Aquaculture: An Introductory Text – 4th Edition Robert R Stickney & Delbert M Gatlin III

Abstract

This is an unique book. As the title states, it is an introduction to aquaculture. It is not, however, the typical didactic text stuffed full of as many facts as the pages will hold. The book is laid out so a reader who is new to aquaculture can gain an understanding and appreciation of the farming of aquatic plants and animals around the world. The text contains a lot of information, but the boxes inserted within the text are the icing on the cake. The boxes contain simple explanations of different aspects of aquaculture and enjoyable anecdotes about people, organisms and phenomena. Many of the anecdotes are based on the authors’ personal experiences, of which there are many. Collectively, Stickney and Gatlin have over 100 years of experience contributing to and observing the development of the aquaculture industry. Like many texts, Chapter 1 serves to introduce the topic and define terms; however, Chapter 1 in this book serves two other purposes. First, it provides an eleven-page table that lists plants and animals that are cultured around the world. Just a casual review of the organisms listed gives a good sense of the diversity of aquaculture. Second, the authors acknowledge that aquaculture exploits natural resources. They then move into a discussion of sustainability, which has been a central point in aquaculture research and policy for the past few decades. To provide perspective, Stickney and Gatlin review sixteen criticisms of aquaculture made by various environmental groups. For each criticism, they provide a description of the criticism, the technical reality as it is known, and possible solutions. A careful reading of this section will impress upon people new to aquaculture that many criticisms are based more on socio-political views than technical failings of the culturist or culture system. Chapter 3 will probably be the most enjoyable chapter for the reader who is new to aquaculture. In it, the authors describe the kinds of culture systems used around the world. Ponds, raceways, recirculating systems, and cages are all covered in enough detail to give the reader a good sense of what they are and how they work. The text is supplemented with many pictures of production systems or components of production systems. Taken together, the text and pictures emphasize the diversity and scale of world aquaculture. One of the thorniest problems in aquaculture is the economical production of young animals to be grown to market size. Aquaculture animals are relatively small (a few dozen grams for a shrimp to a few kilograms for a salmon) when marketed compared to most farm animals. Hence, having efficient methods of producing large numbers of stockers is critical. Reproduction of tilapia, catfish and carps is relatively easy; however, many of the marine fishes and crustaceans are difficult to reproduce economically, representing a serious constraint to commercial production. Chapter 6 addresses reproduction in a way that is easy to follow and gives the reader an appreciation of the complexity of producing stocker animals for some species. Along with describing how to reproduce selected species, the authors also describe old and new techniques such as sex reversal, polyploidy, hybridization, gynogenesis, selective breeding, and genetic engineering. Chapter 8 presents a good overview of preparing and delivering feeds. Once again, this is a good chapter for someone new to aquaculture. Early in the chapter, the authors describe traditional fish and shrimp diets that contained a great deal of fish meal as a protein source. They then talk about the need to move away from fish meal as much as possible due to world-wide shortages. Indeed, this may be the key problem to solve if the production of carnivorous fishes and crustaceans is to continue to grow. The scale of the efforts to replace fish meal is demonstrated in a two column box describing alternative protein feedstuffs. The chapter also describes the technology involved in producing, and delivering the massive quantities of feed to fish culture systems. Someone new to aquaculture who reads this book may come away from the experience thinking that the development of modern aquaculture (defined here as development in the 20th and 21st centuries) was a hit-and-miss venture. In many aspects, it was; however, somehow it worked. Prior to 1970, aquaculture provided about 1% of world seafood supplies. Now, it arguably provides half of seafood supplies. In the space of fifty years, we have witnessed the change from almost exclusively hunting and gathering seafood to farming a big part of it – a trend that is bound to continue. Stickney and Gatlin’s 4th edition of Aquaculture: An Introductory Text will give the reader a good sense of how it was done and what the future holds.