The panel’s interest in the growth of aquacul- 
ture is from the standpoint of its potential for 
profitable industrial ventures. It has been stated 
frequently that aquaculture can help solve the 
world hunger and malnutrition problem; however, 
in the United States early emphasis will be on the 
most profitable species, clearly the high-valued 
finfish and shellfish. 
There is a rapidly growing demand for seafood 
in general, but the greatest growth is for the high 
priced species. As the demand grows, some tradi- 
tional fisheries are declining, and many of the 
natural grounds for shellfish are being destroyed 
by such other uses as waste disposal, land-fill, and 
dredging. At the same time, research has shown 
many areas where vast improvements are possible 
in the technology of aquaculture. Examples in- 
clude genetic control to improve the quality, 
growth rate, and adaptability of various species to 
different environmental conditions, and the possi- 
bility of using presently wasted sources of nutri- 
ents and heat to effect economical control of local 
environments. 
Thus, with a growing demand for seafood, an 
uncertain natural supply of some species to meet 
this demand, and potential for vast improvements 
in aquacultural technology, prospects for profit- 
able ventures are increasing. 
Aquaculture has many advantages for food 
production. A major impact of aquaculture lies in 
its extreme productivity per acre—a capability that 
can lead to considerably larger yields of high-grade 
animal protein than fertile dry land. 
The advantages of aquaculture for food produc- 
tion arise in part from readily available nutrients 
and water. A basic problem, however, is proper 
management of these resources. Research has 
shown that the combination of these ingredients 
can be very productive due especially to the fact 
that there is inherently a constant supply of water. 
If nutrients are in the water, marine organisms 
have a continuous opportunity to use them as 
contrasted to most land organisms that can absorb 
nutrients only when carried to them intermittently 
by water. In addition, most marine animals are 
poikilotherms (cold-bloods), and because less en- 
ergy is wasted in heat production, they are often 
more efficient in conversion of their food intake 
to edible weight. Finally, forms of aquaculture 
that use the water column obviously have added a 
333-091 O-69—4 
third dimension that can improve productivity per 
unit of surface area. 
Aquaculture also has some advantages over 
conventional fishing that enable it to supplement 
the catch of fish and shellfish. Since most areas 
desired for aquacultural use are within U.S. juris- 
diction, there is no foreign competition for the 
resource as in some fish stocks. Because a degree 
of exclusive rights can be assigned to the “aqua- 
farmer,’ and thus he need not rely on a common 
property resource, the incentive is increased to 
improve profits through gaining proprietary 
knowledge leading to greater efficiency. In addi- 
tion, in aquaculture there is a potential to harvest 
more frequently, to harvest in seasons that do not 
compete with the marketing of natural stocks, and 
to control the environment, assuring greater relia- 
bility in the quantity and quality of the supply. 
B. Problems and Recommendations 
The growth of this industry is influenced by 
many factors, many of which center around a 
widely-scattered and insufficient knowledge of an 
extremely complex ecological system. 
Lack of thorough understanding of ecological 
systems is usually the first problem. Research in 
marine ecology is expensive, and its performance 
requires trained personnel and considerable time. 
The task’s magnitude and the unknown probabil- 
ity of finding commercial applications generally 
places this research beyond the limits of industry’s 
risk tolerance. There are many exceptions to this, 
but developing sufficient ecological knowledge to 
stimulate commercial interest remains an appropri- 
ate area for Federal and State government support. 
An important parallel lies in the large amount of 
publicly supported agricultural research. Govern- 
ment funds for basic research, channeled mostly 
through the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, are 
not adequate to truly stimulate this industry. The 
panel therefore recommends that the modest 
funds*° presently available for aquaculture re- 
search be increased several fold within the next 
five years. 
Industry is much more willing to undertake 
applied research programs, and many are in prog- 
ress. Often they are funded by a combination of 
industry, university, State, and U.S. Government 
3°Bureau of Commercial Fisheries budget devoted to 
aquaculture was $2.7 million in FY 1968. 
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