18 JUNE 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG What do we need to do to increase seafood consumption? How do we convince consumers that our products are a good value? Better yet, why aquaculture and why are you a part of the aquaculture movement? We have a great mix of people: seafood farmers, scientists, educators, government representatives, regulators, equipment suppliers, association executives, entrepreneur’s, investors, chefs and distributors. And…we have seafood consumers. Why is seafood consumption and hence aquaculture important to you and more importantly to humanity? What is our movement trying to accomplish? Aquaculture is relatively young compared to terrestrial agriculture. Terrestrial agriculture started about 12,000 years ago but aquatic agriculture or aquaculture is only about 4,000 years old. No one knows the real origins but some attribute aquaculture’s beginnings to the reverence early rulers had for fish. Fish were mystical and symbols of prestige, power, and for some, faith. Fish were food and those who controlled the supply of fish were powerful indeed. The thinking of the time was that those who ate fish were somehow enhanced or empowered because of it. They certainly would have recognized that fish were easier to digest than much of what was then available to eat. They also observed that seafood was perishable. While not realizing the specific health values of seafood consumption, earliest consumers discovered that seafood was special and that it needed to be part of their diet. Placing live fish in the relatively controlled environment of a pond made seafood available year round. Our aquaculture movement had begun. Until about the mid-19th century aquaculture was simply ranching. Various fish, initially carp but soon various kinds of catfish, were collected in the wild and placed in ponds where they were held through grow-out and fattening. With the advent of artificial finfish propagation in the early 19th century and the introduction of manufactured or formulated feeds sometime around 1950, the real potential of aquaculture was revealed and the movement grew phenomenally. We can attribute that growth to global seafood demand but also to the tremendous scientific advances that have been made in our understanding of fish and shellfish biology, to technological innovation and the steady adoption of best farming and waste management practices. During Aquaculture…Priceless Randy MacMillan
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