What is aquaculture?

What is aquaculture?

Aquaculture is defined as the managed production of aquatic animals or plants in freshwater, brackish water, or seawater. While often understood as large-scale commercial production for consumption, aquaculture also plays a crucial role in supplying wild species stocks and supporting efforts to conserve endangered species, such as the farming of baitfish and ornamental plants.

A key feature of aquaculture is that the living environment of the cultured organisms is managed and controlled; this varies considerably depending on the species, life stage, and farming objectives. Compared to terrestrial farming, aquaculture encompasses a far wider range of species, with over 400 species currently being farmed worldwide.

What are the advantages of aquaculture?

Currently, over 50% of the seafood consumed worldwide comes from aquaculture. Driven by increasing demand for seafood, technological advancements have made it possible to farm aquatic organisms in any body of water, including ponds, rivers, estuaries, nearshore, and offshore areas.

A United Nations study highlights that aquaculture plays an increasingly significant role in food security, nutrition, and coastal and rural economic growth. The benefits of developing aquaculture mainly include:

Providing healthy, affordable seafood for the growing global population.

Creating employment opportunities in economically underdeveloped regions.

Supporting the cultural and ecological continuity of areas with a long history of aquaculture traditions.

Establishing local, regional, national, and international partnerships and contributing to ocean conservation through the sharing of research data, technology, and resources.

Reducing over-reliance on wild stocks.

Producing biofuels through algae cultivation.

Restoring human-impacted aquatic systems through the cultivation of beneficial species (e.g., filter-feeding mollusks).