Fish as feed inputs for aquaculture – Practices, sustainability and implications: a global synthesis 5(Ictalurus punctatus) in the United States of America, and salmon and trout farming in
Europe and more recently Chile and Canada. The culture of marine fish – seabass and
seabream in the Mediterranean and grouper in Asian waters – has also grown rapidly
over the last ten years, as has the culture of freshwater species such as pangasiid catfish
and snakeheads. The culture of these species is usually intensive, often using large cage
systems, computerized feeding systems and other technology to improve performance
and reduce costs. In Europe, the expansion of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar|)
farming still dominates mariculture in terms of volume (Figure 1), although growth
is slowing as a result of softening prices
and competition from Chile. In China,
the culture of Mandarin fish (Siniperca
spp.) and largemouth bass (Micropterus
salmoides) has expanded rapidly in recent
years, utilizing large volumes of live feed
and trash fish, respectively.
In the Americas, aquaculture production
has been growing at an average compound
rate of 8.9 percent per year since 1995,
increasing over two-fold from 968 128
tonnes in 1995 to 2 093 003 tonnes in 2004
(Tacon, 2009). In marked contrast, capture
fisheries production within the region over
the same period has decreased by
over 6 percent, from 27 944 203 tonnes in
1995 to 26 256 508 tonnes in 2004 (FAO,
2006a). The majority of this growth has been in Atlantic salmon in Chile, as well as
Canada. Other important species that show steady growth include channel catfish
from the United States of America, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and tilapia
(Oreochromis spp.). While the diadramous salmonids are mostly farmed in cages, most
other species are raised in earthen ponds.
Asian production of carnivorous fish currently amounts to around 3 368 956 tonnes
(FAO, 2006a) or about 8 percent of the region’s production, which itself accounts
for over 90 percent of global output. These carnivorus fish mostly (60 percent) tend
to be the warmer water freshwater species such as white Amur bream (Parabramis
pekinensis), snakeheads, mandarin fish and pirapatinga (Piaractus brachypomus), while
the remainder are marine and brackishwater species such as milkfish (Chanos chanos),
eels, Japanese seabass (Lateolabrax japonicus) and amberjack (Seriola spp.).
The production of carnivorous species in Africa and the Near East only accounts
for 12 percent of the region’s aquaculture production, which is dominated by the
herbivorous/omnivorous finfish and crustaceans. Aquaculture of carnivorous species
in the region includes trout in the Islamic Republic of Iran and seabass and seabream in
Egypt. In Sub-Saharan Africa, only low volumes of carnivorous fish are cultured.
2.1.2 Herbivorous/omnivorous finfish
This group of species represents the bulk of fish farmed in Asia and Africa, although
they are also well represented elsewhere, accounting for around 60 percent of global
finfish production. They are able to derive protein from plant sources but are often
able to utilize fishmeal as an important protein source for rapid growth. Given their
global importance, even at low levels of fishmeal inclusion, they exert a significant
demand for this commodity – for instance, non-filter-feeding carps utilized around
8.75 million tonnes of aquafeeds in 2003, around 45 percent of total use (Tacon, Hasan
and Subasinghe, 2006).
FIGURE 1
Atlantic salmon and trout production in
Europe, 1998–2006Source: http://www.feap.info/feap/aquaculturedata/default_en.asp300 000350 000400 000450 000500 000550 000600 000650 000700 000750 000800 0001999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006Production (tonnes)YearAtlantic salmon Trout (all species)