Aquaculture: From history to the future
At Perstorp Animal Nutrition we are focusing on the field of Aquaculture in the month of August. But what is Aquaculture? “Aquaculture” is defined as the farming and harvesting of aquatic organisms like fish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants in controlled environments (FAO, 2024). Before we look forward into the future of aquaculture, let’s take a look back! How did aquaculture start?
The earliest considered beginnings of human controlled aquaculture lays in the time from 2,000 – 1,000 B.C. in China. Over 4,000 years ago China cultivated the fish species of common carps (Cyprinus carpio) in controlled environments (FAO, 1988). In Europe husbandry of aquatic animals was also quite common as buildings like palaces or monasteries provided space for fish husbandry. The most used fish were the common carp and trout. On the whole globe development of aquaculture systems took place, as aquatic organisms were and are seen as a high quality food source (protein, fatty acids, mineral, a.o.) for humans (FAO, 1988, 2024).
Aquaculture is a millennia-old livestock husbandry system that has evolved steadily. The basis and knowledge was built up by farmers sharing traditional knowledge, through “trial and error”, cooperations and curiosity in trying something new (FAO, 2024).
FAO (2024) stated that: “Major developments in aquaculture have benefited from scientific progress in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The result in terms of growth has been unprecedented, and aquaculture now supplies more than half of the world’s fish for human consumption.”
In those early days of the aquaculture industry, development was conditioned by adequate environmental conditions such as availability of fresh or marine water, temperate climates, local consumption and low labor costs. Current technological development allows for export production of value-added species, which increases the economic performance of producers and the interest in the production of species with higher added value.
Compared to on land livestock production aquaculture is globally seen the fastest growing food sector, whereas over half the aquatic foods for human consumption are cultivated. In recent years a change in mindset of aquatic organisms production was observed, namely following “Blue Transformation”. This vision is committed to enhance sustainability, minimize environmental impacts, improvement of biosecurity and disease prevention with support of technology and innovation in aquaculture to ensure that human, social, cultural and economic dimensions are held up high and being further improved (FAO, 2024).
In the year 2022 the whole aquatic species production (fisheries and aquaculture) reached a new high of 223.2 million tons, and a value of about USD 472 billion. This equates to an estimated 20.7 kg consumption per capita. Looking at the animal protein supply, this contributes to 15 % of the total animal protein supply, reaching over 50 % in regions such as Asia or Africa. Aquaculture production increased by 6.6 % since the year 2020, which means that over 57 % of aquatic animal products are used for human consumption (FAO, 2024). One can truly speak about a booming industry!
