Mariculture

Mariculture is the cultivation of marine species for human-benefit. Mariculture is a rapidly growing sector and is making an increasingly important contribution to global supplies of high-quality food. Mariculture can be divided into high- and low-input categories depending on the extent to which feed and medicines are a core part of the operation. Examples of high- and low-input mariculture operations include the cultivation of salmon and mussels respectively. Mariculture has a number of impacts on the marine environment. These impacts include the spread of non-native species, genetic modification of sympatrics, negative-interaction with predators, local-scale organic enrichment and habitat modification, effects of chemotheraputants on non-target organisms and the transfer of parasites/disease to native stocks. Some impacts of mariculture are relatively well understood, at least in some locations, but research is very much ongoing as new mariculture challenges, demands and opportunities arise. Regulation of mariculture varies widely between nations and there remain questions about the spatial extent, and nature, of unacceptable changes attributable to mariculture and how to incorporate mariculture into marine spatial planning.