Introduction to Aquaculture: The Pros and Cons of Fish Production

Comprehensive Unit61 pagesGrade Level: High SchoolIncludes curriculum unit + CD-ROM of images + video lecture on DVD Aquaculture, or fish farming, has been around for centuries in small, rural settings, but it has exploded worldwide in the past few decades into a commercial activity for the global market. Today, farmed fish make up more than one-fourth of the fish we eat, and fish production from the aquaculture industry is an attractive means to relieve the stress on the ocean's fisheries. Unfortunately, if it is mismanaged or done without consideration for its external impacts, aquaculture also has the potential to damage the environment and to contribute to the collapse of global fisheries. The heterogeneity of aquaculture systems, in size, location, and contribution to the local economy, makes it difficult to characterize the industry as "good" or "bad." Each type of aquaculture has legitimate benefits as well as serious costs, and because aquaculture products are traded on a