Blog

Aquaculture is expanding quickly worldwide, and marine-based production may have potential in helping meet the needs and demands of the ever-expanding appetite of the human population. Indeed, capture fisheries appear to have stagnated or declined, while aquaculture continues to be one of the most rapidly growing industries on the planet. Although aquaculture as a whole is expanding, marine aquaculture accounts for a smaller percentage of current production (about one third) compared to more inland fish-farming. Given inherent constraints to growth of land-based and nearshore coastal aquaculture (e.g., use of land, freshwater, energy, space use conflicts, etc.), opportunities for sustainable growth in aquaculture may be from open-ocean farming–typically referred to as offshore aquaculture. Numerous countries are practicing or establishing offshore farming, including the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and several other countries in the EU. Developing nations, such as Morocco and Mexico, have also been documented perusing offshore aquaculture. Yet, to date offshore production is small compared to more common forms of aquaculture…

Read the full report here.