ABSTRACT
Aquaculture has been described as both the art and science of growing aquatic animals and plants. It has been practiced for thousands of years by different societies using a wide variety of approaches to growing aquatic organisms in water. The origins of aquaculture will probably never be known because there are no ancient aquaculture-specific artifacts or even the remains of ponds or dams that can be distinguished from other uses such as water storage or for growing crops (1). However, there is some historical evidence from around the world that shows aquaculture has existed for thousands of years and in several different places. There is a bas-relief of fishing, probably for Tilapia, from fish ponds in ancient Egypt 4000-4500 years ago (1). Several types of integrated aquaculture/agriculture systems were known in South America (1) and there is the 1500-1800-year-old Ahupua’a marine aquaculture in Hawaii (2). Fish ponds were well known in Europe during the Roman Empire and Middle Ages (3). In many ways China could be considered the head and heart of traditional aquaculture, certainly in freshwater, since it is here that large scale aquaculture has the longest history and has shown the most evolution. Pond culture of common carp was recorded over 3000 years ago and about 2500 years ago Fan Li, considered the father of Chinese fish culturists,
wrote “Yang Yu Ching” or a “Treatise on Pisciculture” to detail practical methods for freshwater aquaculture (4, 5). Recently, within the last half of the twentieth century, aquaculture has shifted into an industrial phase and global production has increased dramatically. Currently, aquaculture of finfish, molluscs and crustaceans (shellfish) produces 37.5 million tonnes per year and accounts for 29% of the total global fishery harvest (6). Aquaculture continues to expand and has increased its share of the global fishery from less than 4% in 1970 (6). Aquaculture has great potential to expand further and to meet an increasing human demand for protein. To accomplish this dramatic changes in current structures and practice may be necessary. The debate on sustainable aquaculture is only just beginning (7-10).
