It is true that scientists have predicted the collapse of most wild fisheries by 2050 because pollution, habitat fragmentation and overfishing have caused some serious damage. The authorities even ban commercial fishing in many areas but the cure for stressed wild fish stocks, many say, is more fish farms–a move akin to transitioning from hunting to cattle ranching.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization these operations are already part of humanity’s diet and will be for the foreseeable future; fish farms made up over 32 percent of global seafood production in 2004. It is said that the industry has been growing at a rate of over 8 percent per year since 1970. However, hatching and raising fish to maturity in close quarters can have negative impacts on the surrounding ecosystem, especially if the operations are in the open ocean.
But the reality is that fish farm harm the environment from fish farms that have a minimal impact–or in some cases, can even help clean up polluted watersheds. Almost every commercially sold species is produced in aquaculture. Among farmed fish salmon and tuna are tasty species that have become very popular in recent decades as the number of people who can afford them has increased. Their demand is also rising and to meet demand, salmon farms and tuna “ranches” have cropped up in coastal areas off Europe, South America, Canada and the Eastern United States with increasing frequency.
