A Review of “The History of Aquaculture”

Abstract

There is a wealth of information packed between the pages of this well-researched historical record of global aquaculture. To set the stage, Chapter 1 discusses the importance of fish and shellfish in the human diet. The middens of early man often contained bones and shells, supporting the conclusion that seafood was important for communities of hunters and gatherers. By the Bronze Age, preservation methods were being developed. In addition, some of the health benefits and dangers associated with consuming seafood (e.g., ciguatera and other toxins) began to be recognized. The next few chapters provide a chronicle of the development of aquaculture—often in its simplest, more extensive form. Typically, early aquaculture was nothing more than holding captured wild fish in captivity for a period of time, although carp aquaculture, including polyculture, was developed early in the period covered by Chapter 2, which focuses largely on Asia from 2000 BC to 500 AD One bit of information that I found interesting was that Marco Polo never mentioned fish in his detailed descriptions of the flora and fauna of China, not even in conjunction with the many rivers, streams, and other water bodies that he observed and remarked upon extensively. Chapter 3 describes subsistence farming during the Middle Ages from 500 to 1450 AD. Included is a description of the importance of fish in monastic life in Europe, the rise of feudalism during which time landowners owned the fish and poaching by peasants was a capital offense, and how the Magna Carta of 1215 began to change the system. Development of the tambaks of southeast Asia, the construction and maintenance of fish ponds by Pacific islanders, and the floodplain farms in South America are described. Nash next describes the dawn of science for the period from 1460 to 1900 AD (Chapter 4). Aquaculture activities during that and other periods were often impacted by political decisions that led to both active development as well as declines in production. During the 19th century, steam and later internal combustion engines powered commercial fishing vessels and opened up vast areas for commercial fishing. The industrial revolution also led to pollution of coastal waters and rivers and depletion of the associated fish stocks, particularly in Europe. Inland fisheries and aquaculture in Europe declined as pond areas were drained to provide additional space for agriculture. Yet, as discussed in Chapter 5, it was during the period from 1750 to 1880 AD that the seeds were sown from which modern aquaculture grew. Harvested in Asia for millennia, seaweed culture probably began in the 18th century in Japan and later spread to China. In Europe, techniques for spawning and hatching trout were published in the later part of the century, followed in the 19th century by a variety of aquatic animals, including salmon, eels, oysters, and various freshwater species. The first European fish hatchery was established in France in 1852. Fish produced in the hatchery were stocked in French rivers and also distributed to interested fish culturists in England and other European nations. Hatcheries sprang up across the continent. Rainbow trout for the United States were shipped to Europe beginning in 1879 and were used to stock streams to support recreational fisheries. In North America, trout were first spawned in the state of Ohio in 1853. Trout and salmon hatcheries were developed in both the United States and Canada, primarily for producing fish to support recreational fisheries. In 1871, the U.S. Fish and Fisheries Commission was created. The person behind establishment of the commission and its first director, Spencer F. Baird, was dedicated to stocking a wide variety of fish species across the nation to enhance both sport and commercial fisheries in fresh and marine waters. Ultimately, hundreds of billions of eggs, fry, and/or fingerlings were stocked over a period of several decades (see Stickney, 1996a,b,c,d,e, 1997a,b,c, 1998, 1999). Mariculture from 1880 to 1920 is the subject treated in Chapter 6. When the idea was put forward to produce fish in hatcheries to stock the oceans, there was considerable opposition to it—not from any of the fears being expressed by various groups today, but from those who believed that it was a waste of time because the natural fish populations were inexhaustible. However, the International Fish Exhibition in 1883 showed off much of the technology that had been developed for hatching marine fishes, and attendees from several countries went home to try their hand in using the techniques they had seen. The period saw the appearance of the first commercial fish hatcheries, along with