Nicole Milillo, Nicholas Raynor, Christopher Capone Chant, Taghon, Nordstrom Human Interaction with the Coastal Ocean

December 17, 2011 Aquaculture and the Effects on the Environment and the Economy Aquaculture is the rearing of aquatic organisms under controlled or semi-controlled conditions, (Stickney) or in other words, underwater agriculture. Similar to agriculture, aquaculture can take place in the natural environment or in a manmade environment. Using different techniques and technologies, researchers and the aquaculture industry are growing, producing, culturing, and farming all types of freshwater and marine species. There are many different types of aquaculture, but the two well known categories are freshwater and marine aquaculture, or saltwater. Aquaculture includes the production of hatchery fish and shellfish which are grown to market size in ponds, tanks, cages, or raceways, and are then released into the wild. The purpose of aquaculture is to support commercial and recreational marine fisheries as well as to rebuild wild stock populations or coastal habitats, such as oyster reefs. Aquaculture also includes the production of ornamental fish for the aquarium trade and plant species used in a range of food, pharmaceutical, nutritional, and biotechnology products. The United State is a major consumer of aquaculture products. We import 84% of our seafood and half of that is provided by aquaculture industries. The United States ranks 13th in total aquaculture production behind China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Norway, Chile, the Philippines, Japan, Egypt and Myanmar.

Many problems arise with the growing development of aquaculture. It is increasing the pressure on several already threatened marine species and is a leading cause of eutrophication. Although the link between fish farming and the decrease of natural stocks can not always be established, there is reason to believe that this process alters the natural food web. This alteration can affect the local environment. Providing artificial food sources for the fish affects the natural habitat. Fish are fed artificial pellets to obtain optimal growth so we will earn more by selling them. This causes overfeeding and can in turn lead to eutrophication. Eutrophication is when algae blooms grow in an area effected by sewage run-off or other man made chemicals acting as pollutants and deplete oxygen. This effect has grown increasingly in areas of intensive fish culture surrounding the pens and rivers that are receiving the aquaculture effluent. When the fish excretions and fecal wastes combine, nutrients are released from these substances which creates an ideal environment for algae blooms to form. The artificial feed contains more nutrients than the fish need so the majority of it is going into their feces and into the water. This growth of algae blooms is not good because the algae can sometimes be toxic to other sea life and it can cause bacteria before it dies. This bacteria stays in the water that the fish we are producing live in. The fish in turn can be infected with the bacteria themselves. Although fish is known to be a healthy food and is low in fat, the potential bacteria it may contain is harmful to humans. There is also a high level of antibiotics and genetically engineered components in fish that are harmful to humans. Both marine and freshwater fish are increasingly exposed to toxic matter which is either directly or indirectly from manmade industrial waste, both from the sea and land. These toxic substances can cause a sudden dieout of fish from acute

poisoning and affect eggs and larvae. A majority can cause sub-lethal levels of toxic substances in commercial fish. Much pollution that is associated with aquaculture yet there are many ways that these problems can be resolved. Although the excess nutrients are not eliminated from the waters the lower level of waste is more easily taken into the local food web. The natural movement of the water also helps to replenish the anoxic water with oxygen rich waters from surrounding areas. It is also much easier to treat the effluent of aquaculture from inland operations than that of coastal operations because the outflow can be controlled and treated like other forms of sewage. There have also been ways to reduce the amount of artificial feed by utilizing mussels, oysters and other filter feeders while culturing finfish. There are many examples of ways to reduce pollution. For example a firm in Japan developed an odorless, environment friendly organic fish waste treatment system. It utilizes a colony of micro-organisms which are active at a high temperature to process up to five metric tons of fish waste daily. Another example, in China, uses the polyculture of scallops, sea cucumbers and kelp to reduce eutrophication. Both types of aquaculture farming, whether they are for social benefits or commercial profit, have to be economically profitable to be sustained. Some parts of this aquaculture may be supported by the government by the use of loans and grants. The lack of economic data which seriously affects suitable financing gives us an unclear view on how profitable this industry is. Aquaculture is completely site specific so if there is data available about similar costs and profits, farmers should compare this data. The problems that arise when attempting to collect sufficient data is the major differences between farming sites. One cannot compare data from a sites that are too different.

Financing has become difficult due to the lack a data collected by a number of poorly planned projects. The profit of this fish farming is unknown because there is no set data of success and failure. Comparative figures are not readily available (Pillay). The lack of these figures draws up the question of wether or not aquaculture is really more beneficial than harmful. After recognizing all of the environmental problems that arise with this aquaculture, we wonder if there is enough economic advantage to outweigh the negative aspects. Social benefits and economics suffer mostly because of human error. The risk in aquaculture is substantially greater than in any form of animal husbandry, mainly because production takes place in water. (Pillay) There are many different types of risks that can cause errors to occur. Gross errors, occur when a measurement process is subject occasionally to large inaccuracies. Systematic errors are due to bias, round off, and faulty instruments. Materials, methods and equipment errors, occur because it is necessary to use the same size and age of fish or experimental materials. There are also cases of pairing errors because it is necessary to group experimental units into two. The errors and environmental disturbances aquaculture causes raise questions about its future. The world has a growing population and it is widely accepted that people should eat more seafood to promote good health. However, if this is to happen, then the gap between supply and demand will continue to grow and can only be filled by aquaculture. We need to consider data that is available to us about the economic value of aquaculture and we have to determine a link between its immediate effects on the environment before we can either call it quits or proceed further with the research and development of this underwater farming. Aquactulture is a subject

that needs to be further researched to draw any conclusions, but there are many ideas that can be formed by the information that is available to us at the present time.

Research Paper Work Cited Emerson, Craig. Aquaculture Impacts on the Environment. www.csa.com December 1999 El Deen, Dr. Magdy A Salan; El Guindy, Dr. Samia. Environmental Impact of aquaculture Bhujel, Ram C. Statistics for Aquaculture. Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008 Pillay, T.V.R. Aquaculture and Practices. Oxford: Fishing News Books, 1990