Preface

Preface
Global aquaculture remains the fastest growing food industry with growth
since 1970 of 8.8 % per annum.1 This growth compares with 1.2 % and 2.8 %
for capture fisheries and terrestrial farmed meat production, respectively.1
Total global aquaculture production reached 59.4 million tonnes in 2004,
worth an estimated US$ 70.3 billion, including 46 million tonnes of aqua-
culture product consumed for food. Global demand for seafood has con-
tinued to rise, fuelled by global population growth and an increase in per
capita consumption due to increasing protein consumption in many devel-
oping countries and an increase in relative preference for seafood protein
in many developed countries. Global population was estimated at 6.72
billion in November 2008 and, while growth has halved from the peak in
around 1963, it is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2040.2 Seafood consump-
tion has increased to 16.6 kg/person/y, the highest on record.1 To cater for
global demands in 2020, an estimated 70 million tonnes of seafood will be
required from aquaculture.1
Past production increases have come from new industries, new areas for
production and intensification of production, mainly in developing coun-
tries. Since the early practice of capturing and holding animals, aquaculture
has become much more sophisticated with most animals being bred in
purpose-built hatcheries, cultured in ponds, cages or tanks, often with some
control over the environment, harvested for a specific market and often
processed to add value to the product. The massive production increase
1
FAO (2007) The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2006, Rome, Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
2
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopinfo.html
xxx Preface
(from approximately 1 million tonnes in the 1950s to 59.4 million tonnes in

2004) arose from increases in the area under culture and the number of
species cultured and from a shift in the reliance on natural feeds to the
greater use of formulated feeds that increasingly met the species’ nutri-
tional requirements. Improvements in other aspects of husbandry, such as
health management, and better technology, such as cage and tank systems,
also contributed.
New technology is now needed to boost production, protect fragile envi-
ronments and supply the highest quality product. The easy gains in produc-
tion increase have now mostly been made and that to increase production
in the next decade and a half to 70 million tonnes or beyond will require a
major new improvement in technology. This is the subject of this book,
Aquaculture: New Technologies.
We have divided the contents of this book into six parts and selected
international experts to contribute individual chapters. The first four
parts deal with developments in new technologies for genetic improvement
and reproduction, health, diet and husbandry and aquaculture system
design.
Aquaculture has lagged behind agriculture in applying genetic improve-
ment techniques, but this is a rapidly changing field. We present chapters
that detail advances in genetic improvement for finfish, shrimp and mol-
luscs, controlling reproduction and gender, and sterility and genomics.
Stress and disease accompany intensive animal production for all species,
and managing health is a fundamental requirement for all aquaculture
producers. We are regularly discovering new diseases for aquatic animals
but, fortunately, we are also developing new treatments and therapies. In
the Health part, advances in diagnosis, vaccine development and new
methods to control viruses, parasites and other pathogens are presented.
The major operating cost for all aquaculture species that are fed is diets
and feeding costs. In the Diet and Husbandry part of the book, we have
selected chapters that document advances in larval marine fish nutrition,
challenges and opportunities with selection of dietary ingredients, bioener-
getic modelling to estimate nutritional requirements and specific advances
in nutritional science for salmonids; catfish, carps and tilapia; and seabasses
and breams. There is also a chapter on microalgal culture – used as a feed
for molluscs and other organisms and as a product for human and animal
nutrition, in cosmetics and pharmaceutics, and for environmental applica-
tions. This part also has a chapter on the impact of harmful algal blooms
on shellfish aquaculture. In the fourth part of the book, chapters describing
the latest technology for off-shore and open ocean aquaculture, tank-based
recirculating systems, land-based finfish and shrimp pond culture systems
are presented. Chapters on inland saline aquaculture, urban aquaculture
and traditional Asian aquaculture are also included. To conclude this
section of the book we have included a chapter on the use of information
technology in aquaculture.
Preface xxxi
The final two parts of the book look at environmental issues and new
species for aquaculture. Sustainability can be interpreted in many ways but,
whatever your definition, there is universal agreement that all human activi-
ties should have a minimal impact on the environment. Therefore in the
environmental part of the book, chapters are included on prediction and
assessments of environmental impacts, advances in effluent treatment,
reducing the impacts of escapees, the role of geographical information
systems (GIS) in aquaculture and aquaculture for zooremediation. The new
species part examines the latest developments for high-value species includ-
ing cod, halibut and wolfish; cobia; lobsters; and the aquaculture of phar-
maceuticals and nutraceuticals.
Several figures from the book have additionally been included as colour
plates in an eight-page section which appears between pages 576 and 577.
An analysis of past advances in aquaculture gives optimism for the
future. While the challenges are great, the adoption of new technology will
facilitate rapid future increases in production. The potential of genetic
improvement is still largely untapped, new health management strategies
will reduce production costs and, while there are considerable constraints
with the supply of feed ingredients, advances in our understanding of nutri-
tional requirements will improve feed efficiency. New production systems
will also allow production to increase and take production closer to the
market for high-value species. The world is facing increasing challenges
with food security, and aquatic protein will continue to play a major role
in both the developing and developed world. Aquaculture is critical for the
future supply of seafood and other aquatic products.
Gavin Burnell and Geoff Allan

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(from approximately 1 million tonnes in the 1950s to 59.4 million tonnes in

Gavin Burnell and Geoff Allan

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