Information about the general history and use of Aquaculture worldwide.
History of Aquaculture
The field has such a large growth rate that the possibilities for the future are always changing and expanding. Local Northern California information is presented in the second section of this page, involving HSU's fisheries present day operations.
The original users of aquaculture were the Chinese, Japanese, and the Hawaiians.
All used similar techniques around the turn of the 20th century.
America had little aquaculture use until late in the 20th century, but of the small amount used it was California that raised and harvested wild kelp, eventually using it as a wartime resource during WWI.
In the 1960's the price of fish started to rise and the market for aquaculture grew, it now exists in large scale operations.
Present Day Aquaculture
About 97% of species used in aquaculture projects today have been domesticated since the start of the 20th century.
The US is 10th in world aquaculture production. The top three countries are Norway, Chile, and Japan.
In the US the distribution of production is approximately 65% shellfish, 25% salmon, and 10% shrimp.
Future of Aquaculture
Because of reduced wild fish runs and dramatic environmental changes, the possibilities for expansion of farm raised fish are prevalent, especially for those species with struggling populations.
Over 110 species have been domesticated in the last century alone.
Overexploitation of marine species has had influence on trying to domesticate and save these species from population fluctuations.
Every species need different conditions and requirements to become domesticated. Major funding and projects are now operational in order to help these species, as well as the market surrounding them, thrive.
US production could increase by over a million tones annually by 2025 with increased production of fish from aquaculture.
Local Impacts of Global Problems
California has many of it's own issues to deal with in order to successfully create a sustainable approach to fisheries operation. This year, 2008, a proclamation of a state of emergency was issued by Governor Schwarzenegger regarding the fall runs of Chinook salmon. Because of "poor ocean conditions and other environmental factors," all commercial and recreational fisheries in Oregon and California are being provisionally closed. There is expected to be extremely low numbers of salmon that will make the trip to the open ocean, and because of this the interests of the salmon must be protected. The Sacramento River is the main water system that is deemed in need of protection to ensure the species safety on a local scale. This has effects reaching from the coast of Oregon through Northern California, and all the way to San Diego County.