Training of Trainers - Library - Network of Aquaculture Centres in ...

Importance in narrowing the supply and demand gapFigure 3. Contribution from capture fisheries and aquaculture to fish production andthe percent contribution of the latter to consumptionIn the wake of the plateauing of thetraditional fish supplies it is generallyaccepted that the short fall in food fishneeds has to come from aquaculture.Aquaculture within the short span ofthree to four decades has continued toincrease its importance in the food fishproduction sector, and is estimated toaccount for 50 percent of the globalfood fish consumption (Figure 3), andtantamount to approximately 35percent of the global fish production/availability.Key features of the aquaculture sectorThe great bulk of aquaculture production occurs in Asia, and with in Asia in China. Freshwater finfish culturecontributes most to overall production (Figures 4 and 5). In general, the great bulk of aquaculture production isbased on commodities that commanda farm gate price of less than US$2.00kg -1 , and all in all, over the years, theprice of aquaculture produce hasretained static and or declinedmarginally, in stark contrast to otherfood commodities. From a value viewpoint the most important culturedcommodities are the salmonids andshrimp in temperate and tropicalregions, respectively. From a valueview point the most important culturedcommodities are the salmonids andshrimp in temperate and tropicalregions, respectively.Figure 4. Aquaculture production (2005) in relation to thegeographic areas (from De Silva and Soto, 2009)In Asia, the epi-center of aquacultureproduction, the traditional practices tend to be largely small scale operations, often farmer owned and managed,and often clustered in an area that is conducive to aquaculture. Aquaculture practices are integrated with otherprimary production practices, particularly in Asia, such as rice farming. The rural dominance of aquaculture,particularly in Asia, has been emphasized in detail earlier and by many. In this regard aquaculture in some regionsis the backbone of rural economies and provides many millions of livelihood opportunities (Edwards et al., 2002).Needless to say that in the last decade or so many a rural aquaculture farming practice has changed, the changesbeing primarily in response to market demands, traditional and new. Notable examples in this context are the tracatfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and rohu (Labeo rohita) farming sectors of the Mekong, Vietnam andAyeyarwaddy, Myanmar deltas, respectively.9