Why do we farm fish?

 

To bridge the gap between the wild catch and the demand for fish.

 

As a result of the growing world population and a shift in western societies towards healthier eating patterns, there is likely to be a continuing increase in demand for seafood.

 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated in an interim report, entitled: "Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030", published in July 2000, that global fish consumption will rise by 25% by 2030. Average world consumption of fish per person could grow from 16 kg a year, in 1997, to 19–20 kg by 2030, raising the total food use of fish to 150–160 million metric tons.

 

The annual sustainable yield of marine capture fisheries is estimated at no more than 100 million metric tons. “The bulk of the increase in supply therefore will have to come from aquaculture," says the report.

 

Aquaculture is well suited to meeting this increasing demand for seafood. Just as we realized as a society, many, many years ago, that we could not sustain the world with hunting and gathering of land foods, so now must we also face the very same facts when it comes to harvest of the sea.

 

Often fish can be grown in areas currently characterized by low employment rates; providing income and raising living standards. The social and economic impacts on such areas is not to be ignored in our quest for an improved life.