While most of the "terrestrial" food we eat is raised on farms, not hunted, the opposite is true about food from the sea. Humans caught a record 96 million tons of wild fish in the year 2000 - more than twice the amount that was "farmed." However, catches have been declining since this peak simply because the oceans are running out of cod, tuna, sardines, and other food fish. To meet the demands of an ever-growing world population, aquaculture is increasing. Aquaculture is the cultivation of freshwater and marine fish, as well as shellfish. While aquaculture has been practiced for thousands of years, it was a relatively small industry as recently as the 1980s, primarily because farming methods were so primitive that the practice was rarely economically feasible. That's no longer the case today, as demand drives prices higher and sea farming becomes more efficient. For example, 99 percent of all Atlantic salmon are farmed. Aquaculture is becoming big business in a hungry world. The challenge is to develop methods and technologies that produce sustainable yields while minimizing impacts on marine ecosystems.

While most of the "terrestrial" food we eat is raised on farms, not hunted, the opposite is true about food from the sea. Humans caught a record 96 million tons of wild fish in the year 2000 - more than twice the amount that was "farmed." However, catches have been declining since this peak simply because the oceans are running out of cod, tuna, sardines, and other food fish. To meet the demands of an ever-growing world population, aquaculture is increasing. Aquaculture is the cultivation of freshwater and marine fish, as well as shellfish. While aquaculture has been practiced for thousands of years, it was a relatively small industry as recently as the 1980s, primarily because farming methods were so primitive that the practice was rarely economically feasible. That's no longer the case today, as demand drives prices higher and sea farming becomes more efficient. For example, 99 percent of all Atlantic salmon are farmed. Aquaculture is becoming big business in a hungry world. The challenge is to develop methods and technologies that produce sustainable yields while minimizing impacts on marine ecosystems.