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.