Planet over Profit

Most of us who eat seafood have probably assumed that the fish on our plates is caught by fishermen in one of the last places we still hunt for our food, the sea. However, it may surprise you that there is about a 50/50 chance that your fish comes from a farm rather than the wild. In fact, if current trends continue, it is much more likely that your fish will come from a farm in the very near future.

Worldwide aquaculture production has existed for many thousands of years in places like China where the traditional culture of carp has provided fish protein for the masses. Aquaculture includes everything from seaweed, shellfish, freshwater fish, and ocean finfish favorites (e.g. salmon). Today, aquaculture is the fastest growing form of food production on the planet and represents roughly 50% of global seafood supplies. By 2050, aquaculture is predicted to represent about 70% of global seafood supplies (FAO).

I have now worked on aquaculture sustainability issues for the past 8 years and one of the questions I am often asked is “why is aquaculture so bad?” The quick answer to this question is that aquaculture is not “bad” across the board. Farmed seafood is and will continue to be an important method of providing protein to our species’ ever-growing population. What is important to consider, however, is the intensity of production and the species produced. Global aquaculture production is actually dominated by freshwater fish (50% of production) and shellfish (30% of production)(FAO), which are relatively benign environmentally because these animals feed low on the food chain and require low inputs for production. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of culturing such species are less than those of agricultural protein production such as beef, chicken, and pork.

If you have ever heard that aquaculture is a bad thing, it because of some very bad apples that currently make up less than 12% of global production (FAO). It is the production of high value species like salmon and shrimp that have created these negative perceptions about aquaculture and their consumption should indeed be avoided. The culture of both these organisms has resulted in significant, scientifically documented environmental impacts such as: declines of wild salmon populations, destruction of mangrove habitat, loss of biodiversity, marine pollution from wastes and chemical use, and the killing of marine mammals to name but a few. This blog will cover the negative impacts of salmon and shrimp production as well as the culture of better species like tilapia and catfish in future posts. For now let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. If done properly, aquaculture could be a very important and a sustainable means of nourishing our species with lean fish protein as our oceans recover from decades of over-exploitation.