fish farming

The cycle of events on a fish farm. Fish farming is an intensive form of farming. Fish are crowded together and rely heavily on antibiotics. The resulting organic waste and chemical residues become pollution.

Raising fish (including molluscs and crustaceans) under controlled conditions in tanks and ponds, sometimes in offshore pens. It has been practised for centuries in the Far East, where Japan today produces some 100,000 tonnes of fish a year; the USA, Norway, and Canada are also big producers. Fish farms are environmentally controversial because of the risk of escapees that could spread disease and alter the genetic balance of wild populations.

A total of 600,000 metric tonnes of salmon was produced by world fish farms in 1995, accounting for 37% of salmon consumed. Globally, aquaculture production climbed to 28.6 million metric tons in 1997. By 2002, shrimp farms worldwide were producing 1.5 million metric tonnes of shrimps per year.