Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Environmental Sustainability Of Aquaculture - 1159 Words

The ocean. A vast, mysterious, and priceless treasure found only on planet earth. Home to some of the most complex and distinct species in the world. Humans have a close connection to oceans. Over the last several centuries, humans nearly harvested every living creature from the seas. Habitat loss, destruction of ecosystems, and even extinction, became the aftermath of the fishing industries. From the oceans, mass amounts of aquatic creatures such as fish, molluscs, and crustaceans were being captured by 4.7 million fishing vessels in 2012, an ever expanding number. (FAO1, 2014). Oceans were left forever changed. Aquaculture is the solution. Using controlled environments and efficiently reproductive fish breeds, humans are able to raise†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Give a man a fish and you feed him for day, teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,† said the Spanish scholar Maimonides nearly a millennium ago. Fishing is a critical source of nutrition for the ever expanding demands of the modern world. The method of farming, feeding and harvesting of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants have been practiced by humans for centuries. It is not until 2012 when aquaculture accounted for nearly 42 percent of the total global seafood production. (FAO, 2014) Being the fastest growing food production industry in the world, aquaculture mostly thrives in Asian countries such as China, India, and Vietnam with global production value at 137.7 billion USD in 2012. (FAO, 2014) However, the negative impacts of aquaculture remains prevalent. China, being the largest producer of aquacultural products, has faced eutrophication and fish waste pollution as a result. (Liu, 2005) Counteractively, the Chinese government has set standards for regulating antibiotics and chemicals used as well as filtering pollution and waste. (NBSO, 2010) Aquaculture is also able to alleviate the lack of activity commonly found in developing nations. Given time, links of food security, rural development, improved nutrition and established services can all be drawn to aquaculture. (FAO, 2006) In the past, rich resources of fish and marine

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