What is Aquaculture
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Aquaculture 101
Aquaculture is simply the farming of fish,
crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, algae and other aquatic organisms.
Aquaculture includes cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under
controlled conditions and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is
the harvesting of wild fish. It is less commonly spelled aquiculture and is
also known as aqua farming.
According to the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), aquaculture “is understood to mean the farming of aquatic
organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming
also implies some form 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’’. It is reported that in 2014 the global aquaculture industry
supplied over one half of the fish and shellfish that was/is still directly
consumed by humans worldwide.
The different types of aquaculture:
1
1. Fish farming
2 2.
Shrimp farming
3 3.
Oyster farming
4 4.
Mariculture
5 5.
Algaeculture and
6 6.
Cultivation of ornamental fish.
Some aquacultural methods commonly used by
farmers include aquaponics and integrated multi-tropic aquaculture, both of
these methods integrates fish farming and aquatic plant farming.
Modern day aquaculture practices are inspired by
the huge demand for high quality protein found in fish i.e. catfish and
tilapia, also the overexploitations of marine species and the decline in wild
fish stocks and catches have giving rise to the demand for farmed fish.
However, finding alternative sources of protein for fish feed is necessary to
boast the fish farming aquaculture industry which is the primary aquaculture
and ensure a sustainable growth for fish farming, there is also the need for
extensive research and useful information for fish farmers to boast their
capabilities and produce more quality protein for human consumption. While aquaculture
is an industry with high economic potential it is somewhat overlooked over looked in same world economies.
Aquaculture
is capable of providing millions of job in regions like Africa where youth restiveness
and unemployment seems to be a major issue.
Brief History of fish farming aquaculture.
It might surprise you to know that aquaculture
has been practiced for centuries; maybe not under the code name “aquaculture”
but the practice of rearing fishes in “man made” environments like ponds and
aquariums have been an age long practice, although the first professional usage
of the word “aquaculture” was in 1855.
Aquaculture has been operating in China since
the 2500 BC. When rivers where subsided after floods, some fish, mainly carp,
were trapped in lakes. Also Early aquaculturist fed their brood using nymphs
and silkworm feces, and ate them. A genetic mutation of carp that is described by some as “fortunate” led to the emergence of the goldfish during the Tang dynasty.
Romans bred fish in ponds and farmed oysters in
coastal lagoons before 100 CE and in Central Europe, early Christian monasteries
adopted roman aquacultural practices.
-source Wikipedia
Although time and technology has changed the
aquaculture industry overtime but it still has huge economic potentials for major world economies and individuals as well.
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