Aquaculture

The Administration is also taking steps to protect coastal communities from the impacts of climate change, improve domestic aquaculture, and provide research to better understand the challenges facing our oceans.

Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, plants, algae and other organisms in all types of water environments.

An invasive species can be introduced to a new area via the ballast water of oceangoing ships, intentional and accidental releases of aquaculture species, aquarium specimens or bait, and other means.

He acknowledges that aquaculture has its share of critics who are concerned that bunching fish together in a farm setting could spread disease and breed unhealthy stock.

Waste from poorly managed aquaculture ponds can pollute ground and coastal waters, and certain carnivorous species like salmon must be fed products made from other fish, like oil and meal — meaning continued pressure on wild fish populations.

Stotish says US approval is a very important step in the eventual commercialization of this fish for "aquaculture", or fish-farming, around the world.

Webster sees aquaculture as a way to bring the oysters back. Hatchery "seed" — farm-raised juvenile oysters — are being used to create oyster sanctuaries, where harvesting is prohibited.

Diana emphasizes that when practiced sustainably, aquaculture can benefit the environment by reducing pressure from commercial fishing and even helping to rebuild wild populations.

Don Webster, an extension specialist at the University of Maryland, agrees. Since the late 1970s, he has worked to support aquaculture production in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States — specifically, in the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary. His specialty is oysters.

The indigenous species used in aquaculture are: B. gonionotus, Jullien carp (Probarbus jullieni), Jullien's mud carp (Cirrhinus jullieni), soldier-river barb (Cyclocheilichthys enoplos), Leptobarbus hoevenii, Catlocarpio siamensis and Osteochilus hasseltii.