ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT IN SOUTH EAST ASIA AQUACULTURE: THE SUCCESS STORIES, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE INSIGHTS  

Aquaculture in South East Asia (SEA) has historically had a weak reputation primarily because the entire industry was viewed through the lens of removing mangroves during the early expansion of the shrimp industry and the collection of juvenile forms from the wild for stocking of farms.  Experts in the field have known for a long time that the industry was in fact much more expansive and in many ways quite sustainable with few if any environmental impacts.  However, the outsize impacts of early mangrove removal for shrimp and to a lesser extent pond culture of milkfish, tilapia, Asian Seabass and soft-shell crabs, and the lack of domesticated broodstocks and hatcheries has placed considerable pressure on the industry to improve practices.  

Three interrelated activities have driven vast environmental improvements across the entire aquaculture industry in SEA in the past twenty years.   First, the industry has partnered with a number of environmental groups and seafood buyers to develop a plethora of best management practices for various sectors and certification protocols to verify that the practices are instituted on the hatcheries, feedmills, farms and processing plants. Second, most governments have banned the removal of mangroves and improved coastal zone management, placing aquaculture operations into more appropriate locations.  Third, most governments have severely restricted the collection of juveniles from the wild as reproductive technologies and hatcheries have arisen to supply farms with juveniles for stocking on farms.  

The advancement of better management practices has been central to the environmental improvements.  From the nutrition side, improved feeds have led to better Feed Conversion Ratios, which serves to increase profits while also reducing the amount of waste generated.  Replacing forage fish, fish meal and fish oil with soy and other alternative ingredients has also reduced the environmental footprint of aquaculture.  Utilizing polyculture, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, and various biofloc models, has further reduced waste, increased yields by better fitting ecological practices into aquafarming.    The increasing number of vaccines available along with pathogen resistant breeding programs has served to reduce the amount of antibiotics being used on farms.    These success stories show us the way to address future challenges as the industry continues to expand and provide the vast amounts of seafood will need as human populations continue to grow and demand more seafood.