Aquaculture and biodiversity

Citation

Beveridge MCM, Ross L & Kelly LA (1994) Aquaculture and biodiversity. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 23 (8), pp. 497-502.

Abstract
This study identifies the negative relationship between aquaculture and biodiversity. Impacts arise from the consumption of resources, such as land, water, seed and feed, their transformation into products valued by society and the production of wastes (uneaten food, faecal and urinary products, chemotheraputants, microorganisms and parasites and feral farmed organisms). These impacts may be direct, such as, for example, through the introduction of exotic genetic material into the environment, or indirect, for example, through loss of habitat and niche space. It is concluded that the key issues in deciding the acceptability of this method of food production are scale, intensity of resource use, and net production of wastes. It is also argued that protection of biodiversity is essential from the aquaculturists' viewpoint because better management of foods and feed conversion, and the public perception of farmed aquatic products, are vital ingredients in the economics of production.

Journal
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment: Volume 23, Issue 8