aquaculture

(redirected from Catfish farming)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical.

aquaculture

aquaculture, the raising and harvesting of fresh- and saltwater plants and animals. The most economically important form of aquaculture is fish farming, an industry that accounts for an ever increasing share of world fisheries production. Formerly a business for small farms, it is now also pursued by large agribusinesses, and by the mid-2010s it had become as significant a source of fish as the as wild fisheries.

Successful aquaculture takes into consideration the biology of the aquatic species (feeding, water flow and temperature needs, disease prevention) and engineering design (water source and water quality study, pond and tank containment systems, water filtration and aeration) as well as issues pertinent to any business. Common products of aquaculture are catfish, tilapia (St. Peter's fish), trout, crawfish, oysters, shrimp, and salmon, and tropical fish for aquariums. Caviar from farm-raised sturgeon is one of the more expensive and exotic aquacultural products. Some are raised in huge freshwater tanks or ponds; others require the running water of rivers or streams. Saltwater species are often raised in saltwater ponds, in enclosed bays, or in pens placed in coastal or deeper sea waters.

There are potential environmental problems associated with aquaculture. Most of the fish that are raised are genetically altered or hybridized for quick growth. If they escape into the wild, they compete against and can crowd out smaller or less voracious native fish. Confined fish can become a breeding ground for diseases or pests, which can be transmitted in some cases to wild fish; confinement also makes the fish more suspectible to attacks by some naturally occurring pests, such as some species of jellyfish, that would be less likely to trouble dispersed wild fish. The food fed to the fish raised in aquaculture facilities may include fishmeal and fish oil derived from fish stocks in marine ecosystems, in some cases byproducts of processing wild caught fish, but in other cases wild caught fish, potentially undermining marine fisheres. In addition, the large amounts of water that are used in freshwater aquaculture become laden with fish feces and unconsumed food that, if not removed through treatment or used as agricultural fertilizer, can add injurious amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to a river or stream when the water is returned to it. Development of improved recirculating-tank technologies, however, may lead to a reduction in such pollution threats, as well as the spread of aquaculture to areas where large volumes of water are not available in the environment (see also aquaponics).

The practice of aquaculture dates back to 1000 B.C. in China. It is growing worldwide, in part in response to overfishing and the deterioration of the world's fisheries and concerns about the effects of pollution on seafood. In the United States, aquaculture is also a response to the increased demand for fish and shellfish as a result of changes in the nation's eating habits.

Bibliography

See M. Landau, Introduction to Aquaculture (1992).

aquaculture

[′ak·wə‚kəl·chər]

(biology)

aquiculture

References in periodicals archive ?

Resource use efficiency in small scale catfish farming in Osun State, Nigeria.

Determinants of Catfish Production in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

But you'll likely draw a blank stare if you ask them what Bangladesh has to do with Mississippi catfish farming. The real answer is that the tiny country on the Indian Subcontinent has plenty to do with it.

Bangladesh prime factor in Mississippi catfish woes--but producers wonder why: Bangladesh's low-cost African catfish serves as fair market value surrogate for Vietnam's higher priced catfish

Majority of the respondents were found to be relatively young in catfish farming as their catfish farming experience 4.6years.

Profit efficiency among catfish farmers in Benue State, Nigeria

Another challenge in the early stages of catfish farming was one of timing.

History of U.S. aquaculture has roots in Arkansas

With rising costs and continued competition from imports, even though Vietnam has been forbidden to label its basa and tra catfish as "catfish," the US catfish farming industry has declined for several consecutive years.

US catfish industry turns to Chef Cat Cora; sales-marketing combine adds member

Catfish farming in Alabama is a relatively new industry: it began in 1960 when three individuals helped create the industry from scratch.

Fishing for Gold

Catfish farming itself is fraught with challenges, and Battle rates the process as "high risk." Currently, Battle Fish Farms consists of approximately 200 ponds holding almost 3,000 acres of water.

The Challenges in Agribusiness

The temperatures inside the greenhouse can go as high as the desired 30-35OC for tilapia and catfish farming. Some farmers have been able to rear the cold water fish, rainbow trout, alongside tilapia through this environmental modification.

All that you need to rear fish the modern way

With the birth of freshwater catfish farming in the 1960s, the catfish has made a big splash, netting the number-one spot in the U.S.

Producing better catfish the hybrid way

Val Slater, a long, time attorney for the domestic catfish farming industry, also attended the Little Rock gathering.

Catfish farming: future fading on a 'a great American story'

"I found out coaching was pretty easy after all," he said of the catfish farming experiment.

Hall of Fame quips from recent inductees

"The DoC decision is unfair and far from objective, as it does not reflect the true situation of tra and basa catfish farming, processing and export by Vietnamese businesses," said Phan Thuy Thanh, spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry.

Vietnam protests US commerce ruling penalizing "dumped" catfish exports. (QFFI's Global Seafood Magazine)

CITE

Site: Follow: Share:

Open / Close