Aquaculture

Article By:

Clark, Wallis H., Jr. Aquaculture Program, University of California, Davis, California.

McGuire, Ann B. Aquaculture Program, University of California, Davis, California.

Last reviewed:August 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.045400

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• Aquaculture, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

The cultivation of freshwater and marine species for human purposes. Aquaculture, or aquatic farming, is concerned with the raising of animals and the harvesting of plants in freshwater and marine environments (Fig. 1). In other words, it is the aquatic equivalent of land-based agriculture. When marine species are involved, aquaculture is often referred to as mariculture. The concept of aquaculture is not new, having begun in China about 4000 years ago, and the practice of fish culture there has been handed down through the generations. Today, aquaculture is a modern, multidisciplinary technology. Overall, aquaculture accounts for approximately half of the world's production of fish and shellfish, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. See also: Agricultural science (animal); Agricultural science (plant); Agriculture; Fisheries ecology; Marine conservation; Marine ecology; Marine fisheries

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