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Native organisms can be expected to fit the ecology of the region, and be able to grow in the climate and soil of the region. They can also play an important role in reducing the distance food needs to travel. However, native organisms may not always be as productive as the more popular domesticated counterparts or attain equally high prices. The latter is often a result of being not well known (and thus disliked) by the population (at least at first).
Native organisms should always be considered in aquaculture as they are generally hardier and thus safer organisms in terms of providing food (especially today, with global warming affecting the environment). They are however not the most appropriate choice in some situations. As most freshwater species will be cultivated in secluded environments (ie ponds, tanks/basins) and as contact to the outside environment thus be reduced/eliminated non-indigenous organisms may be a suitable option as well however.
Note that although the amount of freshwater organisms is much greater than what is mentioned in the list, we only specify species here that are usable for aquaculture. Most types of organisms can not be kept in captivity (ie they may have very specific needs, are very susceptible to stress/disease, oxygen fluctuations in the water, water quality,..)
Also note that on the map below, the amount of plankton per region is marked. Although many organisms grown in aquaculture do not/can not consume plankton, it is often still possible to use the locally available plankton to feed the organisms we grow. This, by also growing another organism (that can be fed on plankton) and use this as food for the organisms we grow. We can btw also process waste (ie feces) of organisms we grow and use this to grow hydrophytes as food for other organisms. These methods allow far more cost-efficient production, and also decrease pressure on the environment. See Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture.
| Fish: abbreviation F_ followed by a number to indicate the region. Also includes fish grown for roe |
| Shellfish: abbreviation SF_ followed by a number to indicate the region. Shellfish includes crustaceans and molluscs |
| Hydrophytes: abbreviation H_ followed by a number to indicate the region. These crops are either coastal crops (so growing on land, but capable of being flooded or sprayed with freshwater or brakish water (in estuaries), ie Salicornia W), floating plants (which live in deeper water yet which head their flower heads come above water and also still have their roots in the ground, ie Nuphar lutea W), submerged (rooted) plants (which are entirely submerged yet are rooted in soil,...; ie most seaweed), or submerged (not-rooted) plants (which are entirely submerged and are not rooted in soil,... ; ie most algae) |
For a map showing the location of the oceans and seas, see here Note that although we divide the map using the oceans, the marine species are not grown in these oceans but rather in the rivers on the land, and near the sea (estuaries). Some fish mentioned here are catadromous or amphidromous.
| Region 1: Arctic ocean (from North Sea to Beaufort sea[1]) |
| Region 2: North Atlantic Ocean (from Caribbean Sea to Aral Sea[2]) |
| Region 3: South Atlantic Ocean (from the coast of Uruguay over to the western coast of South Africa to the coast of Liberia and the coast of French Guyana) |
| Region 4: Indian Ocean (from west coast of South Africa to Coral Sea[3]) |
| Region 5: North Pacific Ocean (from Phillipine Sea to Gulf of Alaska/Gulf of California[4] |
| Region 6: South Pacific Ocean (from northern coast of New Zealand to the southern coast of Peru) and Southern Ocean (from Scotia Sea over the Tasman Sea and to the southern coast of Chili[5]) |
| F_1: common carp,[6] silver carp,[7] crucian carp,[8] channel catfish[9]sea lamprey,[10] lampern,[11] brook lamprey,[12] sturgeon,[13] sterlet,[14] twaite shad,[15] allis shad,[16] charr,[17] lavaret,[18] grayling,[19] smelt,[20] roach,[21] sunbleak,[22] dace,[23] ide,[24] minnow,[25] rudd,[26] asp,[27] common nase,[28] bleak,[29] spirlin,[30] white bream,[31] bream,[32] blue bream,[33] Vimba bream,[34] sichel,[35] gudgeon,[36] barbel,[37] tench,[38] goldfish,[39] bitterling,[40] stone loach,[41] weatherfish,[42] spined loach,[43] wels,[44] burbot,[45] Mediterranean killifish,[46] perch,[47] ruffe,[48] bullhead,[49] flounder[50] |
| SF_1:[51] |
| H_1:[52] |
| F_2: crucian carp,[53] Nile tilapia,[54] blue tilapia,[55] common bream,[56] northern pike,[57] giant sturgeon,[58] twaite shad,[59] allis shad,[60] Danube salmon,[61] mudminnow,[62] roach,[63] Danubian roach,[64] Black Sea roach,[65] sunbleak,[66] chub,[67] souffie,[68] ide,[69] rudd,[70] asp,[71] common nase,[72] Danubian bleak,[73] bleak,[74] spirlin,[75] white bream,[76] bream[77] white-eyed bream,[78] blue bream,[79] Vimba bream,[80] sichel,[81] gudgeon,[82] Danubian gudgeon,[83] barbel,[84] tench,[85] goldfish,[86] stone loach,[87] weatherfish,[88] spined loach,[89] wels,[90] burbot,[91] Mediterranean killifish,[92] silverside,[93] ten-spined stickleback,[94] perch,[95] ruffe,[96] striped ruffe,[97] pikeperch,[98] zingel,[99] freshwater blenny,[100] tube-nosed goby,[101] bullhead,[102] flounder[103][104] |
| SF_2:[105] |
| H_2:[106] |
| F_3: African sharptooth catfish[107] |
| SF_3:[108] |
| H_3:[109] |
| F_4: catla carp,[110] Mrigal carp,[111] Rohi,[112] Nile tilapia,[113] blue tilapia,[114] Mozambique tilapia,[115] walking catfish,[116] African sharptooth catfish,[117] three-spined stickleback[118] |
| SF_4: giant river prawn,[119] monsoon river prawn[120] |
| H_4:[121] |
| F_5: rainbow trout,[122] grass carp,[123] silver carp,[124] largescale silver carp,[125] bighead carp,[126] black carp,[127] common goldfish,[128] basa fish,[129] Iridescent shark,[130] walking catfish,[131] channel catfish,[132] northern pike,[133] largemouth bass,[134] pumpkinseed sunfish,[135] brown bullhead[136] |
| SF_5: giant river prawn,[137] oriental river prawn,[138] Chinese river crab,[139] mud carp[140] |
| H_5:[141] |
| F_6:[142] |
| SF_6:[143] |
| H_6:[144] |
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
|---|---|
| Cite as | KVDP (2012–2025). "Native freshwater organisms by region". Appropedia. Retrieved October 1, 2026. |
