WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2012 15 Highlights Promising technologies for sustainable intensification of aquaculture. I make no apology for leading off with my own presentation, as it addressed the important issue of definition. To meet the demand for food from a rapidly increasing and more affluent human population, there is the need to do so in environmentally and socially sustainable ways as well as to ensure that the world’s poorest people do not go hungry. The aims for the sustainable intensification of aquaculture are therefore not only to maximize productivity but to optimize across complex land- and waterscapes of production, food security, rural development, social justice while maintaining environmental integrity. This also means exploring the contribution that aquaculture could make to improve the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers in developing countries through more widespread dissemination of existing and new technologies, albeit in environmentally sustainable ways. Of course there is a need for intensification of aquaculture technology (production system intensification) but also for extensification (defined here as more widespread dissemination of existing technology to intensify livelihoods). I believe that the major potential to increase Asian aquaculture production is through wider dissemination of existing technology because there is huge potential for increasing production through this approach, especially in less-developed countries. I concluded my presentation by also pointing out that, from a technological point-of-view, there is no ‘magic bullet’ or panacea on the horizon, although there are several promising technological developments. It is unlikely that various types of RAS and offshore cages will be implemented in Asia in the near future as they are costly and high-tech. Furthermore, significant reduction of nutrients in intensive pond and cage aquaculture effluents remains elusive. Rather, there are needs for further implementation of BMPs to improve existing systems and EAA to better integrate aquaculture into inland watersheds and coastal zones. Although the global forecast is for a doubling of food production, national estimates are required to ensure that increased production responds to real demand rather than local gluts. Standardized pond reconstruction in China: contributing to sustainable intensification of aquaculture. According to Ms. Wang Dan of the Bureau of Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture, China, the pond is the most important production system in Chinese aquaculture but most ponds in the country were built in the 1980s and have eroded dikes leading to shallow ponds and silted water supply channels. Low productivity leads to high feed conversion ratios and increased incidence of disease. The government introduced a pond reconstruction program in 2008 that supports pond clusters larger than 15 ha. In 2010, 0.7 million ha of ponds were reconstructed with a target for 2015 of 1.3 million ha. Freshwater and marine pond reconstruction guidelines and effluent discharge standards were formulated by scientists and technicians who also provide guidance for reconstruction. Reconstructed ponds use less water, improve land use, are stocked at a higher density, have a more controllable environment (including recirculation of water), are less polluting and provide better resilience in the face of disaster. The government policy is to encourage land consolidation because small farms of only about one hectare cannot provide a family with a decent living. National and provincial government support thus encourages land consolidation. Farmers transfer their land-use rights to village-level cooperatives or companies and receive rent. The village-level aquaculture cooperatives are different from those of earlier days when farm households worked together as a single unit and shared everything. Today’s cooperatives provide assistance with input supply and fish marketing to improve bargaining power but each household farms fish independently. Sustainable intensification in aquaculture production: role of domestication and breeding. Robins McIntosh of Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP), Bangkok, Thailand presented a case study of CP’s success in sustainable shrimp farming. He explained why Atlantic salmon, tilapia, and Pacific white shrimp are the most successful aquaculture species. In all three cases, virtually unlimited resources and attention were initially given to broodstock development. Starting in 2002, CP brought founder populations of white shrimp to Thailand, leading to a new paradigm for shrimp culture. The result has been a dramatic increase in the efficiency of Thai shrimp production with an average yield of 3,635 kg/ha on 85,000 ha of shrimp ponds, changing to an average yield of 10,250 kg/ha on 55,000 ha of pond area in 2010. Thus, intensification has led to greater land use efficiency and more control and predictability through better utilization of genetic potential, all leading to much greater profit. The cost of production and profit (US$/kg) of tiger shrimp in 2002 was US$2.45 and 5.27, and for white shrimp in 2010 was US$0.43 and 1.65. While genetics has been the key to increasing sustainable production, this has been achieved through attention to the whole production system, i.e. control of the pond environment and modifications to management. The pond environment must be optimized through biosecurity, provision of oxygen, predator/ competitor exclusion, and a clean pond bottom. Marine capture fisheries as a source of food for aquaculture in the Asian region. Simon Funge-Smith of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission posed the question: how much of the marine fish catch is directed to aquaculture in Asia? It is estimated that over 8 million t of low value/trash fish are harvested in the South China Sea region, typically comprising 40-60 percent of the catch of trawl fisheries. The demand for low value/trash fish for aquaculture is booming for crabs, lobsters and marine carnivorous fish. Perversely this demand keeps trawl fisheries profitable even though they have a profoundly adverse impact on wild fish stocks. An increasing amount of fish, as well as shrimp, are fed formulated feed with a high fishmeal content, although a significant amount of fishmeal is derived from trimmings and waste from fish processing rather than from low value/trash fish, with the current demand for fishmeal for aquaculture at about 2-3 million t. Asian aquaculture is a major user of fishmeal (86 percent) compared to pigs and poultry (14 percent). (CONTINUED ON PAGE 70)
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