18 SEPTEMBER 2013 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG Aquaculture is the fastest growing foodproduction industry (Fig. 1). It all started in Asia, especially in China, but it was only in the last 3 to 4 decades that spectacular growth took place. Following the FAO global aquaculture production statistics for the year 2011, finfish make up about half of all seafood production, totaling 62.7 million mt with an estimated value of US$ 130 billion. Farmed aquatic algae or AQUACULTURE: the Blue Biotechnology of the Future Patrick Sorgeloos RIGHT, FIGURE 1. Quantity and value of world aquaculture production of aquatic animals and plants (courtesy Rohana Subasinghe, FAO-Rome, 2013) BELOW, FIGURE 2. Aquaculture products by quantity and value (FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, 2013 Global Aquaculture Production Statistics for 2011 ftp.fao.org/FI/news/ GlobalAquacultureProductionStatistics2011.pdf.
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