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Impacts of FishImpacts of Fish

AquacultureAquaculturePresented by: Carla Penney and Katie

Brown

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What is Aquaculture?What is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture is defined as the farming of marine and freshwater organisms

It is the worlds fastest growing food-production sector; approximately 30%of seafood consumed is farmed

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Aquaculture ProcessesAquaculture Processes

In order to be farmed successfully, most speciesneed specialized sites and equipment

Tanks or holding facilities must have water pumpedinto them while being free of pollutants andcarefully monitored for temperature, salinity, andother factors

Toxic wastes produced by the organisms must bealso removed and parasites must also becarefully checked for

Even predators (such as birds or seals) must eitherbe removed or evaded

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The Impact of Aquaculture The Impact of Aquaculture

Go Big or Go Home Most aquaculture operations require

expensive equipment and trained

personnel

This alone restricts the types of species thatcan be cultured

Some species cannot be cultured because itis not profitable

The species that are usually command high

prices

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Environmental ImpactsEnvironmental Impacts

Changes in the Benthic Community Cultured fish species depend on a diet of

artificial feed which is distributed on the

surface of the water and then eaten by thefish

Uneaten feed migrates to the bottom whereit can be eaten by the benthos ordecomposed by microorganisms

Microbial decomposition may deplete thewater of oxygen and cause sedimentaryanimals to die

Antibiotics and other medicines added tofeed can affect other organisms when theellets decom osed

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Environmental Impacts ContdEnvironmental Impacts Contd

Eutrophication Another environmental impact is the

eutrophication of the water surroundingrearing pens or rivers that receive aquaculturewaste

Fish excretion and fecal wastes combined withthe increased amount of nutrients from theunconsumed feed produce an idealenvironment for algal blooms to form

These resulting blooms can be toxic to humansand other marine organisms

Fun fact: A farm with 20,000 salmon dischargesmore fecal waste than a city of 60,000 people

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Environmental Impacts ContdEnvironmental Impacts Contd

Depletion of Natural Stocks Aquaculture depends on a diet of wild fish as

well

The removal of natural fish stocks from the foodweb, however, is difficult to predict (when fishare removed, less food is available for otherspecies, and so on)

Fish culture, however, can mitigate (make lesssevere) the decline of fish stocks decimatedby overfishing by decreasing thedependence on natural stocks and byhelping to re-stock populations by releasing

juvenile or culture larvae

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Environmental Impacts ContdEnvironmental Impacts Contd

Habitat Destruction The destruction of mangrove forests, salt

marshes and other coastal communities inthe tropics for aquaculture has had adevastating effect

Destruction has reduced the stock of localspecies that use mangrove forests andsalt marshes as nurseries

These habitats are also critical for erosionprevention and water quality; they alsoprovide a sustainable/renewable resourceof firewood, pulp and charcoal for localcommunities

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ReferencesReferences

Emerson, C. (1999). AquacultureImpacts on the Environment,retrieved from: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/

Castro, P., & Huber, H. E. (2007). MarineBiology (6 th ed.), McGraw-Hill: New

York, NY

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/overview.phphttp://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/overview.phphttp://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/overview.phphttp://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/overview.php