Aquaculture comes of age 



Interest in aquaculture is far from being a recent 

 phenomenon. Records dating as far back as 5th cen- 

 tury B.C. tell of the work of Chinese philosopher Fan- 

 Li in his efforts to rear carp in man-made ponds. 



But it was not until the late 1800s, when biologists 

 first began to notice large declines in various fish 

 populations, that interest in aquaculture began to 

 flourish worldwide. Aquaculture, scientists believed, 

 was the logical way to replenish depleted stocks of 

 wild fish. Eggs could be reared in hatcheries and the 

 young released at sea. 



By the 1920s, however, it became obvious that this 

 method could not provide the massive numbers 

 needed to restore these populations. And world in- 

 terest in aquaculture waned. 



Of course not everyone completely gave up on the 

 concept of raising fish under controlled conditions. 

 During the next few decades new techniques were 

 developed, philosophies changed and scientists began 

 to view aquaculture as a way of supplementing 

 rather than replacing wild fisheries. 



Over the past 15 years aquaculture has undergone 

 a remarkable transformation. Last year alone, world 

 production through aquaculture approached seven 

 million metric tons. 



Today work is being done to culture such species as 

 the abalone, eel, freshwater prawn, crayfish, yellow 

 perch, lobster, oyster, mussel, clam and shrimp. Even 

 carp, tilapia, milkfish, mullet and assorted seaweeds 

 have been the subjects of culture studies. Though the 

 lists are impressive, not all represent viable commer- 

 cial operations. In many countries, government sub- 

 sidies are necessary to keep them alive. Probably the 

 biggest money-makers here in the U.S. are trout, 

 salmon and catfish farms. Yet even in these enter- 

 prises, profit is not always a certainty. 



"While catfish, salmon, and trout are producing 

 money crops," stresses Rickards, "they are still high 

 capital investment and high risk ventures, mainly 

 because we don't have complete control over things 

 such as disease and the physical system." 



Because of the economic uncertainties, aquaculture 

 has developed at different rates and in different 

 directions throughout the world. 



"Aquaculture's success and role will depend upon 

 the economic system in which it is working," 

 Rickards emphasizes. In Japan, where land is scarce, 

 aquaculture is a sophisticated industry and a vital 

 protein producer. But in the U.S., where wheat fields 

 and cattle ranches still abound, culture operations 

 remain highly individualized and serve primarily as a 

 source of speciality food items. 



Despite these differences, aquaculture is here to 

 stay. And it is unlikely that it will ever be placed on 

 the back burner again. Just what role it will play in 



Pilot clam and oyster culture project along the 

 Outer Banks 



the future, however, remains to be seen. Most 

 researchers agree that aquaculture will never be a 

 substitute for commercial fisheries. Nor will it feed 

 the world's populations. "It's a narrow viewpoint for 

 any educated person to think that the hungry 

 millions of the world could be fed through fish farm- 

 ing given present technology," comments Rickards. 

 But as a source of supplemental food, aquaculture 

 holds great promise. 



Currently Sea Grant is sponsoring research 

 throughout the country on various aspects of 

 aquaculture. In North Carolina, biologists are work- 

 ing with an experimental eel farm demonstration 

 facility to determine the biological and economic 

 feasibility of culturing the American eel. An 

 economist is studying worldwide market demands for 

 eels. Along the Outer Banks, marine advisory agents 

 are providing information to individuals who want to 

 set up pilot clam and oyster gardens. Elsewhere in 

 the state, researchers are looking into some of the 

 nuts and bolts of aquaculture, including such areas as 

 disease control and legal constraints. What their 

 research uncovers may ultimately help define and 

 direct the future of aquaculture. 



Legal conflicts 



Aquaculture's "accidental constraint" 



The problems associated with aquaculture are not 

 limited to biology and engineering. At times they ex- 

 tend into the realm of public law. For the person not 

 prepared for these legal encounters, they can be con- 

 fusing and frustrating ordeals. 



Unlike land, water is in the public domain. And 

 that's an important distinction where aquaculture is 

 concerned. There is no ownership of water in the 

 traditional sense of the word. One has only a right to 

 use the resource. These use rights are awarded in the 

 form of permits and are valid only if certain require- 

 ments are met. 



So how does this involve the aquaculture industry? 

 As a water user, the aquaculturist must abide by the 

 rules and regulations governing the permitting 

 process. According to Tom Schoenbaum of the Un- 

 iversity of North Carolina's School of Law, many of 

 these requirements have "spin off" regulatory effects 

 on the industry itself. And their impact is to restrict 

 the overall development of aquaculture. 



As part of his research with Sea Grant on ocean 

 and coastal law, Schoenbaum is taking a look at 

 many of the regulations which he sees as "accidental 

 contraints on the aquaculture industry." 



"Many of these laws are passed to regulate other 



activities, but because of the way they are written, 

 they accidentally or incidentally are a legal con- 

 straint on the aquaculture industry," he stresses. 



According to Schoenbaum there are several areas 

 where conflict can arise. First, many problems are 

 created by the tremendous overlap in regulatory 

 jurisdiction between state, federal and local agencies. 

 In a particular culture site along the coast, for exam- 

 ple, use permits theoretically might have to be ob- 

 tained from the federal Environmental Protection 

 Agency for pollutant discharges into waterways, 

 from the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard 

 for work in navigable waters, from the Department 

 of Agriculture for permission to sell aquacultural 

 products, from the state Division of Marine Fisheries 

 to lease bottom lands not already in natural produc- 

 tion and from local agencies to meet various building, 

 land use and health codes. 



The prospect of dealing with that many agencies is 

 discouraging for just about anyone. As a result, many 

 potential aquaculturists are turned off by the sheer 

 volume of paper work they must go through. This 

 Schoenbaum sees as an unnecessary impediment, 

 which can be avoided. 

 (See "Changes, " p. 6) 



