Aquaculture Information Tour - Aquaculture today

Total world supplies from all fisheries and aquaculture sources in 2000 was 130.4 million tonnes by weight, 33.7 million tonnes of that total was utilized in non-food uses.

In 2000, reported total world aquaculture production was 45.7 million tonnes by weight and US$56.5 billion by value. China was reported to have produced 71 percent of the total volume and 49.8 percent of the total value of aquaculture production. More than half of the total world aquaculture production in 2000 was finfish, and the growth of the major species groups continues to be rapid with no apparent slowdown in production to date. World aquatic plant production was 10.1 million tonnes, of which 7.9 million tonnes (US$4.0 billion) originated in China. Source: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2002 FAO Publication

Some sources place the global production of farmed aquatic animals and plants in 2003 at 55 million metric tons with an on-farm value of $67 billion. Like other agricultural farms, aquaculture farms range from small operations for growing locally consumed food to intensive, and mechanized operations servicing international.

Industry Growth

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Forty years ago, in the west (North America), the only salmonid type fish that was farmed commercially was rainbow trout in fresh water. Salmon farming, which is now the main commercial fish farming activity in the west, was developed in Norway in the late 1960s to the early ‘70s, and in Canada in the 1970’s.

Several hundred different fish species and aquatic plants are now farmed around the world. These are grown both for sale and for subsistence food production.

According to FAO statistics, aquaculture's contribution to global supplies of fish, crustaceans and mollusks continues to grow, increasing from 3.9 percent of total production by weight in 1970 to 27.3 percent in 2000. Aquaculture is growing more rapidly than all other food producing sectors. Worldwide, the sector has increased at an average compounded rate of 9.2 percent per year since 1970, compared with only 1.4 percent for capture fisheries and 2.8 percent for terrestrial farmed meat production systems.

It is particularly significant that aquaculture production in developing countries and low-income food-deficit countries has been growing steadily at an average rate of about 10 percent per year since 1970.

Aqua farming continues to reduce the reliance on the hunting and gathering of creatures and plants. The inherent efficiencies of farming versus fishing for the wild catch (hunting) will see a progressive switch from fishing to fish farming. The FAO estimates that the cost of catching fish in the wild, on a global basis, is about 25% higher than the value of the catch. The difference is made up by government subsidies. Were these to be removed from the landed values of wild fisheries, the economic realities would undoubtedly further stimulate the aqua farm industry.

The growth in the Aquaculture industry can also be attributed to other important factors such as consistency in supply and quality, traceability and good documentation of product origins, history and safety record.

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