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Forum—Aquaculture Research Is Key to the Future
of U.S. Fish Farming
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The ancient profession of fish
farming, or aquaculture, has been around for 4,000 years. Now, in the 21st
century, it is one of the fastest growing segments of American farming.
Because of increasing demand and declining wild harvests, aquaculture now
supplies one-third of all the world's aquatic species. That's up from 19
percent in 1990. The value of this global aquaculture industry is nearly $50
billion. Given projected population increases, however, even this level of
growth may not be sufficient to meet future demand.
So far, the United States has been a minor player in the aquaculture
revolution. Most of the world's farm-raised fish are produced in Asia—70
percent from China alone. Although U.S. production is expanding, led by catfish
farming in the Mississippi Delta region, we rank only 10th in the world in
aquaculture.
To meet consumer demand, the United States imports over $9 billion worth of
seafood and fisheries products annually. The resulting $6.5 billion fisheries
trade deficit is the largest of any food and agriculture commodity and the
second largest, after petroleum, among natural products.
Clearly, the United States has a major opportunity to further develop a
sustainable and profitable domestic aquaculture industry. In addition to
ensuring a high-quality, safe, and affordable supply for U.S. consumers, an
expanded industry would also reduce dependence on imports and on aquatic
resources threatened by pollution and overfishing.
Achieving this goal will not be easy. Aquaculture faces a daunting array of
challenges. Over 50 diseases cause more than $100 million in annual losses. For
example, infectious salmon anemia recently hit Maine Atlantic salmon farms,
threatening an industry that grossed $102 million in 2000. Competition from
low-cost foreign imports is undercutting sales of U.S. farm-raised fish,
exemplified by growing imports of Vietnamese “catfish,” a species not
closely related to U.S catfish.
Production costs must be reduced for this country's fish farmers to be
internationally competitive. Diminishing stocks of ocean fisheries are
compelling the aquaculture industry to seek alternative sources of protein to
feed farm-raised fish. Competition for water sources and concerns about water
quality require production systems and practices that minimize water use and
discharge of wastes into the environment.
Research is the key to meeting these challenges. And Agricultural Research
Service scientists are at the forefront. With a current annual aquaculture
investment of over $23 million—nearly triple the 1996 level—the
agency conducts in-house or cooperative research at 18 locations from coast to
coast and in Hawaii.
Our research programs investigate fish health; genetic improvement;
reproduction and early development; nutrition; systems for sustainable,
environmentally friendly production; and the quality, safety, and variety of
aquaculture products for consumers.
This research is making a difference. ARS scientists and partners have
developed and released to growers a new catfish line with improved feed
consumption and growth. They developed, patented, and transferred technology
for a modified live vaccine to prevent enteric septicemia of catfish, the most
devastating disease of the catfish industry. They have also developed an
injectable vaccine against Streptococcus iniae, a major disease agent of
tilapia, trout, and hybrid striped bass. They have designed and built a
prototype recirculating production system for cultivating cool- and cold-water
fish to reduce water consumption and waste discharge.
Some of ARS' newest aquaculture research is in the Pacific West. In Alaska, for
example, scientists from ARS, the University of Alaska, the University of
Idaho, the Oceanic Institute, and the National Marine Fisheries Service are
working together to discover safe, efficient ways to convert byproducts of fish
processing into nutritious components of aquaculture feed. This would have the
added benefit of reducing the industry's dependence on natural fisheries stocks
as sources of protein for farm-raised fish.
In Idaho, scientists from ARS and the University of Idaho are cooperating on a
project to develop genetically enhanced barley and oats as nutritious,
low-polluting feed sources for rainbow trout and to genetically enhance the
trout to effectively use these new feed sources (see story, page 4). The
anticipated result: new feeds that lessen dependence on fish-derived feeds and
significantly reduce discharge of phosphorus, from fish manure, into the
environment.
Another focus is on marine shrimp. In Hawaii, an ARS-sponsored project of the
Oceanic Institute is probing the nutritional requirements of marine shrimp.
This work will yield new feed technologies to produce shrimp more efficiently
and with less environmental impact. U.S. imports of shrimp—exceeding $3
billion annually—are by far the largest contributor to the ballooning
fisheries trade deficit. So, a viable domestic shrimp aquaculture industry is a
high national priority.
Henry S. Parker
ARS National Program Leader for Aquaculture
Beltsville, Maryland |
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"Forum" was published in the
December 2001
issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
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