Best 10 Economic Importance Of Aquaculture.pdf

Best 10 Economic Importance Of Aquaculture
Aquaculture
Fisheries and aquaculture make a big contribution to development in the areas of employment. Describing the importance of aquaculture is not an easy task. According to M. Shahbandeh, the number of people who were engaged in fishing and aquaculture amounted to around 40.34 million and 19.27 million respectively worldwide in 2016 and the number has been increasing day by day since 1995. The vast majority of them are from developing countries, working in fish production or fish raising, fish processing, harvesting, and small-scale fish business.

Importance of Aquaculture
Aquaculture; Image: aquaculturealliance.org
Table of Contents
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the controlled process of rearing, breeding and harvesting of aquatic species, both animals and plants, especially for human consumption, though it is controlled aquatic environments like the oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams. It’s a similar conception to agriculture, but with fish instead of plants or livestock. It also serves various functions such as food production, restoration of threatened and endangered species populations, wild stock population enhancement, the building of aquariums, and fish cultures, and habitat restoration.

History of Aquaculture
The husbandry of fish is therefore not a new phenomenon. Ancient practices based on the modifications of natural bodies of water or wetlands to entrap young fish in enclosures until harvest have just evolved into more systematic and scientific methods and techniques.

Aquaculture has a long tradition, which is about 4 000 years, and form the beginning of the time man identified the importance of aquaculture.. Probably aquaculture began in China before very long ago, due to the wants of an emperor to have an unremitting supply of fish in his land. It is supposed that the proficiencies for keeping fish in ponds originated in China with fishermen who kept their extra catch alive temporarily in baskets submerged in rivers or small bodies of water created by damming one side of a river bed.(Ling, S.W,Aquaculture in Southeast Asia: A Historical Overview,A Washington Sea Grant Publication).

Another theory is that aquaculture arose from ancient practices for pinning down fish, with the operations steadily improving from trapping-holding to trapping-holding-growing, and finally into complete agriculture or farming practices.

Methods of Aquaculture
The methods of aquaculture’s farm-to-table process can differ from species to species. Generally, there are four stages of the production chain, starting in hatcheries and ending at the seafood counter in your grocery store. Four stages are:

stages of the production chain
Stages of Production; Image: Ruddra
Each of these stages may vary concerning its effect on the environment and the quality and safety of the seafood they produce.

The first stage in the aquaculture production chain is the hatchery. This is where the breeding of fish, hatch

1. Best10EconomicImportanceOf
Aquaculture
Aquaculture
Fisheriesandaquaculturemakeabigcontributiontodevelopmentinthe
areasofemployment.Describingtheimportanceofaquacultureisnotan
easytask.AccordingtoM.Shahbandeh,thenumberofpeoplewhowere
engagedinfishingandaquacultureamountedtoaround40.34million
and19.27millionrespectivelyworldwidein2016andthenumberhas
beenincreasingdaybydaysince1995.Thevastmajorityofthemare
fromdevelopingcountries,workinginfishproductionorfishraising,fish
processing,harvesting,andsmall-scalefishbusiness.
Aquaculture;Image:aquaculturealliance.org
TableofContents
Aquaculture

2. Aquacultureisthecontrolledprocessofrearing,breedingandharvesting
ofaquaticspecies,bothanimalsandplants,especiallyforhuman
consumption,thoughitiscontrolledaquaticenvironmentslikethe
oceans,lakes,rivers,ponds,andstreams.It’sasimilarconceptionto
agriculture,butwithfishinsteadofplantsorlivestock.Italsoserves
variousfunctionssuchasfoodproduction,restorationofthreatenedand
endangeredspeciespopulations,wildstockpopulationenhancement,
thebuildingofaquariums,andfishcultures,andhabitatrestoration.
HistoryofAquaculture
Thehusbandryoffishisthereforenotanewphenomenon.Ancient
practicesbasedonthemodificationsofnaturalbodiesofwateror
wetlandstoentrapyoungfishinenclosuresuntilharvesthavejust
evolvedintomoresystematicandscientificmethodsandtechniques.
Aquaculturehasalongtradition,whichisabout4000years,andform
thebeginningofthetimemanidentifiedtheimportanceofaquaculture..
ProbablyaquaculturebeganinChinabeforeverylongago,duetothe
wantsofanemperortohaveanunremittingsupplyoffishinhisland.It
issupposedthattheproficienciesforkeepingfishinpondsoriginatedin
Chinawithfishermenwhokepttheirextracatchalivetemporarilyin
basketssubmergedinriversorsmallbodiesofwatercreatedby
dammingonesideofariverbed.(Ling,S.W,AquacultureinSoutheast
Asia:AHistoricalOverview,AWashingtonSeaGrantPublication).
Anothertheoryisthataquaculturearosefromancientpracticesfor
pinningdownfish,withtheoperationssteadilyimprovingfrom
trapping-holdingtotrapping-holding-growing,andfinallyintocomplete
agricultureorfarmingpractices.
MethodsofAquaculture

3. Themethodsofaquaculture’sfarm-to-tableprocesscandifferfrom
speciestospecies.Generally,therearefourstagesoftheproduction
chain,startinginhatcheriesandendingattheseafoodcounterinyour
grocerystore.Fourstagesare:
StagesofProduction;Image:Ruddra
Eachofthesestagesmayvaryconcerningitseffectontheenvironment
andthequalityandsafetyoftheseafoodtheyproduce.
Thefirststageintheaquacultureproductionchainisthehatchery.This
iswherethebreedingoffish,hatchingofeggsandrearingoffish
throughtheearlylifestageshappens.
Whentheyareenoughmature,theyaretransferredtothecommercial
farmtogrowup.
Theyaregrowntoharvestsizeordesiredweight,usingfeedproduced
atfeedmillswhichisanotherstageofaquaculture.
Thefisharethentransportedtoaprocessingfacility,wheretheyare
packagedandsenttofoodretailersandgrocerystores,whereyoucome
intogetit.
ClassificationsofAquaculture
Thoughvariousaquaculturecommitsareuseduniversallyinthreetypes
oftheenvironmentfirstoneisfreshwater,thethirdoneisbrackish-water
(Brackishwateriswaterhavingmoresalinitythanfreshwater,butnotas

4. muchasseawater),andthethirdoneismarineorsaltwaterforagreat
varietyofcultureorganisms.
Freshwateraquacultureiscarriedouteitherinfishponds,fishpens,fish
cages,or,onadefinedscale,inricepaddies.
Brackish-wateraquacultureispracticedmainlyinfishpondslocatedin
coastalareas.
Marinecultureemployseitherfishcagesorsubstratesformolluscsand
seaweedssuchasstakes,ropes,andrafts.
Fishculturesystemslayoutfromextensivetointensiverelyingonthe
stockingcompactnessofthecultureorganisms,thepointofinputs,and
thedegreeofmanagement.Wheregovernmentpriorityisdirected
towardincreasedfishproductionfromaquaculturetohelpmeetdomestic
demand,eitherasaresultofthelackofaccesstolargewaterbodiesor
theoverutilizationofmarineorinlandfisheries,aquaculturepracticesare
almostexclusivelyorientedtowardproductionfordomesticconsumption.
Thesepracticesinclude:
(i)Pondcultureinfreshwaterwithfreshwaterfishspecies;
(ii)Integratedfarmingormixedfarming;
(iii)Brackish-waterfinfishculture;
(iv)Mariculturewithsaltwaterfishspecies,
TypesofAquaculture

5. Generally,fishcultivationistheelementaryformofaquaculture.Fish
farmingmeansthecultivationoffishinman-madeponds,lakes,tanks,
andanyotherenclosurescommercially.Themostcommontypesof
farmedfisharecatfish,tilapia,salmon,carp,cod,andtroutthesevary
fromcountrytocountryanddemandofthelocalmarket.Withtherisein
over-fishingandthedemandforwildfisheries,thefish-farmingindustry
hasgrowntomeetupthehugedemandforfishproducts.Therearefour
typesofaquaculturearepracticedingeneral,whicharemariculture,fish
farming,algaculture,andthelastoneisintegratedfishfarming.Among
these,thefourthoneisthelatest,andmostscientificmethodsare
applied.
1.Mariculture
Itisoneofthebranchesofaquaculturethatcultivatesmarineorganisms
commercially.Itmayeitherintheopenocean,anenclosedportionofthe
ocean,lakeortanks,orpondsfilledwithseawaterdirectlyorindirectly.
Butcontainingseawaterforallthetimeinthissystemisamust.
Sowecansaythatmaricultureisaparticularizedextensionof
aquaculturethatisundertakeninmarineenvironments.Theorganisms
bredherenumbersofspeciessuchasflounder,whiting,prawn,oysters,
kelp,andseaweed,andothershellfish.
Theseseaplantandfishspeciesareusedinfabricationindustriessuch
ascosmeticsandjewelrycommercially.Seaweedisusedtomakefacial
creams.Pearlsarepickedfrommolluscschangingintofashionable
items.
2.Fishfarming

6. Fishfarming,thewell-knownconcept,isthemostcommontypeof
aquaculture.Itincludestheselectivebreedingoffish,eitherin
freshwaterorseawater,toproducefishcommercially.Itishighlyusedas
itallowsfortheproductionofacheapsourceofproteinforthepoorand
coastalcountries.
Itiseasiertodothanotherkindsoffarmingasfisharenot
care-intensive,onlyrequiringfoodandproperwaterconditionsaswell
astemperatures.
Theprocessisalsolessland-intensiveasthesizeofpondsrequiredat
presenttogrowsomefishspecies.Tilapia/catfishfarmingrequiresa
smallerspacethangrowingthesameamountofproteinfromcattleor
otherlivestock.
FishFarming;Image:borgenmagazine.com
3.Algaculture
Itisanotherformofaquacultureinvolvingthefarmingofspeciesof
algae.It’spracticediscomparativelylowthanotherformsofaquaculture.

7. Themajorpartitionsofitthatarecultivatedfallintothefamilyof
microalgaewhichmentionedasphytoplanktonorplanktonicalgaealso.
Macroalgaeusuallyrecognizedasseaweedthatalsohavemany
commercialandindustrialuses.Butowingtotheirsizeandthe
necessariesoftheenvironmentinwhichtheyneedtogrow,theydonot
lendthemselvesasreadilytocultivation.
Theusesofcommercialandindustrialalgaecultivation,includingthe
productionoffoodingredientssuchasomega-3fattyacidsornatural
foodcolorantsanddyes,food,fertilizer,bio-plastics,pharmaceuticals,
andalgalfuel.Itcanalsobeusedasameansofpollutioncontrol.
However,foreconomicfeasibility,theyhavetobegrownandharvested
inlargenumberscommercially.Algaearefindinginmanyapplicationsin
today’smarketsalso.
4.IntegratedAquaculture
Integratedaquaculturecommonlyknownasintegratedmultitrophic
aquacultureisanadvancedsystemofaquaculturewheredifferent
trophiclevelsaremixedintothesystemtoprovidedifferentnutritional
needsforeachother.Itisanefficientsystemasittriestosimulatethe
ecologicalsystemexistinginthenaturalhabitat.Inmanysituations,itis
alsoknownasmixedfarming.
Itmakesuseoftheseintertropicaltransfersofresourcestoensure
maximumresourceutilizationbyusingthewasteoflargerorganismsas
foodsourcesforthesmallerones.Thepracticeensuresthenutrientsare
recycled.Thisprocessislesswastefulandproducesmoreproducts.
ImportanceofAquaculture

8. Allovertheworld,thedemandforseafoodisincreasingrapidlyasthe
populationisincreasing.Itaccountsformorethan50%oftheworld
marketforfishorfishproducts.Todaypeoplearemoreknowledgeable
abouttheimportanceofaquaculturelikeseafoodanditsnutriasvalue.It
providesanefficientmeansofproteinproduction.
Itisaregularpartofthefoodforbetterhealthandfightscardiovascular
diseases,cancer,andmanyothermajorillnesses.Aquacultureaddsto
wildseafoodandmakesitcheaperandeasilyaccessibletoall,
especiallythecountrieswhichdependononlyimportedseafoodonly.
Theimportanceofaquaculturecanbedescribedinmanyways,like
economicimportance,socialimportance,environmentalimportance,and
others.Thoughallarerelatedtotheeconomicimportanceof
aquaculture.So,herewewilldiscusstheimportanceofaquaculture
whichisrelatedtotheeconomicimportanceofaquaculture.
Theeconomicimportanceofaquacultureisdiscussedasfollows.
1.SourcesofFood
Theimportanceofaquacultureasasourceoffoodisindescribable.Fish
andotherseafoodaregreatsourcesofproteinforhumans.Theyalso
havetoagreaterextentnutritionalmerit.Wegetnaturaloilssuchas
omega-3fattyacidswhichareessentialforourhealthfromfish.Itoffers
uswhitemeatwhichisgoodforthebloodinreducingorcontrolling
cholesterollevelsasopposedtobeeforotheranimalmeat.
Fishisalsocomparativelyeasiertokeepprocessingthanother
meat-producinganimalsastheycanconvertmorefeedintoprotein
easily.Consequently,itsoverallspiritualrebirthfromapoundoffoodtoa

9. poundofproteinmakesitmoreinexpensivetoerectfishastheyusethe
nutrientorfoodmoreexpeditiously.
2.SourcesofFuel
Fishoraqua-culturalproductisimportantforuseasfuelforalongtime.
Fromtheearlytime,itwasnotcommercialbutitisusedtodayfor
commercialpurposesasitissustainableandeco-friendly.For,algaeare
tardilybeingformulatedintosubstitutefuelsourcesbyhavingthem
producefuelsthatcanexchangepresent-dayfossilfuels.Algaeproduce
lipoidsthatifgleanedcanbecauterizedasasubstitutefuelsource
whoseentirespin-offswouldbewaterwhenburnt.
Suchadiscoverycouldfacilitatethedependenceoftheworldon
practicedfossilfuels.Itwillreducethepriceofenergybygrowing
insteadofdrillingfossilfuels(oil,petroleum).Furthermore,algaefuelis
cleanerandproducesasourceofenergy,whichmeansitcanoverturn
theenergysectorandcreateamoresustainableandeco-friendly
economythatheadsoffthethunderingnatureofoilandreplacesitwitha
moreamplefuelsource.
3.JobOpportunities
Aquacultureiscreatinganincreasingnumberofjobopportunities.
Potentialjobsinthemarketasitcreatesbothnewproductsforamarket
andcreatesjobopportunitiesforthelaborersareneededtokeepupthe
poolsandharvesttheorganismsgrownproperly.Theriseinjobsisin
generalrecognizedinthird-worldcountriesorunder-developing
countriesasanaquacultureproviderbothinfoodsourcesandadditional
sourcesofincometosupplementthosepeoplewholiveintheseareas.
Soeconomicimportanceofaquacultureisincreasingdaybyday.

10. WorldEmploymentforFishersandFishFarmers;1995to2018
WorldEmploymentforFishersandFishFarmers:Datasource:FAO
Italsoeconomizesfishermen’stimeastheydonotneedtospendtheir
wholedaysatseafishing.Itallowsthemsparetimetoengageinother
economicactivitiessuchasemploymentinthesubstitutebusiness
sector.Thisincreaseinentrepreneurshipprovidesmoreemploying
possibleactionandmoreoccupations.
4.ReduceTradeDeficit
Themostindescribableeconomicimportanceofaquacultureisreducing
thetradedeficitofaquaculture-developedcountries.Allcountriesinthe
worldarenotinthesamegeographicallocation,somearelandlocked,
likeNepal,Afghanistan,Bhutan,andsomearewater-lockedlikeJapan,
SriLanka,soallcountriesdonotaboundinfishorseafood.Some
countriesexportseafoodandsomecountriesimportseafood.The

11. seafoodtradeinAmericaisprimarilybasedontradefromAsiaand
Europe,andmostofitisimported.Theconsequentequilibriumplacesa
tradedeficitonthenation.Ontheotherhand,AsiaandEuropean
countriesimportindustrialorheavyproductsfromAmerica.
Againitwouldprovideameansforthediminutionofthisshortfallata
comparativelyloweropportunitycostaslocalproductioncouldmeanthat
theseafoodwouldbefresher.Itwouldalsobemoreinexpensiveon
accountofcuttingdowntransportcosts.
5.PollutionControl
Asweknowthatsoilisthenaturalfilteroftheearthmolluscsorseaweed
actlikethat.Seaweedactsarenotforgettableasalotlikethegrassof
theseaisfilteringournaturecontinuously.Boththesebeingsstrainthe
waterthatflowsthroughthemasbroughtinbythecurrentandcleanthe
wateraswell.Thissystemallowsforabufferstatethatdefendstherest
oftheseafromcontaminationfromtheland,specificallyfromactions
thatagitatetheseabedandraisedust.
Again,theeconomicimportanceofaquacultureslikemolluscsand
seaweedcancreateanadditionalforcefromauthoritiestodefendtheir
habitatsastheyassisteconomicgrandness.Thefinancialwelfareis
accomplishedtoprovideabonusforthegovernmentorauthoritiesto
defendtheseastoprotectseafoodrevenueaswell.
6.ReducingWildStockPressure
Thepatternofaquaculturepermitssubstitutereservoirsoffoodinstead
offishingthesamespeciesintheirbiologicalhabitats.Population
numbersofsomewildstocksofsomespeciesareatriskofbeingrun

12. throughduetooverfishingbypeopleforgettingtheimportanceof
aquacultureanditssystems.
Aquacultureoffersasubstitutebyallowingfarmerstospawnthosesame
speciesinenslavementandallowthewildpopulationstoregenerate.
Theinducementoftolesserextentlaborformoregainsdrivesfishersto
converttofishfarmersandmakeevenmoreearningsthanbefore.Italso
allowsthecheckoftheproviderofthefishinthemarketgivingthemthe
powertogenerateexcessstockorreducetheirproductiontoreapthe
bestearningsuncommitted.
7.UsingSeaResourcesSustainably
Atpresentasusingsearesourcessustainablytheimportanceof
aquacultureanditssystemsisindefinable.Aquacultureprovides
alternativeresourcesforfishingfromthesea.Enhanceddemandfor
nutrientsorfoodsourcesandanincreaseinglobalizationhasconducted
enhancedfishing.Atthesametime,thishasguidedfishermento
becomeselfishandoverfishthewantedorhigh-demandspecies.The
cultivationoffishoraquaculture,itallowsforbothanalternativeanda
chanceforwildstockstorefillovertime.
8.BiodiversityConservation
Aquaculturesshowthewayofcultivationofvariousfisheswhether
cultivatedorwild.Artificialaquacultureshelpustodefendbiodiversityby
reducingthefishingactivitiesonthewildstockintheirecosystems.By
creatingalternativestofishing,thereislessattackonthewildfish’s
sticksofthevariousspeciesintheseaoranyothernaturalreserves.
Reducedactivityoffishingsavesthevarietyoftheaquaticecosystem
fromextinctiononaccountofoverfishing.

13. 9.EfficiencyIncreasing
Anotherimportanceofaquacultureisincreasingefficiency.Fishismore
efficienttoconvertfeedintobodyproteinthananyother
protein-containingmeatlikecattleorchickenmeat.Itismuchmore
effectivemeaningthatthefishcompaniesmakemorefoodforlessfeed
comparatively.Suchefficiencymeansthatlessfoodandenergyare
usedtoproducefood,andtheproductionprocessismoreinexpensive
aswell.Iteconomizesresourcesandevenpermitsmorefoodtobe
producedleadingtoensuringreservesandlessstressontheenvirons.
10.ReduceEnvironmentalDisturbance
Atpresentinreducingenvironmentaldisturbancetheimportanceof
aquacultureisindescribableanditiswell-knowntoall.Byincreasingand
practicingaquaculturecommercially,fishfarminginspecific,thereisa
reducedneedforthefishingofthewildstock.Asaresult,itputsless
pressureontheenvironmentandequallyreduceshumaninterferenceas
well.Actionsofpowerboatsandotherhumanbeingdeterminesuchas
theremovalofviablebreedingadultfishareallstressesputonthe
aquaticecosystems.Theirdiscontinuationallowsalsotheecosystemto
bloomandfinditsnaturalbalance.
Thoughtheimportanceofaquaculturecan’tbedescribedinwordssome
peoplearetryingtohuntourvaluablenaturalspeciesindiscriminately.
Someofthemareabolishedforeverandsomeofthemareonthewayto
abolish.Soitistimetosavethem,thoughatpresentmanycounties
havetakenaninitiativetoprotectthesesearesources.
FAOhasalsotakensomeinitiativesasapartoftheexecutionofthe
CodeofConduct,particularlyArticle9(AquacultureDevelopment)the
departmenttakeschargeofnumerousactivitiesrelatedtothepromotion

14. ofcreditworthyaquacultureorfishfarmingandtoensurethebest
managementpracticesforsustainability,foodsafety,and
environmentallyfriendlywaysforfarmedfishandshellfishproduction.