1. Principles of Aquaculture

2. Course Aim
To enhance students’ knowledge in understanding aquaculture, advanced aquaculture production systems and engineering that will enable them to design, construct, operate and maintain aquaculture facilities.

3. Course Outcomes By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Apply the principles of appropriate site selection for the enhanced sustainability of aquaculture.
2. Identify design, operational and management principles, and key systems essential for effective aquaculture production.
3. Conduct detailed process description and performance testing of different aquaculture systems/facilities in use worldwide.
4. Evaluate the requirements for the various aquaculture systems/facilities with construction experts.

4. The Concept of Aquaculture

5. LEARNING OUTCOMES General types of aquaculture
Definitions of “aquaculture”– biological, economic, legal
Aquaculture benefits and constraints
History of aquaculture globally, and in Pakistan
Global and regional aquaculture production
Future outlook for the region
Production and trade in aquaculture

6. Introduction to Aquaculture
Common Definitions
Aquaculture
the farming of aquatic organisms (plants or animals)
Fish culture (farming)
culture of aquatic animals (fish)
Seafood
animal and plant products from freshwater or seawater environments
Finfish
fishes
Shellfish
aquatic invertebrates with a “shell” (molluscs, crustaceans, sea urchins, etc.)

7. Biological definitions
Aquaculture is man’s attempt, through inputs of labour and energy, to improve the yield of useful aquatic organisms by deliberate manipulation of their rates of growth, mortality and reproduction (Reay 1979).

8. Biological definitions
Russell equation for production of biomass from a fish population:
Biomass = recruitment + growth - mortality – harvest
Through investment in an aquaculture system (tanks, ponds, enclosures, etc) and in appropriate husbandry, the aquaculturist attempts to maximise recruitment and growth, and minimise mortality. By contrast, fisheries management is usually an attempt to control only harvest.

9. An economic definition
A biological definition says nothing about the flow of benefits from investment in an aquaculture system
Reay (1979) gives an economist’s definition:
Aquaculture is production of aquatic organisms from the basis of site leasehold or stock ownership.

10. A legal definition
Legal definitions of aquaculture are also necessary, because the scope of laws applying to aquaculture need to be set out.
Wilson (1982) in Canada came up with this legal definition:
Aquaculture is culture or husbandry of aquatic flora and fauna, but does not include the raising or breeding of flora or fauna (a) as aquarium specimens, (b) in laboratory experiments, or (c) by individuals on their own property as food for their own use.

11. FAO Definition of Aquaculture
“Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some sort of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated. For statistical purposes, aquatic organisms which are harvested by an individual or corporate body which has owned them throughout their rearing period contribute to aquaculture while organisms which are exploitable by the public as a common property resource, with or without appropriate licences, are the harvest of fisheries.” (FAO, 1999a).

13. Objectives of Aquaculture
Production of protein rich, nutritive, palatable and easily digestible human food benefiting the whole society through plentiful food supplies at low or reasonable cost.
Providing new species and strengthening stocks of existing fish in natural and man-made water-bodies through artificial recruitment and transplantation.
Production of sportfish and support to recreational fishing.
Production of bait-fish for commercial and sport fishery.
Production of ornamental fish for aesthetic appeal.
Recycling of organic waste of human and livestock origin.

14. Contd… Land and aquatic resource utilization
Providing means of sustenance and earning livelihood and monetary profit through commercial and industrial aquaculture.
Production of industrial fish.

15. Characteristics of Aquaculture and its present status
Despite the fact that fish culture is an age-old practice in some regions of the world, it is relatively new as a significant industry in most countries.
Extensive:
Adoption of traditional techniques of aquaculture e.g. dependence on natural productivity and little control over the stocks.

16. Contd..
Intensive: Adoption of full complement of culture techniques including scientific pond design, fertilization, supplemental feeding or only feeding without fertilization; full measure of stock manipulation, disease control, scientific harvesting, high level inputs and high rate of production.
Semi-intensive: Adoption of mid-level technology, partial dependence on natural productivity, fertilization, supplementary feeding, with stock manipulation, medium level inputs and medium rate of production.

17. Contd…. What is the difference between?
Aquaculture production and Fisheries production (or Capture fisheries)
Aquaculture production implies:
Human intervention to enhance captive stock
Individual/Cooperative ownership of stock
Fisheries production implies:
Human intervention to manage and maintain fished stocks at natural production levels
Public ownership of stock

18. Capture Fisheries Hunting-gathering activity
Variable recruitment and unpredictable stock size
Uncertain sustainable level of exploitation
Difficult to regulate so as to maintain stock sizes
Relatively low productivity
Many of world’s major capture fisheries range from heavily exploited to heavily overexploited

19. Capture Fisheries versus Aquaculture
Mean yearly productivity increase in decade of 1990’s less than 1% for capture fisheries compared to 10% for aquaculture
In China, aquaculture production volume has already surpassed capture fisheries production
There is current trend to use aquaculture production for stock enhancement of wild populations, providing link between aquaculture and fisheries (although similar links have existed before)

20. Global Aquaculture Scenario
World aquaculture has grown Mill. tonnes last 53 years
Growth rate is 11% /year
China contributes 69.6% (43.5 mill. T)
Asia-Pacific region 21.9 %
Western European region contributed 3.5%
Central and Eastern Europe region contributed 0.4%
East, North Africa 0.9%
Sub-Saharan Africa 0.2 %
Top five producers (China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh-80%).
FAO ( )

21. Origins of Aquaculture
Aquaculture developed thousands of years later in China, about 3500 BC. Common carp may have been first fish species cultured. First aquaculture text written in China about 500 BC (Fan Lei).
Oysters were farmed in Japan about 2,000 BC.
Aquaculture in Africa, Americas and Australia started only within the last several hundred years.
Reason for late development of aquaculture compared to terrestrial agriculture:
interactions between environment and aquatic organisms are not as well understood as those between environment and terrestrial organisms.

22. Main groups of cultured species worldwide
Fishes (freshwater and marine species)
Mollusks (bivalve and gastropod)
Crustaceans (decapods)
Algae (macro- and micro-algae)
Cyprinid fishes (carps) and macro-algae dominate world aquaculture production, but many other species are also target of aquaculture - in China, some 110 species of aquatic animals and plants are cultured

23. Fishes
Domesticated species (breeding based on genetically selected broodstock):
Major carps
Chinese carps
Common carp
Atlantic salmon
Rainbow trout
Tilapia
Channel catfish
“Wild” species
All others

24. Introduction to Aquaculture
Mollusks - bivalve
Table oysters (primarily Pacific oyster; also European flat oyster)
Table mussels (marine)
Scallops
Cockles (e.g., Blood Ark) and clams
(e.g., Northern quahog)
Pearl oysters and pearl (freshwater) mussels

25. Mollusks - gastropods Abalone (Haliotis spp.) Trochus (top shell)
Queen conch (Strombus gigas)

26. Crustaceans Marine shrimps (12 species of family Penaeidea)
Black tiger shrimp (Asia and Australia)
Pacific white shrimp (Americas)
Freshwater crustaceans
Mitten crabs (China)
Freshwater crayfish (crawfish) - 12 species
Freshwater prawns - several species but primarily Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Giant Malaysian prawn)

27. Algae Macro-algae (seaweeds - cultured for hundreds of years)
Brown seaweeds (Phaeophyta; e.g., Japanese kelp)
Red seaweeds (Rhodophyta)
Green seaweeds (Chlorophyta)
Micro-algae (diverse taxonomy - cultured
for last 2-3 decades)
Sources of high-value, fine chemicals
(carotenoid, fatty acids)
Wastewater treatment
Soil conditioners for agriculture
Biofuel production

28. History of aquaculture in Pakistan
Uptil late sixties WPFD was limited to conservation and management of natural resources
Traditional conservational methods without any development programme
Not a single carp hatchery in West Pak
Main hurdle to aquaculture was non-availability of fish seed
The seed was collected from natural spawning grounds
Collection of seed was expensive
Establishment of carp hatchery was a dire need
In first time seventeen pairs of Rohu and Mori were succeeded in breeding using pituitary hormones

29. Revolutionary Success in the history of Fisheries & Aq.
In Pak. Real take off was in early eighties
million fish seed was produced
First Pakistan Aquaculture Development Project assisted by ADB was initiated in
Advanced infrastructure training sub centers were developed and was considered success story in Punjab
ADB also approved 2nd development project and revolutionized Pakistan aquaculture.
Private sector also take momentum and at present about fish farms covering an area of 11400hec. More than 80 FH besides 46 warm water and 17 Trout.

30. Main aquaculture species in Pak.
Indian Major Carps
Chinese Carps
Tilapia
Cold Water (Trout)
Cat Fishes
Shell Fish (Freshwater Prawn, Marine Shrimps)

31. Figure 1: Various Types of Aquaculture Production by Continent
II. Production of Aquaculture
Figure 1: Various Types of Aquaculture Production by Continent
The above figure indicates that Asia has a clear edge over the other continents in aquaculture production.

32. II. Production of Aquaculture contd…..
Table 1: Value of Aquaculture production by continent Figure 2: Aquaculture Production by continent
2001
2003
2005
2007
Asia
90.07
90.45
91.14
91.12
Africa
0.93
1.06
1.14
1.27
Europe
4.73
4.30
3.69
3.59
Americas
3.99
3.93
3.76
Oceania
0.28
0.26
0.27
■ The above table and graph indicate how aquaculture production has remained predominantly an Asian output. Besides China, many other developing Asian countries also produce substantial amount of aquatic resources and earn foreign currencies by exporting them.

33. II. PRODUCTION OF AQUACULTURE CONDT…
Table 2: List of Top 10 Aquaculture Producing Countries (in MT)
Country
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
China
India
Vietnam
398468
588098
937502
Indonesia
749269
864276
996659
Thailand
693762
814121
Bangladesh
593202
712640
856956
882091
945812
Norway
475932
510748
584423
661811
830190
Chile
274216
566096
563435
698214
829842
Japan
759262
799946
823873
746221
765846
Philippines
352567
434661
459615
557251
709715
World Total
Source: FAO 2007

34. III. Trade in Aquaculture
Figure 4: Exports of Aquatic products by Different Continents
■ Europe and Asia dominate export of aquaculture

35. Figure 5: Imports of Aquatic products by Different Continents
III. Trade in Aquaculture contd…
Figure 5: Imports of Aquatic products by Different Continents
Europe imports highest amount of aquatic products.

36. III. Trade in Aquaculture contd…
Figure 6: Exports of Aquaculture Products by Selected Countries
■ China exports highest amount of aquatic products followed by
Thailand, Indonesia and India.