Status and trends

Information on the status and trends of aquaculture, globally, regionally and nationally, is available from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. World aquaculture has grown tremendously during the last 50 years from a production of less than a million tonnes in the early 1950s to 59.4 million tonnes (valued at US$ 70.3 billion) by 2004. As identified by FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, the major trends in aquaculture development include:

• Continuing intensification of aquaculture production: Although various factors are driving the aquaculture sector to intensify, the main driving force appears to be the unavailability of sites. As site availability becomes increasingly limited and the ability to exploit non-agricultural land becomes more restricted, aquaculture production systems are being increasingly intensified.
• Continuing diversification of species use:  In regions and countries where aquaculture is well established, the sector continues to explore new species options, particularly high-value species. While facilities for mariculture of high-value species have increased, those for producing low-value high-volume species such as cyprinids have reduced in those countries (particularly China).
• Continuing diversification of production systems and practices: As some traditional agricultural systems become increasingly uneconomic, there has been a trend to promote or enable diversification. This may take the form of conversion from agriculture to aquaculture (e.g. use of rice land for aquaculture) or the integration of aquaculture into existing farming systems. In such diversification, people enter into aquaculture to increase their earning capacity, without giving up their primary occupation as farmers. Further, secondary use of waterbodies for aquaculture is also increasing in Asia and Latin America, a practice that is becoming more viable in many countries as fish seed has become widely available at affordable prices.
• Increasing influence of markets, trade and consumers: There is a trend of increasing fish consumption in many countries, and this domestic and regional demand competes with export markets, particularly in Asia. Producers and processors are slowly moving toward greater value adding and development of processed products for export markets as an avenue for increasing foreign exchange earnings and improving profitability. In such circumstances, the choice of species for farmers is becoming geared to the demand for products in the international markets. Moreover, there is a trend towards targeting urban markets with standardized, value-added “easy-to-cook” or “supermarket-type” products.
• Enhancing regulation and improving governance: Aquaculture is maturing as a responsible sector, and emphasis on better enforcement of existing legislation is becoming apparent. As enforcement of law is a continuing constraint in many countries, strong emphasis is being placed on increasing self-regulation by farmer associations and the sector in general. There is a general trend towards improving governance in aquaculture development and management.
• Driving towards better management: In many countries, instead of high yield per unit area, aquaculture is now aiming more towards economic sustainability and overall competitiveness. Improved management of health is a key issue, as pathogens and diseases are causing significant losses in global aquaculture. Thus the sector is now giving strong emphasis to reducing mortalities and losses due to disease. This trend focuses not only on production and practice, but also on the issue of acquiring quality inputs like clean seed and quality feed, and sound advice to reduce risks of production failures.
  
     The combined effect of all these trends is to drive the aquaculture sector towards better management. This is seen at the individual farm level as well as specific subsectoral levels.