The way to sustainable aquaculture

of 63Duurzame aquacultuur - Jean Dhont
Jean Dhont, Patrick Sorgeloos
Laboratorium voor Aquacultuur
Faculteit Bio-Ingenieurswetenschappen
Universiteit Gent
DE WEG NAAR DUURZAME AQUACULTUUR
Gent, 4 Maart 2011

• WHAT IS AQUACULTURE
• CHALLENGES, THREATS AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE
AQUACULTURE
• CONCLUSIONS

“Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms.”
Food and
Agriculture
Organization
of the
United Nations
DEFINITION OF AQUACULTURE
Farming implies some
form of intervention in
the rearing process to
enhance production.
Farming also implies
individual or corporate
ownership of the stock
being cultivated.

AGRI-CULTURE AQUA-CULTURE
HUNTING FISHERIES

Oceans
70%
Crops
5%
Pasture
7%
Forest
9%
Other
9% (cities 1.5%)
Global resources
from Cunningham, “Knowledge Based Bio-Economy towards 2020”
Brussels, September 14, 2010

GLOBAL PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND FOOD SUPPLY
total bioproduction
contribution to
food supply
terrestrial
marine
from Field et al. (1998) and Duarte et al. (2009)
plants & animals
fisheries & aquaculture
plants & animals
proteins
quantity
16 % of proteins
2 % in quantity

AVAILABILITY OF TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC MEAT
0
50
100
150
200
250
106 MT
Pig: 88.4
Beef/Veal:
55.9
Poultry:
63.3
Sheep/Goat: 11.3
Other: 6.5
Finfish:
98.4
Molluscs: 12.6
Crustacea: 7.1
Cephalopods: 3Seaweed:7.9
FAO, 2000

Aquatic plants Crustaceans Fish Other Molluscs
AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION BY SPECIES GROUP & ENVIRONMENT
Marine
33 Mt
Freshwater
31 Mt
Brackish
3 Mt
FAO, 2010

DOMESTICATION OF TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC PLANTS
AND ANIMALS
Duarte et al, 2007, Science

CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Traditional aquaculture
Industrial aquaculture
• Family livelihood
• Low technology
• Labour intensive
• Technology driven
• Profitability
• High energy &
resource input

CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Pond culture

CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Integrated fish culture
with rice
with goat
with chicken

mussel farming
scallop farming
CULTURE PRINCIPLES
extractive mollusc farming

red and brown
algae farming in China
CULTURE PRINCIPLES

monoculture approach
CULTURE PRINCIPLES
industrial aquaculture

CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Cage culture (open sea)

Courtesy Nutreco
Courtesy Harache
CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Pond culture (land-based)

Courtesy Harache
CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Pond culture (land-based)

Photo Eding
Photo SchneiderPhoto Schrama
CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Indoor culture

PANGASIUS CATFISH FARMING IN VIETNAM
> 1,000,000 TONS/YEAR
CULTURE PRINCIPLES

12,000 ton/yr salmon farm in Norway operated by <10 people
CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Salmon farming

Aquaculture production per species group
FAO, 2010
FACTS & FIGURES

by quantity
by value
FAO, 2009
Aquaculture production per regionFACTS & FIGURES

• Demographic
• Economic
• Governance & policy
• Environmental
• Technological

World population increase
+ Average living standard increase
= Increased demand for seafood
FAO, 2008

• In 2008, the world consumed 115
million tonnes of seafood, 46%
originated from aquaculture.
• Ten years from now, aquaculture
will need to produce 28.8 million
tonnes more per year than current
annual production

Annual production growth rate for the period 1980-1990
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0
percent
Aquacultuur
Zeevisserij
Eieren
Melk
Gevogelte
Varkensvlees
Rundsvlees
Soja
Peulvruchten
Mais
Tarwe
Rijst
Wereldbevolking

Contribution of aquaculture to world fish consumption during 1970-2008

Fishing = hunting  Overfishing

OVERFISHING

PROVIDE HEALTHY & TASTY SEAFOOD AT A CORRECT PRICE
Guarantee an equitable
income for the farmers
Produce affordable
standard products
Cater both for low-end
and top-end consumers
MARKETING !!

- Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
- protection of vulnerable groups (small family held farms, ...)
- (fair) trade regulations
PROVIDE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR:

... except maybe:
• habitat degradation and destruction (eg. mangrove)
• competition for clean water
• impact on bio-diversity
• pressure on fish meal and fish oil
• biosecurity issues
• ...
no problems...

• poikilothermic
• reduced energy required
for getting food
• efficient food conversion
• rapid growth
• high reproductive capacity
• live in 3-dimensional
environment
• polyculture
• complex life cycle
• large number of species
• limited knowledge of:
reproductive biology,
dietary requirements,
disease control, ...
• slow metabolism/slow
growth rate
• respiratory needs
• toxic excretion product
• fast disease transmission
CHARACTERISTICS OF AQUATIC PRODUCTION

1. Complete independence from natural stocks through DOMESTICATION
2. Improved / more cost-effective SEED PRODUCTION
3. Better targeted SPECIES SELECTION
4. Development of more efficient stocks through SELECTIVE BREEDING
5. More MICROBIAL MANAGEMENT for more sustainable production
6. Better understanding of IMMUNE SYSTEMS in vertebrates and
invertebrates
7. More INTEGRATED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS for plant and animal farming
8. COASTAL AND OFF-SHORE FARMS of food and energy
9. Full independence from fisheries stocks for LIPID AND PROTEIN
INGREDIENTS in aquatic feeds
10. More attention for INTEGRATION of restocking activities with FISHERIES
management

1. Complete independence from natural stocks through
DOMESTICATION
Natural life cycle of penaeid shrimp

1. Complete independence from natural stocks through
DOMESTICATION

2. Improved / more cost-effective SEED PRODUCTION

3. Better targeted SPECIES SELECTION for bulk & niche markets

4. Development of more efficient stocks through SELECTIVE BREEDING
wild stock
domesticated
stock
breeding program
genetic
improvement
breeding
objectives
genetic
variation
• disease resistance
• growth rate
• size / quality
• feed conversion
• fecundity
• ease of domestication

5. More MICROBIAL MANAGEMENT for more sustainable production
6. Better understanding of IMMUNE SYSTEMS
DISEASE PREVENTION
DISEASE TREATMENT
(antibiotics)

Seafood chainAgriculture food chain
“Eaters of
wolf eaters”
“Wolf eaters”
Wolf
Cow
Rice
Corn
.
Macro-
algae
Grains
Grasses
Vegetables
Fruits
1st Trophic
Level
4th TL
3rd TL
5th TL
2nd TL
Laminaria
japonica
Mussels
Tuna
Sea bream
Herring
What do humans
feed on?
Human trophic
level?
Level:
1 - 2
Level:
3 -4
7. Farming & eating DOWN THE FOOD CHAIN

7. Farming & eating DOWN THE FOOD CHAIN

Ecosystem-based polyculture of different carp species in China

8. COASTAL AND OFF-SHORE FARMS for food and energy

EXTRACTIVE aquaculture
nutrient recycling
FED aquaculture

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)
- for food production
- for bioremediation
maximizing nutrient recycling for different niches of the ecosystem:
fish, shellfish & seaweeds

Integration of culture of different trophic levels
MACROALGAE
MUSSELS
FINFISH

8 km

- )
Energy generation
(wind, wave, thermal)

The fish meal / fish oil contradiction
9. Full independence from fisheries stocks for LIPID AND PROTEIN
INGREDIENTS in aquaculture feeds

more attention for integration of restocking activities with fisheries
management through multidisciplinary cooperation: oceanography,
marine biology, fisheries & aquaculture
10. INTEGRATION of restocking activities with FISHERIES management
• juvenile fitness
• releasing strategies
• impact on wild stocks

Belgium
Netherlands
UK
10. INTEGRATION of restocking activities with FISHERIES management

• Aquaculture is a complex and diverse sector
• The growing demand for healthy and
affordable seafood can only be met by further
increase in aquaculture production
• Aquaculture faces considerable challenges that
call for supportive policy, continued
technological progress and adequate marketing

The way to sustainable aquaculture

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