2 SEPTEMBER 2012 Editor’s Note Society 2 Editor’s Note 3 President’s Column 3 A Note from the Immediate Past President 4 Korean Chapter News 5 Letter to the Editor 6 Latin American and Carribean Chapter President’s Report 6 USAS President’s Report 7 Asian Pacific Chapter Update 8 Book Review—Freshwater Prawn: Biology and Farming by John A. Hargreaves 9 Aquaculture without Frontiers: Empowering and Giving Hope through Aquaculture 59 Calendar 72 Advertisers’ Index 72 Membership Application Contents (continued) (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4) One of the big news stories in the USA this summer has been the intense drought that now covers nearly 2/3 of the mainland. It has caused me to think about the implications of drought—and more broadly the increasingly obvious changes in climate unfolding before us—on aquaculture. Although drought is by definition an abnormal condition, it seems likely that inland fisheries and aquaculture will be affected by an increased frequency, duration, and intensity of droughts in the future. The direct effects of drought—similar to the one currently underway—on inland aquaculture are straightforward. Simply put, production would be constrained where pond aquaculture is dependent on surface water supplies. At minimum, competition between fish farmers and other users of fresh water will become increasingly intense. The current drought in the USA has been characterized by low precipitation and high temperatures. Over 2000 high temperature records were set in June and more than 3000 in July. Water temperature greater than optimum reduces growth and induces a stress response in cultured animals. High water temperature reduces oxygen solubility and causes other deleterious water quality effects in ponds. Thus, culturing fish in drought conditions reduces pond productivity and the efficiency of input use, especially water and feed. Although direct effects of drought on aquaculture are relatively easy to predict, especially at a local or regional scale, drought also has indirect, complex, and larger-scale effects on aquaculture. In particular, the yield of commodity grain crops used as ingredients in aquafeeds is reduced by drought. The focus of the current drought in the USA has been on the corn crop and how that supply will affect livestock feed costs and associated consumer prices for beef, pork, and poultry. It seems likely that the forecast reductions in the corn supply will affect aquaculture less than other forms of animal agriculture because the inclusion rates of corn are not as high as for other animals. Of greater concern is the availability of soybeans. The current crop is now at a critical stage; if the drought persists, the soybean crop will be far less than forecast initially. Furthermore, supplies of soybean are tighter than those of corn. Soybean meal is a critical ingredient in aquafeeds and a widely used plant protein source. For both grains, the USA is a major contributor to global supplies. Thus, the drought in this country has implications for the availability of key ingredients for aquafeeds around the world. In a recent FAO technical report, Albert Tacon and his colleagues warned that we should be concerned about the sustainability of feed grain supply to ensure the sustainability of fed aquaculture. There is an obvious priority to assure that use of commodity grains are used for human food. However, the future availability and use of grains in livestock feeds, including aquafeeds, is cause for concern, particularly under scenarios of increased frequency and intensity of drought. The FAO calculates a food price index that measures the international prices of a basket of food commodities. The index jumped by 6 percent in July, largely driven by a 23 percent increase in maize prices. Unrest and uprisings around the world, including many of those that were part of the Arab Spring, can be attributed, at least in part, to rising food prices. In developing countries where fish represents the major source of animal protein, and where food expenditures are a large proportion of income, high prices brought on by drought can reduce food security and increase the propensity for unrest. As a consequence of the drought, prices for beef, pork, and poultry are expected to rise in the coming year. Assuming that the drought will also place upward pressure on prices for fish, related to the increased cost of aquafeeds, it seems likely that Drought and Aquaculture
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