Stripping eggs from female
trout
growth.
The sustainability of major increases
in fish production from aquaculture
has in particular been called into
question by the experience of aquaculture in Southeast Asia where
many intensive farms have been
abandoned due to self-pollution,
diseases and loss of supporting services from nearby mangroves. For
aquaculture and other new production technologies to contribute to
sustainable food provision, continued research is needed on forms
that do not lead to over-harvest of
wild ecosystems for food, seed or
broodstock, and how to draw on
these ecosystems services without
causing severe or irreversible loss of
other ecosystem services. New technologies and innovations should be
considered which are more environmentally sustainable for instance
integrated aquaculture systems
combining different species on the
same site with mutual benefit, Aquaponics, Biofloc systems, Polyculture etc. It is also very important for
policy writers to realize that you
need to reach the breakeven point
before a business can start to make
Job done for the day,
Katse dam
Seafood on
display
profits and because input costs are
rising this point is for ever increasing with higher production volumes. If a small scale farmer is operating below this critical volumes it
would be impossible for the project
to be economically sustainable and
the project will rely on Government
support for ever.
Conclusion:
Efficient production from aquaculture is making fish more affordable
to the poor, without damaging the
profits from capture fisheries,
which supply different markets.
There is continued technological
innovation in aquaculture, in areas
like improved breeds, feeds that use
less fish meal and culture systems
that are less environmentally damaging, less disease-prone, and more
suitable for use by those with limited access to inputs. The sector
produces something everybody
wants – healthy, nutritious food.
Moreover, it does so with generally
lower energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions than other animal production systems. There is
much that is good, to support and
to build on.
Maintenance work on fish farm
Kapenta fishmarket
References:
Béné, C.,G. Macfaddayen, & E.H. Allison
(2007). Increasing the contribution of
small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. Fisheries and
Aquaculture Technical Papers 481, FAO,
Rome, 141 pp.
DFID (2009). The neglected crisis of
undernutrition: evidence for action.
Department of International Development, London.
Duarte, C.M., M. Holmer, Y. Olsen, D.
Soto, N. Marba, J. Guiu, K. Black & I.
Karakassis (2009). Will the Oceans Help
Feed Humanity. BioScience Magazine,
Vol. 59, No. 11.
Sowman, M., & P. Cardoso (2010).
Small-scale fisheries and food security
strategies in countries in the Benguela
Current Large Marine Ecosystem region:
Angola, Namibia and South Africa Marine Policy 34: 1163-1170.
White, K., B. O’Neill, & Z. Tzankova
(2004). At a Crossroads: Will Aquaculture Fulfill the Promise of the Blue Revolution? A SeaWeb Aquaculture Clearinghouse Report.
The World Fish Center (2011). Aquaculture, Fisheries, Poverty and Food Security. Working Paper 2011-65.
The author can be contacted at
[email protected]
Oyster Farmers, Namibia