The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2010 - FAO

World review of fisheries and aquaculture
19
If aquatic plants are included, world aquaculture production in 2008 was
68.3 million tonnes, with an estimated value of US$106 billion.
World production of aquatic plants
Aquaculture produced 15.8 million tonnes (live weight equivalent) of aquatic plants
in 2008, with a total estimated value of US$7.4 billion. Of the world total production
of aquatic plants in the same year, 93.8 percent came from aquaculture. The culture
of aquatic plants has enjoyed a consistent expansion in production since 1970, with
an average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent. The production is overwhelmingly
dominated by seaweeds (99.6 percent by quantity and 99.3 percent by value in 2008).
Countries in East and Southeast Asia dominate seaweed culture production
(99.8 percent by quantity and 99.5 percent by value in 2008). China alone accounted
for 62.8 percent of the world’s aquaculture production of seaweeds by quantity. Other
major seaweed producers are Indonesia (13.7 percent), Philippines (10.6 percent),
Republic of Korea (5.9 percent), Japan (2.9 percent) and Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea (2.8 percent). In 2007, Indonesia replaced the Philippines as the world’s
second-largest seaweed producer and remained so in 2008. In value terms, Japan
maintained its position as the second-most important producer because of its highvalued
Nori production. In East Asia, almost all cultured seaweed species are for human
consumption, although Japanese kelp is also used as a raw material for the extraction
of iodine and algin. In contrast, seaweed farming in Southeast Asia, with Eucheuma
seaweeds as the major species, is mainly producing raw material for carrageenan
extraction.
Chile is the most important seaweed culturing country outside Asia, producing
21 700 tonnes in 2008. Africa also harvested 14 700 tonnes of farmed seaweeds in 2008,
with the United Republic of Tanzania (mainly Zanzibar), South Africa and Madagascar
as the leading producers. Farmed seaweed production in the United Republic of
Tanzania and in Madagascar, mostly Eucheuma seaweeds for export, was much
underreported previously. In South Africa, cultured seaweeds are harvested mainly as
feed for the culture of perlemoen abalone (Haliotis midae).
In 2008, the highest production of cultured seaweed was of Japanese kelp
(Laminaria japonica, 4.8 million tonnes), followed by Eucheuma seaweeds
(Kappaphycus alvarezii and Eucheuma spp., 3.8 million tonnes), Wakame (Undaria
pinnatifida, 1.8 million tonnes), Gracilaria spp. (1.4 million tonnes) and Nori (Porphyra
spp., 1.4 million tonnes).
According to the national reports received by FAO, the production of algae culture
in freshwater was 68 400 tonnes in 2008, and virtually all the production was of
Spirulina from China (62 300 tonnes) and Chile (6 000 tonnes). Worldwide, Spirulina
spp. are cultured in many countries, predominantly in cement tanks, as an ingredient
in animal feeds and as a nutrition supplement for people. 4 Production is both largescale
as a commercial business and small-scale for consumption by local communities.
Production data are not systematically collected and reported worldwide. In recent
years, the culture of the freshwater alga Haematococcus pluvialis has been developed
in a few countries (e.g. Chile, China, India, Japan and the United States of America)
for the extraction of astaxanthin, a natural pigment and strong antioxidant used in
many fields including aquaculture feeds. In addition, the culture of lipid-rich species
of freshwater algae for biofuel production, still in its initial stages, is the latest
development in freshwater algae culture. Compared with seaweed farming, the culture
of freshwater algae is generally poorly reported worldwide.
Production by region: growth patterns and top producers
Asia has retained its progressively dominant position in world aquaculture production.
Asia accounted for 88.8 percent of world aquaculture production by quantity and
78.7 percent by value in 2008, while China alone accounted for 62.3 percent of world
aquaculture production by quantity and 51.4 percent by value in the same year
(Table 4).