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Aquaculture: From Caviar to Clams

By KRISTEN STERNBERG
NIE EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT

For thousands of years the world's oceans, lakes, rivers and streams have provided food for humans and many other creatures. Traditionally, many cultures--especially island nations such as Japan and Iceland, for example, rely heavily upon harvesting food from the sea. In modern times, the importance and availability of fish and seafood are on the rise the world over. Over the past century, however, we have come to realize just how limited these resources may be. As human population grows, so does the demand for seafood.

N-J/Gregg Pachkowski Stetson University biology professors count fish and record the data during their weekly survey in Blue Spring State Park on Friday.

Some species of fish and seafood are lost to disease, but in general it is human overpopulation that has damaged ocean and other water resources. Boat traffic, overfishing and diving activities are responsible for some of the loss, while pollution and other environmental problems contribute greatly to the problems. Methods of harvesting sea products have gone large-scale. Commercial fishing fleets sweep the sea bottoms with huge nets, which regularly entangle and kill fish, turtles, dolphins and other sea mammals not intended to be caught. The rapid disappearance of our oceans' coral reefs has resulted in loss of habitat and food for countless sea creatures. All this is causing havoc with the food chain. Plant life and small organisms suffer, along with the creatures that need those things to survive. Catch limits on the size and number of fish, bans on fishing during certain seasons, practicing the "catch and release" method while sport fishing and restrictions on sizes and types of nets all help. By many accounts, however, progress is slow.

Threatened with the depletion of ocean resources, people have turned the practice of aquaculture into a large-scale, billion-dollar business. Aquaculture is a form of food production. A combination word, formed from aquatic (water) and agriculture (field production), aquaculture is the farming of organisms that live in water. It is practiced in both fresh and salt water, in many regions of the United States as well as around the world. A wide variety of animals and plants, including various fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and aquatic plants, are produced through aquaculture. These provide humans and animals with food, medicine and shelter and may even be the way of providing renewable sea resources.

Aquaculture is believed to have developed about 3,000 years ago. The Chinese cultivated carp (colorful fish used both for food and for decoration), while the Japanese invented the artificial culture of pearls. Mollusks (clams, scallops, mussels, etc.) were cultivated in 13th-century France. In the 1600s, Japanese used upright bamboo stakes driven into the sea floor to collect young oysters. They also cultivated amanori (edible red algae) by placing long pieces of split bamboo or tree branches in shallow, muddy river water. Aquaculturists keep their animals captive by such means as ponds, tanks and underwater enclosures. In enclosed areas such as the Caspian Sea, fish may be artificially bred, released into the wild and then recaptured as adults. In this way, sturgeon and other fish are raised for their flesh as well as their eggs (roe), which are eaten as caviar.

Nowadays, you can find aqua-farms for everything from alligators to zebra fish. Oyster beds, fish hatcheries (for food, bait and aquarium fish, for example) are more and more common. You may see evidence of aquaculture in parts of the St. Johns River or area lakes and streams.

Are there any drawbacks to aquaculture? Aquaculture, like agriculture, requires a delicate balance of many elements. Each species of plant and animal has specific needs relating to water temperature, nutrition and oxygen levels. Managing an aquaculture system requires constant calculating, feeding, stocking, testing water quality and harvesting to maintain a balance of those elements. According to recent reports, aquaculture holds promise--but some fish raised for food actually deplete natural populations by their own requirements for food. In other words, we may be using up valuable resources simply through farm-raising fish and seafood. Take a look at the interesting points raised in one editorial in The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

What does the future hold? Scientists will zero in on growing specific cells and organisms with greater efficiency and less waste. Besides helping to conserve species in the wild, aquaculturists will also concentrate on cultivating specific cells of creatures that are medically beneficial to humans. Aquaculture is a growing business and is more common than many realize. You may be surprised to learn that more than half of the current supply of shrimp, catfish and salmon found in restaurants and supermarkets is farm-grown, and that Florida is third largest producer of aquaculture products in the nation. Take a look at the newspaper activities and Web links provided below to learn even more!

Try these interesting activities using The Daytona Beach News-Journal

1. Consult newspapers from different regions of the United States to read the agricultural news and farm reports. What differences, if any, exist from region to region? Prepare a two-minute speech and draw a chart or other visual showing how you arrived at your conclusions to educate a friend, classmate or family member about this topic. If you can't get to a library for a copy of an out-of-town paper, go to www.nieworld.com and, in the upper right-hand corner, click on national or international newspapers for links to online editions. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.2.2.1, LA.A.2.2.5, LA.A.2.2.8, LA.B.2.2.1, LA.C.3.2.3, SC.G.2.2.3, SC.H.3.2.2 SS.B.2.2.3, SS.B.2.2.4)




Hatchlings About 60 leatherback turtles hatched in New Smyrna Beach on Monday. Of the 60, two were found disoriented and two, like the one shown here, were found dead. (Photo: News-Journal/Roger Simms)

2. Chemicals, trash and other pollutants cause problems for all creatures, including aquatic animals. Study opinion letters in The News-Journal's Editorial section. Then, using a word processing program, write your own letter stating how you think the pollution problem might be addressed. After proofreading your work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. mail it to The News-Journal to see if it gets published. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.2.2.1, LA.A.2.2.5, LA.B.1.2.3, LA.B.2.2.4 LA.B.2.2.1, LA.B.2.2.6, SC.G.2.2.3, SS.B.2.2.3)



3. One reason for the growing popularity of aquaculture is water pollution. Linda Ellerbee has written a fun book about a group of kids who start their own middle school newspaper and take on a paper mill that is polluting local waters. Check out "Get Real! Girl Reporter Blows Lid Off Town" and read about the power of the press. You and some friends may want to start a community newspaper of your own. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.2.2.1, LA.A.2.2.5, LA.D.2.2.3, LA.D.2.2.5 SS.B.2.2.3, SS.B.2.2.4)



4. Some farm-raised fish are released into lakes, streams and other bodies of water. This practice, called "stocking," ensures a greater supply of fish for sportsmen and sportswomen. The News-Journal routinely prints articles, local lore and other information about fishing. Find out where the fish are biting this week! If possible, arrange for an afternoon of fishing with family or friends. (Sunshine State Standards: SC.G.1.2.1, SC.G.1.2.5, SS.B.2.2.3, SS.D.1.2.2)



5. Consult grocery supplements, which can be regularly found in The News-Journal, to find ads for local supermarkets. Telephone one store's seafood department to learn if its fish and seafood are farm-raised. In a polite way, ask the store associate to explain the reason(s) for choosing, or not choosing, artificially cultivated foods. Pass on what you learned to a classmate or family member. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.C.3.2.3, SC.G.1.2.1, SC.G.1.2.5, SS.B.2.2.3, SS.B.2.2.4, SS.D.1.2.2)



6. Create an ABC scrapbook about aquaculture. Search The News-Journal to find and clip articles, ads and illustrations relating to this topic. Sort your findings alphabetically. Over a period of time, try to find at least one item for each letter of the alphabet. Paste each on a sheet of paper according to the letter it begins with. (For Q, X and other less-common letters, you may use items that contain, rather than begin with, those letters.) As you continue to fill in your ABC book, share it with friends or family. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.B.2.2.2, LA.A.2.2.5, LA.B.2.2.6, SC.G.1.2.1, SC.G.1.2.5, SC.G.2.2.3, SS.B.2.2.3, SS.B.2.2.4)

A copy of Florida's Sunshine State Standards can be found at intech2000.miamisci.org.

Check out these links to learn more

The Oceanic Institute's "Aquaculture: Feeding the Future" offers interesting information about aquaculture methods both new and old. Take a look at a list of the major species produced through aquaculture--you're sure to be surprised by what you find! www.oceanicinstitute.org

Here are the answers to questions about fish and other sea life you didn't even know you wanted to ask! Every question is a clickable link to its answer, and the answers are fascinating, so plan to spend a lot of time on this virtual visit. www.nefsc.nmfs.gov

Students can find fun activities at this Web site from the Ocean Sciences Teacher Resource Center. It's not only for teachers! Take a look at ocean-related books for kids and follow the link to visit some virtual aquariums around the country. www.vims.edu

TheNewspaper Association of America'sweb site contains links to many newspapers in the U.S. and around the world. To access the newspapers at the site, select a state. Click on the "Internationals" button to view choices from other countries.

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