Aquaculture

Aquaculture is also known as aqua farming. It is the farming of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. Aquaculture is the opposite of commercial fishing where wild fish is harvested. Aquaculture cultivates fresh and saltwater species under controlled conditions.

There are different kinds of aqua culture including fish farming, oyster farming, seaweed farming and shrimp farming.

Fish farming is the most common form of aquaculture.

Fish are raised in tanks, ponds, and ocean enclosures and are used mainly for food consumption. Salmon, big eye, tuna, carp, catfish, cod and tilapia are often raised by fish farms.

Shrimp farming has exploded since its emergence in the 1970’s. It is now a global industry where almost all farmed shrimp are either Pacific white shrimp or tiger prawn. The majority of farmed shrimp is produced in Asian countries such as Thailand and China. Prawn farming is similar to shrimp farming. The main species is the giant river prawn. It is a business designed to raise and produce prawn for human consumption.

Seaweed farming is the harvesting of seaweed. Seaweed is often used for in medicine, food and fertilizers.

An alternative to outdoor aquaculture is indoor fish farming which uses the RAS system. RAS is the recirculation aquaculture system. This system uses tanks and filters allowing the water to be recycled constantly. The system is monitored to maintain near perfect conditions year round. Other treatments are also put into place such as UV sterilization, ozonation and oxygen injection.