Marine aquaculture is the farming, rearing, and harvesting of marine animals and plants for commercial use. It includes shellfish, fish for consumption and pet industry, and plants for nutritional and pharmaceutical companies. Different forms of aquaculture include sea farming, rack farming, and intensive aquaculture. Benefits include consistent quality seafood, reduced wild fish and shellfish killing, and reduced import demand. However, government oversight is not keeping pace with the growth of aquaculture, and some farmed seafood is thought to be less healthy than wild-caught fish.
Marine aquaculture is the process of farming, rearing and harvesting animals and plants for commercial use. Aquaculture can occur in artificial water bodies or existing streams. Marine aquaculture refers to the farming of marine animals, such as shrimp, salmon, oysters and mussels.
Aquaculture includes many different types of farming. The industry produces shellfish and hatchery fish for release into the wild, as well as the production of shellfish and fish for consumption. Marine aquaculture also includes the production of fish for the pet industry, as well as many plants used by nutritional and pharmaceutical companies.
The most common form of marine aquaculture is shellfish production, which includes clams, mussels and oysters. Farmed salmon is another popular product in marine aquaculture, as are shrimp. While most of the production of these animals takes place in coastal waters, there are several offshore aquaculture sites.
Different forms of marine aquaculture used around the world. They include sea farming, rack farming and intensive aquaculture. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and farmers often make their choice based on the type of fish or shellfish they intend to grow.
Sea farming is the process of rearing farmed animals in their native environment. No special facilities are required for sea rearing and the animals receive no supplemental feed. This type of aquaculture only works for animals, like sea cucumbers, that stay in place as they grow. No fishing is permitted in the area until after harvest.
Rack and line rearing provides additional facilities for the animals, but no additional feeding is done. It is used for animals such as oysters and mussels. Farmers weave ropes between two buoys and the animals grow either directly on the rope or in net bags attached to the ropes.
Intensive aquaculture is the type of aquaculture closest to conventional agriculture. The animals live in pens or marine cages and the farmer provides them with food. Salmon and tuna are often farmed this way. It is also the most labor intensive form of aquaculture.
There are many benefits to marine aquaculture. They include producing seafood that tastes good and is of consistent quality, the ability to produce more seafood in less space, reducing the number of wild fish and shellfish killed, and enabling countries to grow their own seafood, reducing import demand. The downside of aquaculture is that in some countries government oversight is not keeping pace with the growth of aquaculture, raising potential environmental concerns. Some forms of farmed seafood are also thought to be less healthy than wild-caught fish.
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