The role of marine aquaculture in meeting the future demand for animal protein

Abstract

Farm-raised seafood is expected to play a major role in meeting the future demand for animal protein; however, the growth of marine aquaculture as currently practiced is constrained by space, economics and environmental concerns. For aquaculture to continue to expand, the potential of farming offshore ocean waters must be explored. Over the past decade, there has been worldwide interest in exploring the potential for offshore production, and the USA has emerged as one of the leaders in developing and demonstrating technologies for farming in the open ocean culture. Offshore research and development projects in New Hampshire, Hawaii and Puerto Rico have led to small-scale commercial production, demonstrating that open ocean culture is indeed feasible and has great potential for future expansion. Despite the evidence that offshore farming is possible, a number of technical, economic and political challenges must be addressed before large-scale production can be realized.