Risk and uncertainty associated with returns from investment in aquaculture to be an important constraint on aquaculture investment. Attention is given in this paper to identifying the factors that contribute to risk and uncertainty in aquaculture and methods of specifying the risk and uncertainty involved. It is found that there is limited practical scope for the extension of insurance markets in aquaculture, and most farmers will have to rely on other means to manage risk.

If the aquaculture sector is to maintain its current average growth rate of 8 to 10 percent per year to 2025, the supply of nutrient and feed inputs will have to grow at a similar rate. Feed-fed aquaculture production is largely dependent upon capture fisheries for dietary protein and lipid. Sustainability of the aquaculture sector is likely to be linked with the supply of animal and plant proteins, oils and carbohydrate sources for aquafeeds.

It is an undisputable fact that modern farming of carnivorous fish and shrimp uses more fish as feed than is produced as finfish or shrimps; that is, the ratio between fish used and fish obtained is higher than one. The author shows that industrial fishing for forage species brings about a net contribution of foodfish supplies, without causing a systematic collapse of the exploited forage species.

Aquaculture is today considered the only viable option for meeting the increasing future demand for fish and seafood products. There are concerns that unconstrained sectoral expansion and intensification, coupled with its ecological and social impacts, globalisation and fluctuation of markets and resources, climate change may have undesirable impacts on the resilience of social-ecological systems. Aquaculture makes demands on, but also can provide a range of ecosystem services.

The aquaculture industry globally is characterised by an endemic cyclicity that goes beyond good or bad management and affects good companies and bad. This presentation aims to address the boom and bust phenomenon in the industry by examining some of the solutions that can help smooth out its cyclicity. The role of information gathering, management and analysis for decision making is discussed. The presentation includes a brief review of the global market for aquaculture products.

Certification schemes for both wild and farmed products are gaining market share in many developed country markets. In a not too distant future, aquaculture’s share of total supply for human consumption will rise to somewhere between 60 and 70 percent. This will have a profound impact on the sector’s ability to shape world markets but it will also challenge the sector’s ability to respond successfully to evolving consumer needs.

Aquaculture is likely to benefit greatly from the application of appropriate genetic and reproduction biotechnologies to increase food production, but the application of established genetic improvement methods in aquaculture is much less than in agriculture. The world’s wealth of aquatic biodiversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels provides great potential for the aquaculture sector to enhance its contribution to food security and meet future challenges in feeding a growing human population.

As standards, certification schemes and claims proliferate, their value is being questioned. Producers and producing countries in particular question whether these private standards and certification schemes duplicate or complement government work, especially in relation to food safety and animal health. The expert panel will review current practices and future trends in market-based quality standards and certification schemes in aquaculture, including international initiatives to promote transparent market standards for improved safety, quality and sustainability in aquaculture. 

The main objective of this review is to understand the status of aquaculture-fisheries interactions associated with the biological, technological, social, economic, environmental and other aspects of aquaculture development. It will also examine how the interactions are addressed under the EAA. It cover aspects of scoping, prioritising, management tools and plans within the context of the elements of ecosystem resilience, social and economic issues and the integration of aquaculture with other sectors.

There is unprecedented growth in the demand for organic food and new areas of organic food production, such as fish, are proving increasingly popular. Today, several specific and relatively precise standards of organic aquaculture production (hatchery, feed, grow-out) and processing exist which aim at achieving optimal agro-ecosystems which are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. Around 80 different organic aquaculture standards exist, both public as well as private.

Species movement for farming can be one of the many sources of biological threats to the well-being of farmed aquatic animals, humans and ecosystems. Transboundary aquatic animal diseases may occur due to illegal introductions and transfers of live animals. This session will discuss aspects of biosecurity as possible and will identify successes and failures, issues of importance and the role of biosecurity in the sustainable increase in aquaculture production. 

Fish makes a vital contribution to the survival and health of a significant portion of the world’s population. In some of Asia’s poorest countries, people derive as much as 75 percent of their daily protein from fish. Aquaculture can assist communities in developing countries to address the potential of fish as a ready provider of essential nutrients, a tradable commodity and as such, a contributor to development and social stability.

Aquaculture has transitioned rapidly over the past decade to reach global status as a critical source of nutritious and safe food. Research, extension, policy and information systems are powerful mechanisms that must address several dimensions of food security at once. Intuition-based aquaculture is being systematically replaced by science-based practices and improved technologies from world-class research institutions and new innovations by entrepreneurial farmers and private companies.

We are passing through an era of increasing population, food shortages and unsustainable farming practices. We cannot think of food security unless issues connected with poverty and livelihoods are addressed. Since 75 percent of global aquaculture production comes from small-scale farms in developing countries we have to address a number of issues to ensure that the livelihoods and food security of all those involved in the sector are not threatened.

Between 70 and 80 percent of Asian farmers are estimated to be small-scale farmers. It is clear that increasing globalisation and the resultant trade liberalisation of aquaculture products is leading towards the marginalisation and exclusion of individual small-scale producers. There is a need for changing the management of both large- and small-scale producers to remain competitive. Recent experiences show that establishment of farmer societies are effective.

Looking back to Kyoto (June 1976) and the last global conference, the Millennium Conference (February 2000), there was a clear recognition of the importance of networking and related forms of knowledge sharing and learning. This panel reviews examples of knowledge sharing networks using knowledge platforms and different knowledge management activities. It is expected that such networking and wider knowledge sharing activities will intensify and we suggest a number of new future directions drawn from other sectors.

Aquaculture as a household, community and agribusiness-based activity to supply human food and other products and contribute to the alleviation of poverty is explored in this overview. The multiple natures of poverty and the concepts of escaping from and slipping into poverty are explored with reference to aquaculture contexts. Aquaculture as a driver for development is reviewed and found to contribute to poverty alleviation in both transformative and incremental modes and at various scales.

Public and private sectors, including non-governmental agencies are all involved in provision of aquaculture services, although roles and responsibilities differ. Growth in aquaculture over the past 10 years, under the influence of a range of global drivers, has changed not only the nature of services required but also the way in which these services are delivered. In less-developed and newly emerging aquaculture countries, there are still considerable gaps in services, particularly in rural areas.

A global consensus has been reached that climate change is a reality and that it will impact on food production systems, among others, in diverse manifestations. We will in the very foreseeable future move into an era where consumer consciousness will demand that farm foods of every form, when they reach the table, should have a minimal green house gas emission level; the price and demand will be determined by such a factor.

How do we ensure that the benefits from aquaculture growth are pro-poor and gender equitable? In science, some gender-disaggregated statistics are collected by the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators programme. Akin to farming and fishing, aquaculture is usually assumed to be largely the domain of men. Minimal progress has been made in addressing gender issues in aquaculture, even though some researchers, activists and development agencies are recognising and raising the profile of the issues.