Aquaculture Good

							Allain, Brooke, Amanda, Alexandra
                Introduction
 “Seafood is one of the healthiest and most popular
 sources of protein worldwide. Almost half of the
 seafood we eat comes from farms, making aquaculture
 - seafood farming - the fastest growing food
 production system in the world…Despite a steep
 learning curve for this growing industry – learning in
 just 30 years what land farmers have garnered over
 6,000 years – positive changes in the industry already
 are visible.” –worldwildlife.org
 Total U.S. production is about $1 billion annually,
  compared to a $70 billion world market
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                Shellfish Farming
 Shellfish including
  mussels, clams, and
  oysters are filter feeders.
 They filter food and
  nutrients out of the
  water, including the
  nutrients that cause
  eutrophication and
  algae blooms.
 One oyster can filter
  about 50 gallons of
  water per day.
Example: Chesapeake Bay Oysters
 It is estimated that at their historic population peak,
  oysters filtered all of the Bay’s water in less than one
  week. It takes about one year for the current
  population to do so.
 Farming the native oyster species has a threefold
  effect: it takes fishing pressure off native populations,
  helps filter the bay’s water, and the female farmed
  oysters that reach maturity can disperse 25-85 million
  offspring!
Example: Swedish Mussels
 Nutrient emissions from agriculture and other diffuse
    sources were causing blooms of algae and phytoplankton
    off the coast of Sweden depleting water quality.
   Mussels use these as food sources.
   Farming mussels moves these problem nutrients from the
    sea back to land in the form of edible protein.
   One kg of live mussels will remove 8.5 to 12 g of nitrogen,
    0.6 to 0.8 g of phosphorous, and about 40 to 50 g of
    carbon.
   Source Dr. Odd Lindahl, Kristineberg Marine Biological
    Station, Sweden.
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Freshwater aquaculture
 Catfish, tilapia, and trout are the most commonly
  farmed freshwater fish.
 Tilapia are particularly good for the environment
  because they are herbivores and require no fishmeal to
  eat.
 Freshwater fish farming has fewer environmental
  problems associated with it because it is usually self
  contained in manmade ponds.
 According to the NOAA 70% of aquaculture in the
  United States is freshwater.
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Coastal Aquaculture (Mariculture)
 Aquaculture is often conducted in coastal environments and
    operations can be located on land with a nearby water source
    or in bays, estuaries, or marine waters.
   Marine coasts are used because of high biological
    productivity and easy accessibility
   Finfish, Shrimp, Shellfish, and Algae are grown and used for
    human consumption, pharmaceuticals and feed.
   Aquaculture operations help meet consumer demand for
    seafood and generate jobs and income.
   In Hawaii, the value of aquaculture products produced has
    increase from $13 million in the year 1995 to $28 million in
    2003.
   Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005 (India) – Large
    production of shrimp
       Regulation of activities connected with coastal
         aquaculture in coastal areas
       Mandates the Central Government to take all such
         measures for regulation of guidelines
       Ensures that coastal aquaculture does not cause any
         harm to the coastal environment
       Protection of the livelihood of various sections of people
         living in the coastal areas
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 Off-Shore Aquaculture (Mariculture)
 Aquaculture moves off-shore because of
  less competition for space and the
  natural characteristics of offshore
  waters — deeper water, stronger current
  flow and superior water quality
 The National Offshore Aquaculture
  Act of 2005 (U.S.)
    Issuing of offshore aquaculture permits and
     environmental requirements
    Not subject to fishing regulations that
     restrict size, season and harvest methods
    Require the Secretary of Commerce to work
     with other federal agencies to develop and
     implement a coordinated permitting
     process and enforce policy to protect wild
     stocks and the quality of marine ecosystems
    Establishment of a research and
     development program
    Provide for enforcement of the Act.


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Off-Shore Aquaculture… an ecosystem?




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What is overfishing?
 Overfishing occurs when fish
  and other marine species are
  caught at a rate faster than
  they can reproduce
 It can lead to depletion or
  extinction of fish populations
 Most problems associated
  with overfishing have been
  caused in the last 50 years by
  the growing human
  population demanding food



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Why is overfishing a problem?
                       Developing countries
                        depend on fish
                       Marine biodiversity is
                        in danger
                       Food chain diversity
                        is severely affected
                       Shifts in ecosystem
                        from large fish to
                        smaller fish



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How bad is it?
 Scientists predict that if current
  trends continue, world food
  fisheries could collapse entirely by
  2050 (Dr. Worm)
 70% of the world’s fish stocks are
  either fully exploited or depleted
  (FAO)
 3/4 of the world’s fish stocks are
  being harvested faster than they can
  reproduce (Dr. Worm)
 One in five people on this planet
  depends on fish as their primary
  source of protein (FAO)
 90% of all large predatory fish -
  including tuna, sharks, swordfish,
  cod, and halibut - are gone.
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How can aquaculture help?
 Gives people more control of
  conditions
 Restores depleted species of
  fish & shellfish
 Boosts commercial catches
  and sports fishing
 Complements wild catches to
  meet growing demand
 Improvements of fishmeal
 Nat’l Offshore Aquaculture
  Act of 2007 requires abidance
  of existing water quality laws
  and other pertinent laws

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   Damaging Fishing Techniques and
      Their Subsequent Effects
• Sensitive habitats, endangered species, and marine
  food chain
• 28.7 million tons of by-catch annually associated
  mainly with:
                         • Trawling
                       • Long Lining
                        • Drift Nets
Factory Trawling
 Every pound of commercial catch has 10-20 pounds of
  by-catch associated with it
 Captures sea creatures that were not intended and
  clear-cuts everything in its path
 May be the cause of recent collapse of ground fish
  stock
 Stirs up sediments placing a lot of suspended solids
  into the water column
Trawling
Destroys everything in its   May be the most detrimental
          path                fishing technique to the
                              environment, but is used
                                  most frequently
Long Lining
 Thousands of baited
  hooks up to 80 miles
  long
 Frequently catch non-
  intended species
 180,000 birds die on long
  lines each year
 Sharks are severely
  impacted ,detrimental
  because they have slow
  reproductive rates
Drift Nets
 Free Floating 29-49 feet
  deep and as long as 55
  miles long
 Largest amount of by-
  catch associated with
  drift nets
 Great lengths of drift
  nets are lost every year
  (storms)- “ghost nets”
  creating problems
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Final Thought
 “It is vital that the United States further develop its
  own sustainable aquaculture industry, both to reduce
  its annual $9 billion annual seafood import deficit and
  to keep pace with the growing demand for seafood.”
   -National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
References
 http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag202.htm
 http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/aquaculture.html
 http://columbianewsservice.com/2010/04/awaiting-legislation-eco-friendly-fish-farms-
  in-federal-waters/
 http://www.akvagroup.com/index.cfm?id=319215
 http://aquaculture.tn.nic.in/
 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/aquaculture.aspx
 http://fishery.about.com/od/BenefitsofAquaculture/a/Aquaculture-What-Is-
  Aquaculture_2.htm
 http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/0224/Recirculating-aquaculture-
  systems-The-future-of-fish-farming/(page)/2
 http://www.bayoyster.com/eat.html
 http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0709-interview_mike_sutton.html
 http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/earth/fisheries-and-aquaculture.php



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How to avoid environmental impact
 To better manage possible impacts from this growing industry, coastal
    managers can address the siting and management of aquaculture in a
    comprehensive manner. For example:
   New policies, laws, and/or regulations can provide a mechanism to
    balance the needs of different marine resource users and protect the
    health of coastal and ocean resources;
   Siting tools can help identify areas to site aquaculture facilities that
    will minimize conflicts with existing resource users;
   Coordination mechanisms between regulatory agencies at the local,
    state and federal level can improve and speed decision making;
   Accurately assessing environmental impacts can improve decision
    making.


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How to Sustain Aquaculture




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Recirculation Aquaculture Systems
 This new technology eliminates many of the
  environmental issues associated with aquaculture.
 About 99.75 percent of the water in each unit is
  continuously cleaned and returned to the fish tanks,
  greatly reducing the water footprint.
 These self contained systems prevent any possibility of
  fish, fish waste, antibiotics, or other chemicals to get
  out into the natural environment.
 The excess nutrients in the waste can be used as
  fertilizer in local agriculture.

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Future Technology




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              Replacing Fish Meal
 Fish meal is traditionally used to feed carnivorous fish such as
    trout and salmon.
   This fishmeal is attained by using fish by products and baitfish
    that is caught in the wild.
   These baitfish are key to the health of wild ecosystems and they
    can also contain heavy metals which can be transferred to the
    farmed fish and then to humans.
   Recently the USDA has developed a plant based fish feed using
    protein from soybeans, barley, and corn, with no fish or fish oil.
   Studies have shown that this new food preforms as well or better
    than traditional fish feed using fish meal.

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