Milestones

Aquaculture in Maine

Aquaculture in the U.S.

Aquaculture in the World

Throughout the world, marine fisheries are in trouble. While the world's population and its appetite for fish are growing, wild fish stocks are shrinking. Never before have so many of the most desirable and lucrative species in so many regions of the world been fished toward extinction. According to the U.N. food and Agriculture Organization, about 60% of the commercial species in every ocean and sea are either depleted of fully exploited today. "It's like deforestation, but you can't see it under the ocean," explained a World Bank fisheries advisor in an article in National Fisherman.

As the total worldwide marine catch continues to fall, the harvest from aquaculture is rising. Aquaculture has been practiced for over 2,000 years in Asia, and for more than a century in the U.S. In the 21st century, aquaculture will be a major new agricultural growth industry. Global demand for seafood is expected to grow 70% in the next 35 years, and fish farms are likely to meet that demand. In order to supply that amount of safe, nutritious, and healthy seafood to consumers, the aquaculture industry has set for itself an interior production goal of 77 million metric tons by the year 2025. The ultimate goal should probably be over 100 million metric tons.