"Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lotus)."
Aquaculture involves the study of how to raise fish and other aquatic animals in captivity for food production.
Aquatic Biology: This topic deals with the study of various aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants.
Water Quality Management: This involves understanding and maintaining the quality of water in the aquaculture system.
Feeding and Nutrition: This topic covers the various feed formulations and feeding regimes required for different species of fish.
Disease Management: The health of the fish is essential to successful aquaculture, and this topic covers the identification and management of common diseases.
Genetics and Breeding: Understanding the genetics of the fish and the breeding process is important to develop high-yield strains of the species.
Aquaponics: This is a sustainable system that combines aquaculture with hydroponics, where fish waste is used to grow plants.
Economics of Aquaculture: Understanding the economics of aquaculture involves analyzing the costs and returns associated with the production of fish.
Aquaculture Systems: This includes the design and operation of various aquaculture systems such as ponds, tanks, and raceways.
Environmental Law and Regulations: This topic deals with the laws and regulations governing aquaculture activities to promote sustainable practices.
Marketing of Aquaculture Products: This involves the marketing and distribution of aquaculture products to the global market.
Finfish aquaculture: This type of aquaculture focuses on the farming of fish species like salmon, trout, tilapia, catfish, and other types of fish that are commonly used for food.
Shellfish aquaculture: This type of aquaculture focuses on the farming of shellfish species like oysters, mussels, clams, scallops, and others. These species are commonly used for food, but also for their pearls, shells, and other products.
Crustacean aquaculture: This type of aquaculture focuses on the farming of crustaceans like shrimp, prawns, crabs, and lobsters. These species are commonly used for food, but also for their shells, claws, and other products.
Seaweed aquaculture: This type of aquaculture focuses on the farming of seaweed species like kelp, nori, and wakame. These species are commonly used for food, but also for their medicinal properties, nutrition value, and other products.
Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture: Also known as IMTA, this type of aquaculture involves the farming of multiple species in a single ecosystem, where the waste of one species is used as food for the other species, creating a sustainable and balanced aquaculture system.
Aquaponics: This type of aquaculture involves the farming of fish and plants in a symbiotic system, where the waste produced by fish is used as fertilizer for plants, and the plants help to filter and clean the water, creating a sustainable and efficient aquaculture system.
Recirculating Aquaculture Systems: Also known as RAS, this type of aquaculture involves the use of closed, recirculating systems that treat and reuse the water, using minimal amounts of fresh water while producing high-quality fish.
Mariculture: This type of aquaculture involves the farming of marine species like fish, shellfish, and seaweed in the ocean, using floating cages or nets. This type of aquaculture is often used in areas where land-based aquaculture is not possible.
Ornamental Aquaculture: This type of aquaculture involves the breeding and farming of exotic and colorful fish species for use in aquariums and ornamental purposes.
Bioremediation Aquaculture: This type of aquaculture involves the use of aquatic plants and animals to clean contaminated water bodies or to restore damaged ecosystems.
"Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater, brackish water and saltwater populations under controlled or semi-natural conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish."
"Mariculture, commonly known as marine farming, refers specifically to aquaculture practiced in seawater habitats and lagoons, as opposed to freshwater aquaculture."
"Pisciculture is a type of aquaculture that consists of fish farming to obtain fish products as food."
"It is an environmental source of food and commercial product which help to improve healthier habitats and used to reconstruct the population of endangered aquatic species."
"Technology has increased the growth of fish in coastal marine waters and open oceans due to the increased demand for seafood."
"Aquaculture can be conducted in completely artificial facilities built on land (onshore aquaculture), as in the case of fish tanks, ponds, aquaponics or raceways, where the living conditions rely on human control such as water quality (oxygen), feed, temperature."
"Alternatively, they can be conducted on well-sheltered shallow waters nearshore of a body of water (inshore aquaculture), where the cultivated species are subjected to relatively more naturalistic environments, or on fenced/enclosed sections of open water away from the shore (offshore aquaculture), where the species are either cultured in cages, racks or bags, and are exposed to more diverse natural conditions such as water currents, diel vertical migration, and nutrient cycles."
"According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aquaculture "is understood to mean the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated."
"The reported output from global aquaculture operations in 2019 was over 120 million tonnes valued at US$274 billion."
"However, there are issues with the reliability of the reported figures."
"In current aquaculture practice, products from several kilograms of wild fish are used to produce one kilogram of a piscivorous fish like salmon."
"Particular kinds of aquaculture include fish farming, shrimp farming, oyster farming, mariculture, pisciculture, algaculture (such as seaweed farming), and the cultivation of ornamental fish."
"Particular methods include aquaponics and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, both of which integrate fish farming and aquatic plant farming."
"The FAO describes aquaculture as one of the industries most directly affected by climate change and its impacts."
"Some forms of aquaculture have negative impacts on the environment, such as through nutrient pollution or disease transfer to wild populations."