WHOI-90-52

Inrumentation in Intensive Aquaculture: Computerid Monitorig and Control in
Round Pond Shrip Culture
Background
Paul K. Bienfang
The Ocic Institute
Aquaculture is widely recgnize as an industr which has very large growth potential for the
United States. This growth is being driven by a consistently increasing demand for sefoo
products in the face of leveling and/or declining fisheries catches from the wild. U.S. demands
for seoo in excess of domestic supply have cause burgeoning importtion of sefoo
products. Ths has resulted in ever increasing annual trde deficits in the area of fisheries and
aquaculturay produce products. \ .
Most of the aquaculturay produce sefoo imported to the U.S. comes from lesser develope
countres (LDC). Support by low operating costs for land, labor and fee, aquaculture
production has ben growing rapidly in such countres, providing them with export revenues and
providing the additional supplies of seoo demanded by the U.S. market. Most of these LDC
settings operate extensive production systems becuse the infrastrcture canot support the
stabilty required by more intensive production systems.
Within the last decde, increasing attntion has been directe at developing aquaculture systems
within the U.S. which are ecnomicaly compatible with the business climate prevailing in our
domestic settng. One of the foremost barers to market entr is the development of production
systems which ca overcome the higher production costs and provide products at costs
competitive with the foreign imports. This has involved focusing attention on the development
of intensive production systems which produce more pounds of product per area per unit time.
Indee, intensification is generaly recognize as being the principle opportunity for economic
feasibilty of aquaculture withn the U. S. business climate.
The growth of aquaculture in the Unite States has direct growth implications for several key
attendant industres in addition to the commercial producers themselves. . The fees and
instrument industres are only two which show promise for coat-taling on the increases in
domestic aquaculture industr. Both of these areas represent mature industries having limited
growth potential within the existing markets, yet both represent areas where the U.S. tehnology
is some of the best in the world. Both industres also figure heavily in the nee for
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