Success Stories In Asian Aquaculture - Library - Network of ...

12 S.S. De Silva and F.B. Davyinto fish meal and fish oil are being channeled for production of animals that arenot human food sources (De Silva and Turchini 2008) . What is perturbing is thatsuch aspects have not received the attention of these groups who advocate the channelingof the biological resources used for fish meal and fish oil production fordirect human consumption; on many an occasion, a level playing field has not beenlacking in many of these advocacies.The most commonly highlighted aspects of aquaculture that are supposedlyimpacting its sustainability are dependence on fish meal and fish oil in aquaculturefeeds, overdependence on exotic and/or alien species, and negative influences onbiodiversity. All of the above are refutable to varying degrees, but it is not to concludethat all aquaculture developments have been sustainable and environmentallyfriendly.Aquaculture, even to date, has to live with the notion that shrimp farming wasthe prime cause for mangrove destruction, even though there is mounting informationthat shrimp farming per se accounted for less than 5% of global mangrovedestruction. Equally, alien species in aquaculture, the dependence on which is notdifferent to any extent on all human food production sectors (De Silva et al. 2008) ,are often highlighted as an environmentally destructive element primarily inducedthrough aquaculture. Here again the evidence is variable, and on occasions, refutableand in more often than not explicit evidence on cause and effect is lacking.Irrespective of the correctness and/or the authenticity, and/or the biases of thevarying range of arguments, it is incumbent on all aquaculture developments to takenotice of the public concerns and act accordingly – aquaculture developers cannotbe complacent. The onus is on the sector to demonstrate to the public and policymakers equally and convincingly that aquaculture developments are sustainable andit could proceed in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, within thesocietal guidelines, and still continue to be a dominant and important provider tohuman food basket, millions of livelihoods, and income generation, and in turn,contribute to food security and global poverty alleviation.1.7 Is Aquaculture a Success?Success can have many definitions, and is equally interpreted in many ways.Success may refer to the achievement of one’s aim or goal; ( business ) financialprofitability, a person who achieves his or her goals or a level of social status,achievement of an objective/goal; the opposite of failure. On the other hand, whatis considered a success for one person, a community, a nation or region, and/or acombination thereof in respect of a policy and achievement, a development may notbe considered a success by others. Indeed, even a consensual success at one pointcould be treated as failure by others, downstream, and is of particular relevance toaquatic resources-related developments.If one was to assess the success of aquaculture from a purely food production,providing employment and/or livelihoods opportunities, rural development and