Marine Science | Solutions for a Healthy Ocean

Sustainable Aquaculture

Overview

With the global demand for seafood increasing and wild fish populations declining worldwide, aquaculture is an increasingly important source of both food and revenue. Aquaculture already supplies approximately one third of the fish consumed globally and holds the potential to become an even larger source of fish and shellfish in coming years. There are a number of ecological considerations of fish farming, including issues associated with using wild fish products in aquaculture feeds; the spread of disease in marine systems; pollution; and the escape of farmed fish into wild habitats. Scientists both within and outside the aquaculture industry are working to better understand these issues, mitigate any potential negative impacts, and determine how to best maintain ecosystem services and functioning as aquaculture production expands.

Synthesis Documents

In November 2003, Dr. Jane Lubchenco submitted a guest editorial to World Aquaculture, the publication of the World Aquaculture Society. Entitled "The Blue Revolution: A Global Ecological Perspective", the article outlines the issues and the importance of incorporating an ecological consideration into the ongoing development of aquaculture production.

Editorial

In November 2005, COMPASS hosted a forum for aquaculture scientists and ecologists to discuss scientific perspectives on the potential increase of offshore, carnivorous fish farming. Topics of feeds, escapes, disease and pollution were addressed in production and ecological contexts.

Workshops

COMPASS has hosted several workshops and scientific discussions to explore key issues and research related to the development of sustainable aquaculture. For meeting materials or additional information about a specific workshop, please click on the titles below:

Miami, FL (Nov 2005)
Architects for Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture: Meeting needs while Maintaining Ecosystem Services

Stanford University (Sep 2002)
How do Aquaculture and Capture Fisheries Interact? The Ecological, Economic and Policy Implications of Aquaculture Escapes

Further reading on this topic

The following literature is meant to provide a brief, general overview of some of the main issues surrounding Sustainable Aquaculture. For more information, or for more specific questions, please contact Brooke Simler Smith.

Costa-Pierce, BA. 2003. Use of Ecosystems Science in Ecological Aquacutlure. Bulletin of the Aquaculture Association of Canada 103:32-40.

Krkosek, M, MA Lewis, A Morton, LN Frazer and JP Volpe. 2006. Epizootics of wild fish induced fr farm fish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 15506-15510. Krkosek, M, MA Lewis, and JP Volpe. 2005. Transmission dynamics of parasitic sea lice from farm to wild salmon. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 272:689-696.

Naylor, R and M Burke. 2005. Aquaculture and Ocean Resources: Raising Tigers of the Sea. Annual Review of Environmental Resources 30:185-218.

Naylor, R, K Hindar, IA Fleming, R Goldburg, S Williams, JP Volpe, F Whoriskey, J Eagle, D Kelso, and M Mangel. 2005. Fugitive salmon: assessing the risks of escaped fish from net-pen aquaculture. Bioscience 55:1-11.

Tacon, AGJ and IP Forster. 2003. Aquafeeds and the Environment: policy considerations. Aquaculture 226:181-189.