B. Aquaculture 



An entirely different set of requirements for 

 basic research exists in aquaculture, the husbandry 

 of aquatic organisms. Progress has been severely 

 limited by lack of information on the genetics and 

 breeding of potentially valuable species, the food 

 requirements of the juvenile organisms at various 

 stages, the nature and treatment of disease, and 

 optimum environmental conditions at different 

 stages of growth. 



Although marine aquaculture holds limited 

 promise for direct production of cheap protein 

 food in the foreseeable future, the potential is high 

 for food production through controlled feeding 

 and selective breeding, and even for manipulation 

 of the genetic makeup of marine species in 

 culture." 



Great success in culturing fresh-water species 

 has been attained in many parts of the world. 



Figure 11. The advantage of scientific fish 

 breeding is vividly shown by results obtained 

 by Professor Lauren Donaldson of the Uni- 

 versity of Washington. The small fish are 

 two-year-old wild stock rainbow trout. The 

 large fish is of the same stock and age but 

 is the product of many years of selective 

 breeding. (Photo by Professor Donaldson) 



Israel, for example, obtains from 40 to 50 percent 

 of its fish from pond cultures.'^ Estimates for 

 1960 from mainland China show annual fresh 

 water fish landings at four million tons, half of 

 which came from fish culture.*^ During the same 



The Status and Potential of Aquaculture, Ryther and 

 Baidach, Report to the National Council on Marine 

 Resources and Engineering Development by the American 

 Institute of Biological Sciences, 1968, Clearinghouse for 

 Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Pub. No. 

 PB 177 768. 



'^Bamidgeh, Bulletin of Fish Culture of Israel, 19(2/3) 

 June 1967. 



Economic Aspects of the Fishing Industry in Main- 

 land China, Solecki, University of British Columbia, 1966. 



year, the total landings in the United States of all 

 fish and shell fish destined for human consump- 

 tion was under 1 .3 million tons."* 



Recent reports on the Columbia River hatchery 

 program of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 show the potential of this aspect of aquaculture. It 

 is estimated that the Columbia River system 

 contributed 28 million pounds of salmon to the 

 1967 catch, an estimated 15 milHon pounds of 

 which were from the hatchery operation. Cost 

 benefit analyses show a ratio ranging from 2.5: 1 to 

 4.5:1 for fall chinook runs and a high of 7.8:1 for 

 coho. The figures are based mainly on the ex-vessel 

 price of the commercial catch. 



BCF estimates that the hatcheries now operate 

 at 65-85 per cent of capacity, and that with full 

 capacity operation, plus modest investments in 

 such equipment as automatic feeding devices, the 

 hatchery contribution to the fishery could be 

 doubled. Better understanding of selective breed- 

 ing and optimum nutritional requirements of the 

 young could bring production up to 50 million 

 pounds per year.'' 



The farming of species spending all or part of 

 their lives in salt water has been drastically limited 

 by a lack of basic information. Only luxury species 

 such as shrimp and oysters have been commer- 

 cially cultured, but there are many encouraging 

 indications in the field. Research at the University 

 of Washington on salmonoid fishes has demon- 

 strated the possibility of hundredfold increases in 

 the size of cultured fish versus wild fish of the 

 same species and age.'* The short generation time 

 and high fertility of most marine organisms make 

 them good subjects for selective breeding. Just as 

 we now breed hornless, short-legged beef that 

 could not compete in nature, so the protection of 

 cultured marine organisms against their natural 

 predators will permit selective breeding for char- 

 acteristics useful to man. 



It is important to establish viable aquaculture 

 systems and there is sufficiently great long-term 

 promise to warrant the following recommenda- 

 tion. 



Marine Science Affairs, 1968. 



'^ These data were provided by the hatchery evaluation 

 program of Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. 



^^Selective Breeding of Salmonoid Fishes, Donaldson, 

 Conference on Marine Aquaculture, Oregon State Uni- 

 versity, Marine Science Center, May 1968 (in press). 



1-31 



