ABSTRACT
Aquaculture has had a long history. The rst aquaculture text, Fish Culture Classic, was authored by Fan Li in 460 BC. He described the farming ponds used, the selection of sh, the breeding season of common carp, the sex ratio, and the growth rate. The sh species chosen for cultivation in the old times were generally inexpensive shes, such as milk sh, tilapia, and a variety of carps in freshwater. Wild milk sh, mullet, and tilapia are saltwater shes, but have been widely cultured in freshwater because they gain weight more readily than growing in salt water. In recent decades, marine shes such as groupers, cobia and prawns, which are more expensive and dif cult to raise, have been successfully cultured and marketed. Production of marine sh has increased from less than 1 million tons per year in the 1950s to 52 million tons with a value of US$78.8 billion in 2006. The annual growth rate has averaged 7%, making aquaculture a major source of seafoods. World aquaculture production quantity and the value of major species is listed in Table 6.1.
