Language
Country/Area
No result found
The secrets of underwater farms: Why farmed fish are becoming the new favorite on the world's tables?
As the global population continues to grow, the demand for sustainable food sources increases. Against this backdrop, fish farming has flourished and is gradually becoming a new favorite on tables around the world. Fish farming not only meets the increasing demand for protein, but also provides a possible solution for protecting wild fish stocks. The development of this industry not only involves production and consumption, but also involves various issues of environmental protection and ecological balance.
Fish farming allows us to have full control over the breeding process in an artificial environment, thus reducing the depredation of wild fish.
Fish farming, or aquaculture, involves the commercial breeding of fish for food in artificial facilities such as ponds or aquariums. This is a special type of aquaculture that helps meet the growing global demand for fish protein. According to the International Agricultural Organization, China alone produces 62% of the world's farmed fish, demonstrating the global dominance of fish farming.
As the global demand for aquatic products increases, wild fish resources are facing serious overfishing and resource reduction, and there is even a crisis of fish extinction in some areas. Fish farming offers a sustainable alternative, by raising fish in a controlled environment, allowing farmers to ensure the fish are grown, healthy and alive, better able to supply global markets.
The growth rate of fish farming is very impressive, with an average annual growth rate of more than five percentage points from 2000 to 2018.
Data from 2016 show that the total output of global fisheries and aquaculture reached 82 million tons, and fish farming has become the dominant driving force of fishery production. However, the industry has not been smooth sailing, and certain types of fish, such as salmon, although popularly farmed, still have an impact on wild fish because their feed still comes from caught fish.
Currently, aquaculture can be divided into two categories: extended aquaculture and intensive aquaculture. Expanded aquaculture relies more on natural waters, has less environmental burden, and is suitable for producing high-value species such as salmon; whereas intensive aquaculture requires strict water quality management and disease control, which places higher demands on technical and financial capabilities. Require.
If not properly handled, organic waste generated by fish farming will cause harm to the surrounding aquatic ecology.
However, these aquaculture methods are not without controversy. Although extended aquaculture does not have high environmental requirements, its impact on the ecology cannot be underestimated. For example, the establishment of fish farms is often accompanied by the loss of natural habitats, while high-density fish farming also increases the risk of escape and may cause damage to the native ecology. Intensive farming's requirements for water quality and disease further increase the difficulty of production and increase environmental risks.
Against this background, many new technologies have emerged. For example, the rise of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) uses water circulation to reduce water consumption and improve the system's output efficiency, making aquaculture more environmentally friendly. These systems typically combine water filtration, oxygen addition and planting to maximize resource utilization.
Although aquaculture methods are diverse around the world, overall, improving production efficiency and reducing environmental impact through technology has become a major trend in the industry. In addition, the role of women in aquaculture is increasingly valued, and according to statistics from 2022, 62% of aquatic product post-processing personnel are women, highlighting the diversity of this industry.
The future of the fish farming industry will depend on the balance between technological advancement and sustainable development.
As human demand for fish increases, whether fish farming can maintain healthy and efficient development while protecting the ecological environment has become an issue we must consider?
