Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish

tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is
the controlled cultivation and harvesting of aquatic animals such as
fish, crustaceans, molluscs and so on, in natural or pseudo-natural environments. A facility that
releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species' natural
numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Worldwide, the most important
fish species produced in fish farming are carp, catfish, salmon and tilapia.[1]

Global demand is increasing for dietary fish protein, which has resulted in
widespread overfishing in wild fisheries, resulting in significant decrease in fish stocks and even
complete depletion in some regions. Fish farming allows establishment of artificial
fish colonies that are provided with sufficient feeding, protection from
natural predators and competitive threats, access to veterinarian service, and easier harvesting
when needed, while being separate from and thus do not usually impact the sustainable
yields of wild fish populations. While fish farming is practised worldwide, China alone provides
62% of the world's farmed fish production.[2] As of 2016, more than 50% of seafood was
produced by aquaculture.[3] In the last three decades, aquaculture has been the main driver of
the increase in fisheries and aquaculture production, with an average growth of 5.3 percent per
year in the period 2000–2018, reaching a record 82.1 million tonnes in 2018.[4]

World capture fisheries and aquaculture production by

Farming carnivorous fish such as salmon, however, does not always reduce pressure on wild
fisheries, such farmed fish are usually fed fishmeal and fish oil extracted from wild forage fish.
The 2008 global returns for fish farming recorded by the FAO totaled 33.8 million tonnes worth
about US$60 billion.[6]

Although fish farming for food is the most widespread, another major fish farming industry
provides living fish for the aquarium trade. The vast majority of freshwater fish in the aquarium
trade originate from farms in Eastern and Southern Asia, eastern Europe, Florida and South
America that use either indoor tank systems or outdoor pond systems, while farming of fish for
the marine aquarium trade happens at a much smaller scale.[7] In 2022 24% of fishers and fish
farmers and 62% of workers in post-harvest sector were women.[8][9]

Major species

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See also: List of commercially important fish species

Tonnage Value
Species Environment
(millions) (US$ billions)

Grass carp Freshwater 5.23 6.69

Silver carp Freshwater 4.59 6.13

Common carp Freshwater 3.76 5.19

Nile tilapia Freshwater 3.26 5.39

Bighead carp Freshwater 2.90 3.72

Catla (Indian carp) Freshwater 2.76 5.49

Crucian carp Freshwater 2.45 2.67

Atlantic salmon Marine 2.07 10.10

Roho labeo Freshwater 1.57 2.54

Milkfish Marine 0.94 1.71

• Freshwater

Rainbow trout • Brackish 0.88 3.80

• Marine

Wuchang bream Freshwater 0.71 1.16

Black carp Freshwater 0.50 1.15

Northern snakehead Freshwater 0.48 0.59

Amur catfish Freshwater 0.41 0.55

Categories

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Aquaculture makes use of local photosynthetic production (extensive) or fish that are fed with
external food supply (intensive).

Extensive aquaculture

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 Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle
of Skye, Scotland

Extensive aquaculture is the other form of fish farming. Extensive aquaculture is more basic
than intensive aquaculture in that less effort is put into the husbandry of the fish. Extensive
aquaculture is done in the ocean, natural and man-made lakes, bays, rivers, and Fiords. Fish are
contained within these habitats by multiple mesh enclosures which also function as trapping
nets during harvest (Figure 3) (4). Since fish are susceptible to the elements, site placement is
essential to ensure the rapid growth of the targeted species. The drawback of these facilities is
that they depend on the surrounding area for good water quality in order to reduce mortality and
increase the survivorship and growth rate of the fish (19). Fish chosen for extensive aquaculture
are very hardy and often do well in high densities. Seaweed, prawns, mussels, carp, tilapia, tuna
and salmon are the most prominent forms of extensive aqua cultured seafood. Extensive
aquaculture facilities have negative impacts on the environment as well. Natural habitats are
destroyed in the development of man made ponds used for extensive aquaculture. In the
Philippines, shrimp aquaculture is responsible for the destruction of thousands of acres of
mangrove fields which serve as nurseries and living habitats for many marine organisms.
Benthic habitats are being depleted due to the high amount of organic waste produced by the
fish which settles below their pens(4). Phytoplankton and algae break down fecal matter and
residual fish meal reducing the amount of available oxygen in the water column, which chokes
and kills the Benthic organisms. Another serious problem acquainted with extensive
aquaculture is the introduction of invasive species into ecosystems (10). Escaped fish increase
the competition between organisms for limited resources. Also, when foreign fish interbreed
with wild species, they upset the genetic variability of the species, making them more prone to
disease and infection. The high density of fish in these mesh tanks is very tempting for predators
of the sea and air (19). To protect the harvest from predators protective netting is set up at a high
cost. Often times predatorial fish and mammals like seals, sharks, and tuna get caught in these
barrier nets and die. Some farmers protect their stocks from predatorial birds such as pelicans
and albatross by shooting these sometimes endangered creatures.