Impacts of Fish

Aquaculture
Presented by: Carla Penney and Katie
Brown
 What is Aquaculture?
 Aquaculture is defined as the farming of
marine and freshwater organisms

 It is the world’s fastest growing food-

production sector; approximately 30%
of seafood consumed is farmed
 Aquaculture Processes
 In order to be farmed successfully, most species
need specialized sites and equipment

 Tanks or holding facilities must have water pumped

into them while being free of pollutants and
carefully monitored for temperature, salinity, and
other factors

 Toxic wastes produced by the organisms must be

also removed and parasites must also be
carefully checked for

 Even predators (such as birds or seals) must either

be removed or evaded

 The Impact of Aquaculture
 Go Big or Go Home
› Most aquaculture operations require
expensive equipment and trained
personnel

› This alone restricts the types of species that

can be cultured

› Some species cannot be cultured because it

is not profitable

› The species that are usually command high

prices
 Environmental Impacts
 Changes in the Benthic Community
› Cultured fish species depend on a diet of
artificial feed which is distributed on the
surface of the water and then eaten by the
fish

› Uneaten feed migrates to the bottom where

it can be eaten by the benthos or
decomposed by microorganisms

› Microbial decomposition may deplete the

water of oxygen and cause sedimentary
animals to die
› Antibiotics and other medicines added to
feed can affect other organisms when the
pellets decomposed
 Environmental Impacts Cont’d

 Eutrophication
› Another environmental impact is the
eutrophication of the water surrounding
rearing pens or rivers that receive aquaculture
waste

› Fish excretion and fecal wastes combined with

the increased amount of nutrients from the
unconsumed feed produce an ideal
environment for algal blooms to form

› These resulting blooms can be toxic to humans

and other marine organisms

› Fun fact: A farm with 20,000 salmon discharges

more fecal waste than a city of 60,000 people
 Environmental Impacts Cont’d
 Depletion of Natural Stocks
› Aquaculture depends on a diet of wild fish as
well

› The removal of natural fish stocks from the food

web, however, is difficult to predict (when fish
are removed, less food is available for other
species, and so on)

 Fish culture, however, can mitigate (make less

severe) the decline of fish stocks decimated
by overfishing by decreasing the
dependence on natural stocks and by
helping to re-stock populations by releasing
juvenile or culture larvae
 Environmental Impacts Cont’d

 Habitat Destruction
› The destruction of mangrove forests, salt
marshes and other coastal communities in
the tropics for aquaculture has had a
devastating effect

› Destruction has reduced the stock of local

species that use mangrove forests and
salt marshes as nurseries

› These habitats are also critical for erosion

prevention and water quality; they also
provide a sustainable/renewable resource
of firewood, pulp and charcoal for local
communities
 Genetically Modified Fish
 Some salmon have been genetically
modified to grow faster and bigger.


 Also, they can be modified to be triploid

and sterile.


 If these fish happen to escape into the

wild, they may harm the genetic
diversity of the natural stock.
 References
 Emerson, C. (1999). Aquaculture
Impacts on the Environment,
retrieved from: http://
www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/o
 Castro, P., & Huber, H. E. (2007). Marine
Biology (6th ed.), McGraw-Hill: New
York, NY