Aquaculture will continue to depend more on land than sea
March 9, 2022 - Wenbo Zhang, Ben Belton, Peter Edwards, Patrik J. G. Henriksson, David C. Little, Richard Newton & Max Troell
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EmailZhang, W., Belton, B., Edwards, P. et al. (2022) "Aquaculture will continue to depend more on land than sea." Nature 603, E2-E4.
Aquaculture is a major producer of aquatic foods, contributes substantially to global food and nutrition security, and is likely to expand further in response to increasing demand from an increasingly populous and affluent world1,2. Projections by Costello and colleagues suggest high growth potential for marine aquaculture (mariculture), alongside a relatively marginal increase in freshwater aquaculture3. We contend that these projections inflate the growth potential of mariculture and undervalue the present and future roles of freshwater aquaculture1,2,4,5 (Fig. 1, Supplementary Figs. 1–3). Balanced approaches to science, policy and investment that prioritize freshwater aquaculture development in addition to mariculture can contribute more to global food security than those favouring mariculture alone.
