrophic waters and/or rich benthos (carps, catfish, milkfish tilapias): Exclusion of traditional fishermen; navigational hazards; conflicts, social disruption; management difficulties; wood consumption.

Semi-Intensive Culture Systems: 

Fresh and brackishwater pond (shrimps and prawns, carps, catfish, milkfish, mullets, tilapias): Freshwater: health risks to farm workers from waterborne diseases. Brackishwater: salinisation/acidification of soils/aquifers. Both: market competition, especially for export produce; feed and fertiliser availability/prices; conflicts/failures, social disruption.

Integrated agriculture-aquaculture (rice fish; live stock/poultry-fish; vegetables - fish and all combinations of these): Health risks to farm workers from waterborne diseases; possible consumer resistance to excreta-fed produce; competition from other users of inputs such as livestock excreta and cereal brans; toxic substances in livestock feeds (e.g., heavy metals) may accumulate in pond sediments and fish; pesticides may accumulate in fish.

Sewage-fish culture (waste treatment ponds; latrine wastes and seepage used as pond inputs; fish cages in wastewater channels): Possible health risks to farm workers, fish processors and consumers; consumer resistance to produce.

Cage and pen culture, especially in eutrophic waters or on rich benthos (carps, catfish, milkfish, tilapias): Exclusion of traditional fishermen; navigational hazards; conflicts, social disruption; management difficulties; wood consumption.

Intensive Culture Systems:

Freshwater, brackishwater and marine ponds (shrimps; fish, especially carnivores - catfish, snakeheads, groupers, sea bass, etc.): Effluents/drainage high in BOD and suspended solids; market competition, especially for export product; conflicts/failures, social disruption.

Freshwater, brackishwater and marine cage and pen culture (finfish, especially carnivores - groupers, sea bas, etc. - but also some omnivores such as common carp): Accumulation of anoxic sediments below cages due to faecal and waste feed build-up; market competition, especially for export produce; conflicts/failures, social disruption; consumption of wood and other materials.

Other - raceways, silos, tanks, etc.: Effluents/drainage high in BOD and suspended solids; many location-specific problems.


An example on a specific environmental risk of marine aquaculture:

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Below are a few additional diagrams that will help with your overall understanding of Aquaculture:




aquaculture-MI-diagram-750w.png




RAS_overview.jpg



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