AQUACULTURE

Production

According to FAO statistics, aquaculture's contribution to global supplies of fish, crustaceans and molluscs 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 animal 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. The growth of inland water aquaculture production has been particularly strong in China, where it averaged 11.5 percent per year between 1970 and 2000 compared with 7.0 percent per year in the rest of the world over the same period. Mariculture production in China increased at an average annual rate of 14 percent, compared with 5.4 percent in the rest of the world. However, there is a possibility that China's aquaculture production, particularly its growth since the early 1990s, has been overestimated in the statistics (see Box 2). Figure 18 shows trends in inland and marine aquaculture production for China and the rest of the world.

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In 2000, reported total aquaculture production (including aquatic plants) 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 (Figure 19). World aquatic plant production was 10.1 million tonnes (US$5.6 billion), of which 7.9 million tonnes (US$4.0 billion) originated in China.

In contrast to terrestrial farming systems, where the bulk of global production is based on a limited number of animal and plant species, more than 210 different farmed aquatic animal and plant species were reported in 2000. This great diversity reflects the large number of aquatic species that are readily adaptable to the wide range of production systems and conditions present in the different countries and regions of the world. It should also be noted that the number of species farmed is probably considerably higher than reported, as more than 9.7 million tonnes (21.2 percent) of global aquaculture production was not reported at the species level in 2000. This "unspecified" group is likely to include species that have not yet been recorded individually as being cultured.

In 2000, more than half of global aquaculture production originated from marine or brackish coastal waters. The mean annual growth rate (for the period 1970-2000) was, however, highest for freshwater aquaculture production. Although brackish water production represented only 4.6 percent of total global aquaculture production by weight in 2000, it comprised 15.7 percent of total production by value. The main species groups reared in freshwater were finfish. High-value crustaceans and finfish predominate in brackish water, and molluscs and aquatic plants in marine waters (Figure 20). Production in terms of quantity and value for major producing countries and major species groups is shown in Figures 21 and 22.

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It is particularly significant that aquaculture production in developing countries and low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) has been growing steadily at an average rate of about 10 percent per year since 1970. However, production growth (by both quantity and value) among LIFDCs, excluding China, has been slower than among non-LIFDCs (Figure 23). By contrast, aquaculture production within developed countries has been growing at an average rate of only 3.7 percent per year since 1970, and even showed a decrease of 2.4 percent from 1999 to 2000. With the exception of marine shrimp, in 2000, the bulk of aquaculture production in developing countries comprised omnivorous/herbivorous fish or filter-feeding species. In contrast, 73.7 percent of finfish culture production in developed countries was of carnivorous species.

In terms of food fish supply (i.e. aquatic finfish and shellfish products for human consumption, on a whole, live weight basis - excluding aquatic plants), the world aquaculture sector outside China produced about 11 million tonnes of farmed aquatic products in 2000, compared with about 52 million tonnes from capture fisheries. China's reported figures were about 20 million tonnes from aquaculture and 7 million tonnes from capture fisheries, a stark indication of the dominance of aquaculture in China. Outside China, per capita food fish supply from aquaculture has increased fourfold, from 0.6 kg in 1970 to 2.3 kg in 2000.

Sustainability

During the past three decades, aquaculture has expanded, diversified, intensified and made technological advances. The potential of this development to enhance local food security, alleviate poverty and improve rural livelihoods has been well recognized. The Bangkok Declaration and Strategy (Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific [NACA] and FAO, 2000) emphasizes the need for the aquaculture sector to continue development towards its full potential, making a net contribution to global food availability, domestic food security, economic growth, trade and improved living standards.