FISH FARMING MAY SOON OVERTAKE CATTLE RANCHING

Thu Oct 5 13:41:03 PDT 2000

 WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE
 03 October 2000=20

 FISH FARMING MAY SOON OVERTAKE CATTLE RANCHING AS A FOOD SOURCE
                                         =20
 By Lester R. Brown, Chairman of the Board=20

 Aquacultural output, growing at 11 percent a year over the past decade, =
 is the fastest growing sector of the world food economy. Climbing from =
 13 million tons of fish produced in 1990 to 31 million tons in 1998, =
 fish farming is poised to overtake cattle ranching as a food source by =
 the end of this decade.

 This record aquacultural growth is signaling a basic shift in our diet. =
 Over the last century, the world relied heavily on two natural =
 systems-oceanic fisheries and rangelands-to satisfy a growing demand for =
 animal protein, but that era is ending as both systems are reaching =
 their productive limits. Between 1950 and 1990, beef production, four =
 fifths of it from rangelands, nearly tripled, climbing from 19 million =
 to 53 million tons before plateauing. Meanwhile, the oceanic fish catch =
 grew from 19 million to 86 million tons, more than quadrupling, before =
 leveling off. Since 1990, there has been little growth in either beef =
 production or the oceanic fish catch.

 Additional production of beef or seafood now depends on placing more =
 cattle in feedlots or more fish in ponds. At this point, the efficiency =
 with which cattle and fish convert grain into protein begins to reshape =
 production trends and thus our diets. Cattle require some 7 kilograms of =
 grain to add 1 kilogram of live weight, whereas fish can add a kilogram =
 of live weight with less than 2 kilograms of grain. Water scarcity is =
 also a matter of concern since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce 1 =
 ton of grain. But the fish farming advantage in the efficiency of grain =
 conversion translates into a comparable advantage in water efficiency as =
 well, even when the relatively small amount of water for fish ponds is =
 included. In a world of land and water scarcity, the advantage of fish =
 ponds over feedlots in producing low-cost animal protein is clear.

 In contrast to meat production, which is concentrated in industrial =
 countries, some 85 percent of fish farming is in developing countries. =
 China, where fish farming began more than 3,000 years ago, accounted for =
 21 million tons of the 31 million tons of world aquacultural output in =
 1998. India is a distant second with 2 million tons. Other developing =
 countries with thriving aquacultural sectors include Bangladesh, =
 Indonesia, and Thailand.=20

 Among industrial countries, Japan, the United States, and Norway are the =
 leaders. Japan's output of 800,000 tons consists of high-value species, =
 such as scallops, oysters, and yellowtail. The U.S. output of 450,000 =
 tons is mostly catfish. Norway's 400,000 tons is mostly salmon.=20

 With overfishing now commonplace, developing countries are turning to =
 fish farming to satisfy their growing appetite for seafood largely =
 because the oceanic option is not available to them as it was earlier to =
 industrial countries. For example, as population pressure on the land =
 intensified in Japan over time, it turned to the oceans for its animal =
 protein, using scarce land for rice. Today Japan's 125 million people =
 consume some 10 million tons of seafood each year. If China's 1.25 =
 billion were to eat seafood at the same rate, they would need 100 =
 million tons-the global fish catch.=20

 Although at least 220 species of fin fish, shellfish, and crustaceans =
 are farmed commercially, a dozen or so dominate world output. Among the =
 fin fish, five species of carp-all widely grown in China-lead the way =
 with a combined output of some 11 million tons in 1998, more than a =
 third of world aquacultural output. Among shellfish, the Pacific cupped =
 oyster, at 3.4 million tons (including shell), dominates, followed by =
 the Yesso scallop and the blue mussel.=20

 In China, fish are produced primarily in ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and =
 rice paddies. Some 5 million hectares of land are devoted exclusively to =
 fish farming, much of it in carp polyculture. In addition, 1.7 million =
 hectares of rice land is used to produce rice and fish together.

 Over time, China has evolved a fish polyculture using four types of carp =
 that feed at different levels of the food chain. Silver carp and bighead =
 carp are filter feeders, feeding on phytoplankton and zooplankton, =
 respectively. The grass carp, as its name implies, feeds largely on =
 vegetation, while the common carp is a bottom feeder, living on detritus =
 that settles to the bottom. Most of China's aquaculture is integrated =
 with agriculture, enabling farmers to use agricultural wastes, such as =
 pig manure, to fertilize ponds, thus stimulating the growth of plankton. =
 Fish polyculture, which typically boosts the fish yield per hectare over =
 that of monocultures by at least half, also dominates fish farming in =
 India.

 As land and water become scarce, China's fish farmers are intensifying =
 production by feeding more grain concentrates to raise pond =
 productivity. Between 1990 and 1996, China's farmers raised the annual =
 pond yield per hectare from 2.4 tons of fish to 4.1 tons.=20

 In the United States, catfish, which require only 1.6 kilograms of feed =
 to gain 1 kilogram of live weight is the leading aquacultural product. =
 With U.S. catfish production last year at roughly 600 million pounds =
 (270,000 tons), or more than 2 pounds for each American, U.S. =
 consumption of catfish exceeded that of lamb and mutton. U.S. catfish =
 production is concentrated in four states: Mississippi, Louisiana, =
 Alabama, and Arkansas. Mississippi, with some 174 square miles (45,000 =
 hectares) of catfish ponds and easily 60 percent of U.S. output, is the =
 catfish capital of the world.

 Among the aquatic species that are widely farmed, two especially wreak =
 extensive environmental havoc-salmon, with production of 700,000 tons =
 per year, and shrimp at 1,100,000 tons per year. Salmon are grown mostly =
 in industrial countries, principally in Norway, for consumption in those =
 countries. Shrimp, by contrast, are grown largely in developing =
 countries, importantly Thailand, Ecuador, and Indonesia, for export to =
 more affluent societies.

 Salmon, a carnivorous fish, are fed a diet consisting primarily of =
 fishmeal that is typically made from anchovies, herring, or the remnants =
 of fish processing. In stark contrast to the production of herbivorous =
 species, such as carp and catfish, which lighten the pressure on oceanic =
 fisheries, salmon production actually intensifies pressure because it =
 requires up to 5 tons of landed fish for each ton of salmon produced.

 Another concern is that if farmed salmon, which are bred for fast growth =
 and not for survival in the wild, escape because of damage to the pens =
 by storms or attacks by predators, such as harbor seals, they can breed =
 with wild salmon, weakening the latter's capacity to survive. Fish grown =
 in offshore cages or pens, as salmon frequently are, also concentrate =
 large quantities of waste, which itself presents a management problem. =
 For example, the waste produced by farmed salmon in Norway is roughly =
 equal to the sewage produced by Norway's 4 million people.

 Shrimp are often produced by clearing coastal mangrove forests which =
 protect coastlines and serve as nurseries for local fish. Mangrove =
 destruction can cause a decline of local fisheries that will actually =
 exceed the gains from shrimp production, leading to a net protein loss. =
 In addition, because shrimp rations are also high in fishmeal, shrimp, =
 like salmon, put additional pressure on oceanic fisheries.

 A world that is reaching the limits with both oceanic fisheries and =
 rangelands while adding 80 million people each year needs efficient new =
 sources of animal protein. Herbivorous species of fish, such as carp =
 grown in polycultures, carp grown in combination with rice, or catfish =
 grown in ponds, offer a highly efficient way of expanding animal protein =
 supplies in a protein-hungry world. Fish farming is not a solution to =
 the world food problem, but as China has demonstrated, it does offer a =
 potential source of low-cost animal protein for lower income =
 populations. The forces that have made aquaculture the world's fastest =
 growing source of animal protein over the last decade are likely to make =
 it the fastest growing source during this decade as well.

 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:=20

 Reah Janise Kauffman
 Special Assistant to the Chairman=20
 & Director of International Publications
 Worldwatch Institute
 1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW=20
 Washington, DC 20036
 telephone: 202 452-1992 X514
 email: rjkauffman at worldwatch.org

 FOR FURTHER READING:  FROM WORLDWATCH  INSTITUTE:=20

 Gary Gardner, "Fish Harvest Down," in Lester R. Brown, et al., Vital =
 Signs 2000: The Environmental Trends that are Shaping Our Future=20
 (W.W. Norton & Co., NY: 2000).=20

 Anne Platt McGinn, "Blue Revolution: The Promises and Pitfalls of Fish =
 Farming," World Watch, March/April 1998.=20

 Anne Platt McGinn, "Safeguarding the Health of Oceans," Worldwatch Paper =
 145 (Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC: 1999).=20

 FROM OTHER SOURCES:=20

 FAO. "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 1998." (Rome: 1999). =
 http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9900e/w9900e00.htm=20

 Rebecca Goldburg and Tracy Triplett. "Murky Waters: Environmental =
 Effects of Aquaculture in the United States," Environmental Defense Fund =
 Publication. http://www.edf.org/pubs/Reports/Aquaculture/

 Rosamond L. Naylor, et al. "Effect of Aquaculture on World Fish =
 Supplies," Nature, 29 June 2000.=20

 K.J. Rana. "FAO Fisheries Department Review of the State of World =
 Aquaculture: China".  =
 http://www.fao.org/fi/publ/circular/c886.1/china3.asp

 Paul Skillicorn, William Spira and William Journey. Duckweed =
 Aquaculture: A New Aquatic Farming System for Developing Countries. The =
 World Bank Technical Working Paper. =
 http://www.prism-usa.org/fulltext/duckweed/duckweed.htm =20

  LINKS:=20

  AquaNIC: Aquaculture Network Information Center http://www.aquanic.org/ =

  FAO Fisheries Department Homepage http://www.fao.org/fi/default.asp=20
  FIS: Fish Information and Services http://www.fis.com/=20
  SeaWeb http://www.seaweb.org/home.shtml=20
  USDA National Agricultural Statistic Service Catfish and Trout =
 Production Newsletters
  http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/other/pcf-bbc/2000/=20
  Also visit the Worldwatch website at www.worldwatch.org or  the =
 Chairman website at www.worldwatch.org/chairman/