Fish farming

By

Romina Flores Rendon

In partial fulfillment for the required for English Class

Prof. Rosario Chavez

May 3, 2006
 The fish Farming

Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under
mari culture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for
food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to
supplement a species' natural numbers is generally refered to as a fish hatchery. Fish
species raised by fish farms include salmon, catfish, tilapia, cod and others. Fish
farming, or “aquaculture,” has become a billion-dollar industry, and more than 30
percent of all the sea animals consumed each year are now raised on these “farms. with
many land-based aquafarms are indoors, so farmers even control the amount of light
that fish get. Basically, there are two kinds of aquaculture: extensive aquaculture based
on local photosynthetical production and intensive aquaculture, in which the fishes are
fed with external food supply, the management of these two kinds of aquacultural
systems is completely different the extensive aquaculture and intensive aquaculture.

*Extensive aquaculture: Limiting for fish growth here is the available food supply by
natural sources, commonly zooplankton feeding on pelagic algae or benthic animals,
such as certain crustaceans and mollusks. Tilapia species filter feed directly on
phytoplankton, which makes higher production possible. The photosynthetical
production can be increased by fertilizing the pond water with artificial fertilizer
mixtures, such as potash, phosphorus, nitrogen and micro elements. Because most fishes
are carnivorous, A second point of concern is the risk of algal blooms. When
temperatures, nutrient supply and available sunlight are optimal for algal growth, algae
multiply their biomass at an exponential rate, eventually leading to an exhaustion of
available nutrients.

*Intensive aquaculture: In this kind of systems fish production per unit of surface can be
increased at will, as long as sufficient oxygen, fresh water and food are provided.
Because of the requirement of sufficient fresh water, a massive water purification
system must be integrated in the fish farm. A clever way to achieve this is the
combination of hydroponics horticulture and water treatment, see below. The exceptions
to this rule are cages which are placed in a river or sea, which supplements the fish crop
with sufficient fresh water. Especially when fish densities are high, the risk of infections
by parasites like fish lice, fungi, intestinal worms, bacteria, and protozoa is much higher
than in animal husbandry because of the ease in which pathogens can invade the fish
body. This means, intensive aquaculture requires tight monitoring and a high level of
expertise of the fish farmer.

Proponents of fish farms also suggest that farming salmon reduces fishing pressure on
existent wild stocks, and so allows ecosystems to replenish themselves over time.
Countering this argument, fish farming opponents point out that the BC and Alaska wild
salmon commercial fishery is controlled by wild stock assessment (regardless of fish
farm production) and other safe forms of aquaculture like Tilapia or trout farming can
be used as well to supply fish to the market.