Marine aquaculture refers to the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of aquatic plants and animals. It may occure in the ocean, or on land in tanks and ponds.
Marine aquaculture creates jobs, supports resilient working waterfronts and coastal communities while also providing international trade opportunities. Current and former fishermen are using aquaculture to supplement and support fishing livelihoods. Aquaculture currently accounts for 21 percent of the value of domestic fisheries landings. When current production rate doubles, tens of thousands of jobs in coastal communities can be created.
However, aquaculture production doesn’t come at all without a risk. Challenges occur, such as amplification and transmission of disease between farmed and wild fish, the introduction of nonnative pathogens and parasites when fish are transported and fish diseases often go unnoticed because they quickly become food for other fishes. Additionally, fish raised in an open system can have detrimental consequences for ocean ecosystems if they are not sited, designed, and managed properly. There have been multiple instances of poor production practices that have affected the surrounding environment, like excess nutrients which impacts biodiversity of benthic habitats, the release of and interaction with non-native species that compete with native species, and overfishing of wild fish required to feed the farmed fish.