Aquaculture: Is Fish Farming Sustainable Business?

Around the world, people are eating more seafood than ever before and demand is on the rise. In order to meet this demand people are raising fish, shrimp and oysters on “farms” - a practice known as aquaculture. Today, nearly one-third of our seafood comes from these fish farms but the question remains is aquaculture sustainable?

Opinions vary, biased by agenda. Like many environmental issues, it is a complex question and the answer isn’t “black or white” but varying shades of grey. The environmental impact of aquaculture depends on many variables including types of fish raised, methods used and location. Some methods of aquaculture are environmentally sound and some are detrimental.

Proponents of aquaculture argue that the practice is rooted in ancient history and this is true. The earliest records of fish farming are from China and date back to 2500 BC. The Bible refers to fish ponds (Isaiah, Chapter 19, verse 10) as do hieroglyphics from Middle Kingdom Egypt. Romans raised fish in ponds and cultivated oysters and in Hawaii aquaculture practice is at least 1000 years old. However, the scale that aquaculture was practiced in ancient times was much smaller than today.

Although some aquaculture operations are small and provide for local consumption, many are large scale farms for international production. In 2000, aquaculture production worldwide was 45 million tons and estimated at a value of $56 billion (USD). By 2003 those numbers increased and aquaculture production was equal to a value of $67 billion (USD). It is a booming international industry born out of necessity to meet food demands of an increasing population.