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1. AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT TRENDS IN ASIA


1.1 Aquaculture in East Asia (excluding China)
1.2 Aquaculture in Southeast Asia
1.3 Aquaculture in South Asia
1.4 Aquaculture in West Asia
1.5 China’s aquaculture
1.6 India’s aquaculture
1.7 Japan’s aquaculture
1.8 Indonesia’s aquaculture
1.9 Bangladesh’s aquaculture
1.10 Thailand’s aquaculture
1.11 Viet Nam’s aquaculture
1.12 The Republic of Korea’s aquaculture
1.13 The Philippines’ aquaculture

Asia is the home of aquaculture, a practice which dates back to thousands of years. In the course of its development, the nature of aquaculture has become more intricate, intertwining with other food production sectors under the influence of political, social, economic, technological and cultural factors. With advancement of technology, the involvement of more aquatic species and farming practices has become possible, and more choices can be offered to the consumers. Population growth, economic growth and the development of disposable income and higher purchasing power, and social factors such as traditional fish consumption patterns, will shape future demand for fish and fishery products (Westlund, 1995). Issues of sustainability can also change our perception of desirable forms of aquaculture development and management (Roberts and Muir 1995). Under the evolving global trade negotiations and agreements, new ways of aquaculture may have to be adopted, so that the environmental and resource costs of production, as factors of sustainability, are kept within agreed limits. It could become increasingly difficult to pursue the traditional methods of aquaculture where a particular species is produced for a market, based exclusively on prices. Under the World Trade Organization, suppliers would have to satisfy a set of requirements to ensure sustainable development of aquaculture.

In the past decades, aquaculture around the world was pursued with nutritional and economic objectives without really taking into account the environmental and social costs. The perceived negative impact of aquaculture has already constrained the pace of its development, mainly in the coastal zones (Shahadeh and Pedini, 1995). The downstream development of aquaculture, e.g. in processing, packaging, distribution and marketing, can influence the demand for food fish. Social lifestyles, such as adoption of fish as healthy food in developed countries, and changing family structures may also alter consumption patterns.

This review of global or regional aquaculture development relies heavily on FAO fishery statistics, which supply quantitative and analytical information portraying the time-series production and value of aquaculture annual outputs. FAO has endeavoured to assist national fishery statistical agencies to improve data collection and analysis in order to serve the formulation of national fishery policies. Statistics in general and fishery statistics in particular have somehow remained a weak area, owing to lack of support and poor staffing. The great variety of physical, socio-economic and cultural situations under which aquaculture is practised makes it difficult even for a well-trained statistician to discern them. Over the years, FAO has had to make serious efforts categorizing and setting standards for the collection and interpretation of the field data in order to make the statistical presentation comprehensible at the levels where it is meant to be used.

At the global level, time series fishery statistics give at least an idea of the development. In terms of weight and value, one can estimate the relative importance of the fishery resources. As a function of the economic demand, the price of a fish would reflect how much the competitive markets want it. Certain species of fish or shellfish which are relatively unknown to the consumers in developed countries are likely to be sold only at a low price, despite the comparable quality of their flesh from a culinary and nutritional point of view. This makes comparing the prices of a fish to its usefulness to man in terms of nutrition a little unfair.

The global aquaculture production shows a highly skewed picture. Based on FAO aquaculture statistics, Asia in 1995 produced 87 percent (18.27 million tonnes) of the total; Europe 1.41 percent (6.20 million tonnes); North America 2.86 percent (0.60 million tonnes); South America 1.56 percent (0.329 million tonnes); Oceania 0.45 percent (0.0947 million tonnes); and Africa 0.39 percent (0.082 million tonnes). The world’s top ten countries accounted for 85.84 percent of aquaculture production by volume. They came in the following order: China (60.90 percent), India (7.67 percent), Japan (3.90 percent), Indonesia (2.91 percent), Thailand (2.22 percent), United States (1.97 percent), Republic of Korea (1.75 percent), the Philippines (1.65 percent), Bangladesh (1.53 percent) and Norway (1.34 percent).

The expansion of aquaculture by broadening the meaning of the term has brought some changes to aquaculture statistics and the scope of future development. When culture-based fishery is considered as a form of aquaculture, the statistics account for the harvest from a larger body of water into which some stocking was made. Stocking of inner seas in Japan and large-scale stocking of reservoirs in China have long been practiced, and this can make a difference to aquaculture in terms of production. Fishery management has become an important tool in aquaculture. The rapid increase in the annual production of Bangladesh comes from floodplain fishery. This could make floodplain fishery in a country such as Cambodia, a case for aquaculture statisticians to take up for further statistical refinement. They probably would end up with a higher tonnage due to aquaculture development without technological or managerial improvement.

Among the cultured species, carp and other cyprinids accounted for 10.34 million tonnes of the 1995 production, and tilapia and other cichlids for 659 000 tonnes. Shrimp production was reported at 931 800 tonnes. Aquaculture development has been market-driven. Marine shrimp production increased 5.25 percent over the previous year despite heavy crop losses in Taiwan due to shrimp disease. The other main factors contributing to high production in aquaculture are the availability of water resources and long experience in aquaculture.

The significance of Chinese aquaculture only became evident in the 1950s despite its having been practiced for thousands of years. Before then, the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas were the principal areas for fish culture, producing some 15 000 tonnes annually in the 1940s. Since the 1950s, and particularly since the 1980s, the culture of fish in fresh, brackish and marine waters has expanded rapidly in all but two provinces, Qingha and Xizang (Tibet), where the harsh climate and topography of the Tibet-Qingha plateau limit production (Qian, 1994). By 1995, annual production reached 17.6 million tonnes of finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants, valued at US$16 300 million (16.3 billion), from a total of around 6.4 million ha in inland and marine areas.

Forced by the decreasing per-capita share of land resources in China, the government has focused its fishery development policies on expanding inland, brackish-water and marine aquaculture (Qian, 1994). According to Wu (1996), per-capita agricultural land decreased from 0.19 ha in 1949 to 0.09 ha in 1995.

As resolved and declared by the Conference, it is clear that aquaculture has yet to reach its potential, and this is the reason why the member states should be interested in developing it. According to FAO statistics, the sharp increase, particularly in the last five years, signifies a great potential for aquaculture. The popular notions which link aquaculture to food security, poverty alleviation, employment opportunity, and earning of foreign exchange are, to say the least, not automatic. Closer examination reveals that aquaculture, when practised alone, rarely lends itself to those developmental objectives. However, aquaculture can - and often does - complement other food-production activities to make the recycling of farm materials more effective.

Industrial or commercial aquaculture is a popular food-production activity primarily supplying international markets. Despite its claim to high profits, industrial aquaculture has been associated with pollution and environmental degradation. When fuller cost accounting is performed, the costs to the public sector to make up for the damage or to restore the environment are often much greater. The sufferings experienced by local communities because of environmental degradation are more immediate and severe. For the rural poor, the loss in opportunities due to environmental damage makes a bad situation worse.

Raising carnivore species such as bass, salmon or black tiger shrimp leads to more consumption than production of proteins. The present level of aquaculture technology is too low to make efficient use of high-protein pellet feed. The feed of these carnivorous fish and shrimp contains a high proportion of fishmeal and soya meal. Fishing for small pelagics that are processed into fishmeal has been criticised for depriving natural stocks of valuable fish, such as salmon and tuna, of their essential food.

All foregoing weaknesses of aquaculture are not good enough reasons for abandoning it. Aquaculture holds a good promise, particularly in decades to come. Increased food demand due to population growth, lower per-capita availability of arable land and water, pollution, toxicity and environmental degradation as well as competition from other sectors for developmental funding, will make it imperative for aquaculture and other food-production activities to make effective use of the available land and water.

In terms of production, world aquaculture grew 2.4-fold from 1989 to 1998, approaching 30.9 million tonnes, an annual percentage rate of 11.0 from 16.5 million tonnes in 1989. It is clear from FAO aquaculture statistics that Asia is by far the lead producer, accounting as it does for more than 90 percent of the production volume.

Table 1. World aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) from 1989 to 1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

19971

1998

Africa

96

82

93

101

92

96

105

120

118

189

America, North

450

411

470

525

541

532

560

563

644

656

America, South

153

186

257

295

287

342

409

556

660

670

Asia

14 269

14 498

15 955

18 881

22 173

25 206

28 563

30 955

32 732

35 815

Europe

1 479

1 611

1 445

1 379

1 379

1 505

1 608

1 690

1 766

1 960

Oceania

44

46

68

71

74

73

95

107

110

141

World

16 490

16 835

18 287

21 253

24 547

27 754

31 346

33 992

36 031

39 431


In terms of production volume, aquaculture is highly concentrated in 12 leading countries, whose 1998 aquaculture production, excluding aquatic plants, accounted for 90 percent of the total volume produced during that year and 78.9 percent of total value. In the 1998 ranking, seven countries of Asia came first, followed by the United States and two countries of Europe.

As the top aquaculture producer, China has maintained an impressive lead over the second highest producer, India: China’s production is more than ten times greater than India’s. Aquaculture production in China has gone beyond capture fishery production. With 6 045 million tonnes of fish, crustaceans and molluscs produced in 1989, China took a six-fold lead over the second place, a margin which had increased to 10.2-fold by 1998. Closer examination should reveal how China and India have been quite successful in aquaculture.

Figure 1. World Aquaculture Production

Table 2. Annual production of aquaculture fish, crustaceans and mollusc (in thousand tonnes) of the 12 top producers, from 1989 to 1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

China

6 045

6 182

6 881

8 256

10 357

12 967

15 856

17 715

19 316

20 795

India

1 005

1 012

1 221

1 389

1 427

1 528

1 686

1 783

1 862

2 030

Japan

781

804

803

814

833

781

820

829

807

767

Indonesia

448

500

518

550

600

598

625

733

663

697

Bangladesh

187

194

203

257

282

320

280

450

513

584

Thailand

260

292

353

371

457

510

560

557

552

570

Viet Nam

163

260

165

168

183

207

452

433

494

522

United States

369

315

364

414

417

391

413

393

438

445

Norway

114

150

161

138

173

218

278

322

367

409

Korea Rep

404

377

342

376

392

343

368

358

392

327

Spain

223

203

225

169

126

178

224

232

239

314

Philippines

361

380

109

387

392

388

362

349

330

312

World

16 490

16 835

18 287

21 253

24 547

27 754

31 346

33 992

36 031

39 431


With the production of 14.3 million tonnes of all types of aquaculture in 1989, Asia contributed 86.5 percent to the world’s aquaculture in weight, and 79.7 percent in value. Initial annual growth during the period was small: 1.6 percent in 1990. However, the subsequent annual rate peaked at 18.3 percent in 1992. With slower growth in the subsequent years, the rate for the period 1989-1998 was reduced to an annual percentage of 10.8, yet enabling Asia to capture a 90.8 percent share of the world production in weight, and 82.9 percent in value.

The influence exerted by China in world aquaculture was highly apparent. In 1989, China took a 46.2 percent share of world aquaculture in weight - a share which grew to 68.7 percent in 1998. Similarly, China took a 53.4 percent share in Asian aquaculture, which rose to 75.6 percent over the same period. A clear picture can be observed in the average percentage rates during the period: China’s average percentage rate was 15.1, Asia excluding China 3.5, and other continents 5.6. During 1989-1998, the overall aquaculture production in China was as much as 57.3 percent of the world’s production, leaving 28.2 percent to the rest of Asia and 14.5 percent to other continents. This shows that without considering China’s aquaculture, the growth rate of the rest of Asia was slower than that of other continents. Given the overwhelming contribution of China, production trends in either Asia or the world only reflect the trends of Chinese aquaculture, i.e. very rapid growth during this period.

By treating aquaculture in China separately, it becomes clear that the growth rates of aquaculture in Asia and in the world kept barely above population growth. The various forms of aquaculture should be treated separately since each cultured organism has specific requirements for survival and growth.

Aquaculture continued to grow from the previous decade. In the period from 1989 to 1998, world aquaculture (including China) grew from 16.5 million tonnes to 39.4 million tonnes, an annual percentage rate of 10.5. Asia is home to aquaculture, with 86.3 percent of fish, shellfish and other aquatic organisms produced in 1989. This share kept on increasing until it reached 91.1 percent in 1994, then levelled off slightly to 90.8 percent by 1998. China is by far the most important producer, taking a 53.6-percent share of the world production in weight in 1989 and, with an average increase of 2.5 percent a year, reaching 75.6 percent in 1998. Given such a handsome lead, any changes in the world aquaculture production must have China as the major influencing factor.

For the rest of the world outside Asia, aquaculture grew from 2.6 million tonnes in 1989 to 4.1 million tonnes ten years later. Unlike in Asia, seaweed aquaculture had an overall share of only 2.4 percent in the average annual aquaculture. The share of Europe, which accounted for 10.6 percent of aquaculture production during 1989-1998, grew relatively slowly, at annual percentage rates of 3.2 during the period. North America had an overall share of 1.9 percent during the period, growing from 450 000 tonnes in 1989 to 656 300 tonnes in 1998, an annual rate of 4.3. Although sharing only 1.4 percent of the overall aquaculture production in this decade, South America was one of the fast-growing regions in aquaculture. Annual production was of 153 100 tonnes in 1989. Growth at an impressive 17.8-percent annual rate pushed production in 1998 to 669 700 tonnes. Despite the 0.3 percent share of Oceania during the period, the reports from the 27 countries of Oceania to FAO showed a rise of aquaculture production from 43 500 tonnes in 1989 to 140 900 tonnes in 1998, an average percentage rate of 13.9. Africa, which is represented by 58 countries in FAO fishery statistics, had a share of 0.4 percent of the average annual aquaculture production during the 1989-1998 period. Despite water shortages in most parts of Africa, the increase has been impressive, at 7.8 percent per year throughout the period.

Figure 2. Aquaculture outside Asia, 1989-1998

By its sheer annual production volume, China has charted the development of world aquaculture. What has happened to Chinese aquaculture, in terms of volume and value, has had a strong bearing on the development of aquaculture in the rest of Asia and of the world. It is important, therefore, to analyse carefully the changes in volume or values that China’s aquaculture has brought in the past and what they are likely to be in the future.

Over the 1989-1998 period, China’s production of aquatic plants accounted for 57.7 percent of world production; that of the rest of Asia was of 41.0 percent. Leaving only 1.2 percent to countries in other continents in the share in aquaculture production by seaweeds, any comparison in aquaculture production would not be justified unless seaweed aquaculture, which existed in 23 of the 177 reporting countries, is taken into account. Moreover, seaweed aquaculture in China expanded at a faster rate, of 16.6 percent per year over the period, compared with 0.1 for the rest of Asia.

Figure 3. Aquatic plant culture in Asia

During the period, China produced 67.2 percent of aggregated aquaculture commodities in Asia, while other countries in East Asia produced 14.4 percent, Southeast Asia 10.2 percent, East Asia 7.8 percent and West Asia 0.3 percent. Including China, the composition of Asian aquaculture commodities was 43.7 percent freshwater fish, 25.4 percent aquatic plants, 22.4 percent molluscs, 3.8 percent high-value crustaceans, 2.7 percent high-value diadromous fishes, 1.7 percent of marine fishes and 0.2 percent other aquatic animals.

China’s aquaculture was strongly dominated by the production of freshwater fishes, which accounted for 48.0 percent of the average annual production during 1989 and 1998. Molluscs made up 26.6 percent, aquatic plants 22.3 percent, while crustaceans, marine fishes, diadromous fishes and other aquatic animals contributed 1.4, 0.8, 0.7 and 0.1 percent respectively to the average annual production of the country.

China’s freshwater aquaculture maintained a consistent growth, and at an average yearly rate of 13.5 grew from 4.1 million tonnes in 1989 to 12.8 million tonnes in 1998, a threefold increase in a decade. The Chinese carps, the principal cultivating species, led by silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), in that order, were cultivated. The production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) accounted for 2.1 percent of the average annual production during this period, ranking eighth among the most important freshwater fish species cultivated in China. The annual production of freshwater fishes grew by an average percentage rate of 13.5 during this period and was topped by Nile tilapia (21.8 percent per year), crucian carp (Carassius carassius) (19.7) and common carp (17.2). The silver carp, the top producer among freshwater fishes, grew at an annual rate of 9.9 percent. It should be noted that FAO fishery statistics list among freshwater fishes Osteichthyes, which accounted for 4.1 percent of the average annual aquaculture production, with an annual percentage rate of 19.8. This could be due to the large-scale stocking of lakes and reservoirs in China, which resulted in a large harvest. Although insignificant in terms of volume during this time, the production of Mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) was first reported in 1995 at 35 400 tonnes. This high value (US$10 000 per tonne, about ten times the average value) apparently became popular and the reported annual production rose at the rate of 30.4 percent per year to 83 100 tonnes in 1998, a twofold increase in four years.

The production of molluscs in China grew at the rate of 17.4 percent per year, from 1.6 million tonnes in 1989 to 7.0 million tonnes in 1998, a little more than a fourfold increase. The Pacific cupped oyster and the Japanese carpet shell were the leading molluscs in China’s aquaculture, with shares of 12.0 and 6.6 percent respectively of the average annual production in weight. With a production volume of 447 500 tonnes in 1989 and a 31.2 percent annual growth rate, the Pacific cupped oyster (Crassostrea gigas) produced 2 279 800 tonnes in 1995, after which the annual production levelled off for two years before it rose again by 21.7 percent over 1997 to attain the production level of 2 833 200 tonnes in 1998. In a similar growth pattern, the annual production of Japanese carpet shell (Ruditapes philipinarum), of 185 500 tonnes in 1989, rose by 49.0 percent a year on average to 913 300 tonnes in 1993, before levelling off in the following three years. The average annual growth resumed in 1997 and 1998 (annual percentage rate of 13.3) to attain the production level of 1 404 400 tonnes in 1998, a 7.5-fold increase over that of 1989. A more dramatic fluctuation in annual production was shown by the high-valued Yesso scallop (Pecten yessoensis). Although a steep growth rate was observed in 1993 when production rose from 338 000 tonnes in 1992 to 728 400 tonnes (a 115.5 percent increase), the period 1989-1997 witnessed a continuous increase in annual production, though it fell to a mere 0.2 percent increase in 1997. The crop failure in 1998 had annual production taking a nosedive by 37.2 percent from 1 001 500 tonnes to 629 400 tonnes.

Figure 4. China’s aquaculture

Growing at the annual rate of 16.6 percent, the production of aquatic plants rose from 1.5 million tonnes to 6.3 million tonnes in the same period. The majority (77.7 percent) of aquatic plants grown in China belonged to a brown seaweed, the Japanese kelp (Laminaria japonica), while the red seaweed, Laver or Nori (Porphyra tenera), accounted for 6.1 percent of the average annual production during 1989 to 1998. Other aquatic plants, not identified as species, were also grown and their average annual production had a 16.2 percent share during the same period. From a harvest of 1 364 600 tonnes in 1989, the annual production a year later dropped by 10.5 percent to 1 221 500 tonnes. The period from 1990 to 1993 witnessed a rapid annual growth (35.1 percent per year) from 1 221 500 tonnes in 1990 to 3 009 100 tonnes in 1993, but slowed down (3.5 percent) between 1993 and 1995 to resume fast growth (10.5 percent) between 1995 and 1997. The growth in production in the final year (1998) went down to a mere 0.8 percent, reaching 3 965 100 tonnes. The Laver (Nori) had a similar growth pattern in the annual production, and with an annual rate of 16.5 percent, production of 92 600 tonnes in 1989 quadrupled to 364 400 tonnes in 1998. Other types of molluscs, which contributed to 16.2 percent of mollusc production, grew by 18.9 each year on average, from 115 100 tonnes in 1989 to 461 700 tonnes in 1997. In 1998, the production of miscellaneous molluscs registered a tremendous increase of 321.7 percent from the 1997 level, to 1 947 000 tonnes in 1998.

Despite their smaller share in the annual production (1.4 percent), crustaceans were important in China’s aquaculture because of their higher value and different culture environment. Three species of crustaceans made up the reported production: fleshy prawn (Penaeus chinensis), Chinese river crab (Eriocheir sinensis) and giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), which shared 64.9, 19.2 and 7.6 percent of China’s average annual crustacean production during 1989-1998 respectively. The remaining 8.3 percent went to miscellaneous crustaceans. The annual production of the fleshy prawn during this period was negative: its annual percentage rate stood at -2.9. The reported production fluctuated considerably from year to year, revealing difficulties in stabilizing production. The 1990 production dropped slightly to 184 800 tonnes from 185 900 tonnes in 1989 before it rose by 18.8 percent to the peak of 219 600 tonnes in 1991. Production dropped over the next four years (-33.8 percent a year) to the lowest level of 63 900 tonnes in 1994. A surge in growth was reported for 1995, and with an annual percentage rate of 22.3 for the remaining four years, 1998 production stood at 143 100 tonnes, 23.0 percent less than a decade ago. The annual production of the Chinese river crab during the decade was different altogether from that of the fleshy prawn: it grew at a rate of 49.5 percent per year, from 3 300 tonnes in 1989 to 123 200 tonnes, without a single year of negative growth. The giant river prawn had a short history, since its production has only been reported since 1996. In the first reporting year, production stood at 37 400 tonnes, and with a yearly rate of 28.7 percent, production for 1998 was reported at 61 900 tonnes. Apart from the known species of crustaceans, China cultivated miscellaneous species, which accounted for 8.4 percent of the production of this subgroup. Although the overall annual percentage rate during 1989-1998 was as high as 32.0, the initial phase of growth from 1989 to 1992 was somewhat slower (17.5 percent) before climbing sharply (80.5) to the 1994 first peak of 28 100 tonnes. The following three years did not fare as well: the 1997 production of miscellaneous marine crustaceans was of 21 500 tonnes, 23.6 percent less than the 1994 first peak. The sharp rise of 145.2 percent achieved in 1998, to 52 700 tonnes, created a new hope for this type of aquaculture, however.

The cultivation of marine fishes in China contributed only 0.8 percent to the average annual production during 1989-1998. Although the annual growth in volume, from 33 000 tonnes in 1989 to 306 700 tonnes in 1998 (28.1 percent a year on average) was significant, the aquaculture of marine fishes was not reported by species.

Among some 30 species of diadromous fish known to aquaculture, the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) is the only one that China cultivated. Smooth growth at 13.7 percent a year was reported for the 1989-1997 period; however, 1998 production fell 2.5 percent from the previous year.

1.1 Aquaculture in East Asia (excluding China)

The average annual aquaculture production in East Asia minus China was small, only about one fifth of the volume produced by China. Aquatic plants cultivated in the two Koreas, Japan and Taiwan accounted for 56.2 percent of their average annual production during 1989-1998. Molluscs, the second-largest subgroup of organisms produced by these East Asian countries, were grown largely in Japan and the Republic of Korea. The Pacific cupped oyster was popular in the Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan, where its annual production made up 22.6, 17.2 and 9.2 percent of the overall annual production of the respective countries. The oyster is the only mollusc reported to be cultivated in Hong Kong, although the volume was relatively small. The Yesso scallop was cultivated in Japan, yielding 16.2 percent of the annual production for the country; however, the Republic of Korea is the only country outside Japan to have reported production of this mollusc, since 1993. While the Republic of Korea cultivated as many as 13 species or groups of molluscs, Taiwan reported 8 and Japan 2.

High-value marine fishes had an 18.1 percent share of Japan’s annual aquaculture production in weight. Japan reported the production of eleven species or groups; among them, the Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata) and the silver bream (Pagrus auratus) shared 11.2 and 5.1 percent of the annual production during 1989-1998 respectively. The Republic of Korea reported the cultivation of eleven species or groups of marine fishes; however, their annual production was only 1.3 percent of the overall aquaculture production in the country. In Taiwan, where the annual production of marine fishes accounted for 3.9 percent of total production, some twelve species or groups were reported as cultivated, and the growth of this type of aquaculture accelerated after 1993 (26.8 percent per year for the period 1993-1998).

Diadromous fishes had only 4.8 percent share in the annual aquaculture production in these economies for the period 1989-1998, and Taiwan, Japan and the Republic of Korea had a 2.9, 1.8 and 0.1 percent share in the sub-regional average annual production during 1989-1998, respectively. Taiwan cultivated five species of anadromous fishes; and the once highly popular Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) appeared to be outpaced by milkfish (Chanos chanos). After 1990, the eel production continued to experience negative growth, of -13.7 percent per year by 1998. Although displaying an increasing trend, milkfish production still fluctuated highly, meaning that there were difficulties. In Japan, where five species of diadromous fishes were cultivated, the Japanese eel and the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were the most popular. The Japanese eel, which accounted for 2.4 percent of the total annual production in weight, experienced persistent negative growth, with a yearly rate of -6.4 percent for the period 1989-1998. The annual production of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and rainbow trout during the period displayed a similar negative trend (-8.7 and -2.4 respectively). In the Republic of Korea the cultivation of diadromous fishes was limited to three species: Japanese eel, rainbow trout and ayu sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis); however, the production trend was in contrast to that of Japan. Overall, the increase during 1989-1998 was moderate, with an annual percentage rate of 12.5.

China excluded, Taiwan led all other East Asia countries in freshwater aquaculture production during 1989-1998. Of 23 species or groups of aquatic organisms cultivated in the sub-region, as many as 12 were reared in Taiwan and tilapias took the lead by far among freshwater fishes. With the exception of 1993, annual production of freshwater fishes showed negative growth throughout the period. Freshwater fishes accounted for 1.4 percent of aquaculture production in Japan, where two species (common carp and gold fish) and two groups (tilapias and miscellaneous freshwater fishes) were reported. Japan, too, registered negative growth in freshwater aquaculture, with annual percentage rates of 5.9 during the period.

As one of the pioneers in marine shrimp aquaculture, Taiwan continued to cultivate as many as nine species or groups of crustaceans of the total of 13 that East Asian countries have been producing. Crustaceans made up 8.6 percent of the average annual production in Taiwan during 1989-1998; and the giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) dominated other crustaceans in terms of weight. Overall, the annual production was cut by slightly more than half (53.6 percent) from 31 500 tonnes in 1989 to 14 600 tonnes in 1998. The fluctuations followed no specific patterns: this indicates the uncertainties of this type of aquaculture, and outbreaks of disease were a major problem in the past.

The cultivation of miscellaneous aquatic animals was reported in three East Asian economies outside China. As leader in this category, the Republic of Korea was active in the cultivation of sea squirts and aquatic invertebrates, and some production of softshell turtle was reported from 1995 onwards. Production of these aquatic animals fluctuated widely from year to year and no particular pattern could be found. The situation was similar for Japan, where river and lake turtles were cultivated along with the two groups of invertebrates, though there was no report on the cultivation of softshell turtles. Taiwan reported the cultivation of frogs and softshells, with the latter making good progress. After negative growth in the first two years of the 1989-1998 period, Taiwan reported rapid growth from 1992 onward, with an annual percentage rate of 108.5, so that softshell turtle production grew from a mere 22 tonnes in that year to 3 782 tonnes in 1998. The annual production of frogs also exhibited a positive trend, although the wide fluctuation in production could be attributed to persistent difficulties in ensuring good harvests.

Table 3. Composition (in percentage) of aquaculture organisms cultivated by countries in East Asia, 1989-1998


China

Hong
Kong

Taiwan

Japan

DPR
Korea

Korea
Rep

E Asia less
China

Freshwater fish

48.1

49.3

26.5

1.4

0.6

1.5

3.4

Diadromous fish

0.7

1.9

34.9

4.6

-

0.5

5.3

Marine fish

0.8

43.1

3.9

18.1

-

1.3

7.9

Crustacean

1.4

-

8.6

0.2

-

0.1

0.8

Mollusc

26.6

5.7

21.8

33.5

7.0

33.3

25.7

Misc. aquatic animals

0.1

-

0.7

0.7

-

2.9

1.1

Aquatic plants

22.3

-

3.6

41.5

92.4

60.4

55.9

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0


A striking difference in the cultivation of miscellaneous aquatic animals was noted: China had only the cultivation of softshell turtle (Trionyx sinensis), while Taiwan, Japan and the Republic of Korea cultivated frogs (Rana spp.), river and lake turtles (Testudinata), sea squirts (Ascidiacea) and aquatic invertebrates (Invertebrata). Although the volume of China’s aquaculture was less than half that of the three East Asian countries, the rate by which the softshell turtle culture grew was very impressive: its annual percentage rate over 1994-1998 was 93.6.

1.2 Aquaculture in Southeast Asia

The Southeast Asian sub-region consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao PDR, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. With the exception of the land-locked Lao PDR, all countries in the sub-region have access to the sea and their coastlines can be exploited for coastal aquaculture. Four out of ten countries produced as much as 92.9 percent of the aquaculture production volume of the sub-region during the decade under study, namely the Philippines (33.6 percent), Indonesia (28.6 percent), Thailand (18.3 percent) and Viet Nam (12.4 percent). The increase in annual production of the sub-region was of 9.9 percent per year for the period 1989-1995, and began to level off (2.2 percent yearly growth rate) subsequently when it approached 3.0 million tonnes in 1998. The growth rates for the Philippines and Indonesia, 4.7 percent and 4.9 percent respectively, remained lower than the sub-regional rate. Although the faster growth rates came from Viet Nam (14.0 percent) and Thailand (9.1 percent), the smaller producing countries such as Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam showed impressive increases, of 32.1 percent and 29.3 percent respectively.

The lead country in the sub-region was the Philippines, which accounted for 33.6 percent of the average annual production volume for the sub-region in the decade 1989-1998. Aquaculture in the Philippines was highly diversified. There were 26 major species groups: 7 species of freshwater fishes, 2 of diadromous fishes, 5 species groups of marine fishes, 4 species of crustaceans, 2 of molluscs and 6 of aquatic plants. Of the three Southeast Asian countries that produced seaweeds, the Philippines accounted for four fifths of the production. The Philippine production was composed mainly of red and green seaweeds (55.2 percent by volume), species which are not cultivated in Indonesia or Viet Nam, the other two seaweeds countries. The 1989-1998 decade saw rapid production growth (10.7 percent per year), despite a 22.8 percent drop in 1997 amounting to 182 000 tonnes less than the 801 000 tonnes produced the year before.

Disregarding the seaweeds, the annual production of fish and shellfish showed a positive trend (6.4 percent increased) from 1989 to 1991 then turned negative at an annual percentage rate of -3.8. In further detail, the leading aquaculture production in the Philippines was diadromous fishes. The production of the national fish, milkfish (Chanos chanos), accounted for 47.7 percent of all aquaculture production (excluding seaweeds). Another diadromous species, Baramundi (Lates calcarifer), displayed somewhat spotty production records and accounted for only 0.3 percent of the diadromous fish production. Freshwater fishes accounted for 24.7 percent of the overall aquaculture production by volume, which largely comprised tilapias. Generally, production was somewhat stagnant despite fluctuations. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) dominated the production in this subgroup, taking a four-fifths share of the average annual production during the decade. Cyprinids, snakeheads, torpedo-headed catfish and giant gourami were cultivated in the Philippines, albeit on a much smaller scale. The smaller share of miscellaneous freshwater fishes in FAO fishery statistics signified a well-developed aquaculture system in the Philippines, where most of the cultured species have been clearly identified and reported. The production of crustaceans accounted for 18.9 percent of the average annual production, which comprised six species. The period 1989-1991 did not see much growth in this sub-sector: its increase was only of 3.0 percent a year. The sudden rise in giant tiger prawn production in 1992-1993 slightly dropped in the next three years before plunging by -43.7 percent from 80 500 tonnes in 1996 to 45 300 tonnes in 1997, and by a further -7.7 percent to 41 800 tonnes in 1998. By volume, the giant tiger prawn took 90.8 percent, with the Indo-Pacific swamp crab, endeavour shrimp and banana shrimp taking 4.0, 3.9 percent and 1.4 percent respectively. For mollusc production, the green mussel and the slipper-cupped oyster, which accounted for 56.0 percent and 44.0 percent of the subgroup respectively, made up 8.3 percent of the Philippines’ annual aquaculture production. The production of marine fishes was the smallest, accounting for only 0.4 percent by volume. Nonetheless, the highly uneven production figures of these high-value species appeared to indicate some serious production problems facing the fish farmers.

As the second-best country in the sub-region in terms of average annual production volume over 1989-1998, Indonesia took a 28.9 percent share in the aquaculture production of the Southeast Asian sub-region. Indonesian aquaculture capitalized on 21 major species groups: 10 of freshwater fishes, 3 of diadromous fishes, various species of mullets in mariculture, 6 of crustaceans and 1 of red seaweed. By aggregate production volume, freshwater fishes accounted for 41.7 percent, followed by diadromous fishes (21.6 percent), crustaceans (20.2 percent) and aquatic plants (15.1 percent). Aquaculture production grew at an annual percentage rate of 4.9 from 1989 to 1998.

Of the ten freshwater fish species Indonesia reported to FAO as aquaculture statistics, the common carp was predominant, representing 18.3 percent of the average annual aquaculture production for the country. Despite a precipitous drop in 1997, common carp aquaculture in Indonesia has enjoyed moderate growth, of 8.5 percent per year throughout the decade. The Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) had a 6.2 and 2.7 percent share in the average annual aquaculture production respectively. The Mozambique tilapia grew at a sustained rate (11.8 percent per year), from 27 000 tonnes in 1989 to 52 800 tonnes in 1995. In the three following years, annual production fell -7.5 per cent per year to 41 800 tonnes in 1998. The Nile tilapia exhibited a different pattern of growth: it grew slowly (7.2 percent per year) from 12 300 tonnes in 1989 to 18 600 tonnes in 1995; and more vigorously in the remaining three years, to 29 000 tonnes in 1998 - an annual percentage rate of 15.9. Three species of diadromous fishes were included in aquaculture statistics by Indonesia: milkfish (Chanos chanos), river eel (Anguilla anguilla) and Baramundi (Lates calcarifer); the first species was by far predominant. Production increased gradually from 1989 to 1993, then dropped for two years. It rose again (20.7 percent) in 1996 then decreased to 156 900 tonnes in 1998. The cultivation of crustaceans in Indonesia involved four species of Penaeid and Metapenaeid shrimp and two species of crab. The giant tiger prawn dominated this subgroup, having a 12.6 percent share in the average annual aquaculture production during 1989-1998.

1.3 Aquaculture in South Asia

The South Asian sub-region comprises Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Maldives has no reported aquaculture production and is therefore excluded from this paper. All countries, except land-locked Nepal and Bhutan, have access to the sea and their coastlines can be exploited for coastal aquaculture. Sri Lanka has a relatively limited scope for freshwater aquaculture; coastal aquaculture has been developing rapidly, although resource-use conflicts allegedly slow it down.

Overall, the aquaculture of South Asia contributed in volume 7.9 percent to Asian and 7.1 percent to world productions. Among freshwater fishes, the Indian major carps (Roho labeo, Catla and Mrigal), Chinese carpss (common carp, grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp) and some unidentified cyprinids represented nine species or groups of carp. The cultivation of certain tilapias was reported from Sri Lanka, the only country in South Asia with statistics on tilapia cultivation. The rainbow trout, the only diadromous fish reported for the sub-region, was cultivated in India and Pakistan. All maritime countries in the sub-region cultivated some species of crustaceans, notably the giant tiger prawn.

India was the leader in the sub-region by far, grabbing an 80.2 percent share of the average annual aquaculture production by volume during 1989-1998. The cultivation of rainbow trout and marine fishes was still negligible, statistically speaking. Freshwater aquaculture, which contributed 95.7 percent in weight, was represented by a 71.9 percent share of the three species of the Indian major carps, 15.1 percent of miscellaneous freshwater fishes, 7.3 percent of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and torpedo-shaped catfish (Clarias spp.). The production of all Chinese carps, except the bighead carp, was reported from 1993 onwards, and had a 1.4 percent share in the overall aquaculture production during the period.

Among crustaceans, aquaculture production was reported for the giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) and from 1995 the Indian white prawn (Penaeus indicus). Statistics did not speak well for the giant river prawn since the 1995 production was missing and the average annual production of 393 tonnes (4.3 percent of all aquaculture production) was too negligible for the statistics of a large country such as India. The rapid rise in annual production by 323 percent, from 178 tonnes in 1996 to 753 tonnes in 1997, and by 100 percent to 1507 tonnes in 1998, was impressive. However, the key player in crustacean aquaculture in India was the giant tiger prawn, which seized a more than 99-percent share in the crustacean annual production of the country during the decade. The sharp rise in 1993-1994 clearly indicated the boom of marine shrimp culture, which soon levelled off. The drop in production in 1997 and resumption in 1998 were due to the usual problems in disease outbreak and resource-use conflicts one often hears about in this industry.

The next aquaculture leader in the sub-region was Bangladesh, which produced 337 100 tonnes a year of fish and crustaceans during 1989-1998. Bangladesh produced only freshwater fishes and crustaceans in aquaculture, and the average annual production accounted for 1.4 percent of Asian and 1.3 percent of world aquaculture in weight. Although reports were only available from 1997 onwards, the estimated annual production of silver carp and Roho labeo was in the lead, followed by Catla. Common carp, mrigal and grass carp did equally well, each contributing some 2.1 percent to the annual production. The majority (55.9 percent) of aquaculture production came from miscellaneous freshwater fishes cultivated in low-lying ponds in the vast floodplains of the country. Although Bangladesh has an extensive coastline with a high potential for marine shrimp aquaculture, and some development in this direction has taken place, the available report on crustacean aquaculture was limited to the production of miscellaneous freshwater crustaceans and various penaeid shrimp, each of which contributed 10.1 percent in weight to the annual aquaculture production of the country.

1.4 Aquaculture in West Asia

The West Asian sub-region comprises Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Iran, Turkey and Israel are major countries of this sub-region that are engaged in aquaculture: their shares are 35.8 percent, 28.7 percent and 21.0 percent of the sub-region respectively. The sub-region grew at an annual percentage rate of 6.5 during 1989-1998, although the initial three years registered slow growth.

The leading country in the sub-region, Iran, suffered negative growth until 1993, before its 4.8 percent annual growth between 1993 and 1998 was attained. The great majority (93.2 percent) of aquaculture in Iran was in freshwater where silver carp, common carp, grass carp and bighead carp, in that order, made up the statistics. From 579 tonnes in 1991, production of the rainbow trout increased to 4 994 tonnes in 1998, a 762.5 percent increase in the course of seven years. Iran has also engaged in marine shrimp aquaculture, and the reported production, 31 tonnes in 1992, showed a rapid increase, to 869 tonnes in 1998.

Turkey, the second-largest producer of the sub-region, continued to cultivate the common carp and certain cyprinids, though not very successfully. Sea bass culture began to show promise as of 1992, although with a temporary drop in 1995, and production rose from 1 800 tonnes in 1992 to 18 800 tonnes in 1998 - an annual increase of 47.2 percent. Turkey also concentrated on salmon aquaculture, particularly the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), which began to show impressive results by 1995. Fast growth (24.6 percent per year) in the culture of anadromous fishes was recorded during 1989-1994; even faster growth, of 36.2 percent a year, was achieved during 1994 to 1998. Turkey began in 1995 to produce Natantia decapod, and the trend looked promising. In the meantime, the culture of the Mediterranean mussel had reached 2 000 tonnes a year.

Although Israel scored an overall rate of 2.7 percent per year during 1989-1998, production stagnated for three years before dropping sharply in 1992 to 12 200 tonnes. The average increase during 1992 and 1998 was of 4.8 percent a year. The mainstay of Israel’s aquaculture continued to be composed of common carp and tilapias, although the rainbow trout has emerged as a popular fish since 1996. Among the diadromous, the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) appeared to give new promise to local aquaculture. The giant river prawn cultured in Israel did not amount to much in terms of annual production.

Saudi Arabia, which had a 3.9 percent share in the sub-regional production and produced only 1 230 tonnes of tilapias and 10 tonnes of giant tiger prawn in 1989, managed to increase production by 17.0 percent a year, and in 1998 produced 3 300 tonnes of freshwater fishes, mainly tilapias, and 1 700 tonnes of giant tiger prawn. Saudi Arabia began to produce African catfish in 1996, and Baramundi and grouper in 1998. The aquaculture production in the sub-region increased slowly, at the rate 4.6 percent a year during 1989-1993, then began to accelerate to 15.7 percent a year during 1993-1998. Israel, one of the most experienced countries in aquaculture, is the third in the sub-region in terms of aquaculture production in the decade under study.

1.5 China’s aquaculture

Freshwater aquaculture dominates China’s fish farming business, and the Chinese carps is the principal species reared in most inland water bodies. Not only is multi-culture practiced in farm ponds to take maximum advantage of the natural ecological inter-relationship of the Chinese carps, but also some 65 percent of the 2 million hectares of water storage reservoirs has been exploited as culture-based aquaculture. With more than one billion mouths to feed, the Chinese government should consider aquaculture an obvious option for its food policy. As aquaculture is reaching out far and wide, risks should be minimized, for example by using hardy, prolific and fast-growing species.

Since 1984, China has expanded aquaculture in both inland and marine waters. Expansion in area and intensity of production has been the key. The use of open waters such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers and paddy fields for freshwater aquaculture has steadily increased, from 2.8 percent a year in 1984 to 6.9 percent a year between 1991 and 1995. The national average yield from ponds increased from 1 390 kg/ha in 1985 to about 4 000 kg/ha in 1995. In Guangdong, where aquaculture is highly concentrated, yields of more than 6 600 kg/ha have been reported since 1995.

Seaweeds lead China’s aquaculture in terms of production. As the number-one crop, as much as 90.3 percent of the brown seaweed Japanese kelp (Laminaria japonica) was produced in the country, compared with 8.4 percent in DPR Korea and 1.1 percent in Japan. China also produced in 1998 some 38.0 percent of the red seaweed Laver or Nori (Porphyra tenera), after Japan (41.3 percent) and ahead of the Republic of Korea (19.9 percent).

Eight species of carp and cyprinids have been farmed in China on a commercial scale and some of these species are produced commercially nowhere else. The Chinese carps (silver, grass, bighead, and common carp) have been pond-reared in an efficient poly-culture system for centuries, and their annual production has been at the top. The crucian carp, white amur bream, mud carp and black carp are also widely farmed commercially. Cultivation of the white amur bream was reported from nowhere but China, which registered the production of 449 000 tonnes in 1998.

Emphasis has been given in recent years to diversifying into luxury freshwater species such as the mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi), freshwater crab and prawn, softshell turtle, and eel. In 1995, carp accounted for 99.7 percent of freshwater fish production and represented 52 percent and 45 percent of national aquaculture production by tonnage and value respectively. Production of silver, grass, common and bighead carp totalled 2.47, 2.07, 1.40 and 1.24 million tonnes, respectively.

The most popular mollusc species in China’s aquaculture are the Pacific cupped oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and the Japanese carpet shell (Ruditapes philippinarum), which in the decade ending 1998 grew at the average annual rate of 53.3 and 65.7 percent respectively. In 1989, China produced 448 000 tonnes of Pacific cupped oyster; however, the harvest ten years later rose more than six-fold to 2.833 million tonnes. With a slightly lower annual production, the Japanese carpet shell registered a slightly faster annual growth rate: its yield of 186 000 tonnes in 1989 increased 7.5-fold to 1.404 million tonnes a decade later.

China also aimed for high-value aquaculture products. At least 10 percent of inter-tidal mudflats, shallow sea-beds and bays have been added to coastal aquaculture every year since 1985; the rate increased to 13.4 percent between 1992 and 1995. By 1995, the figure stood at 715 000 ha. Aquaculture in shallow seas and inter-tidal mudflats has become a national emphasis. China’s marine crustacean production began to rise rapidly in 1991, reached 92.8 percent per year growth in 1993 then decreased sharply over the next three years. The rate of decrease in 1996 was as much as 70.3 percent. The situation improved with a 196.0 percent increase in 1997, which brought production almost back to the 1995 level. The increase continued in 1998, but at a slightly lower rate, 145.2 percent. Fleshy prawn production, which stood at 185 900 tonnes in 1989, has been highly inconsistent from year to year. An increase of 18.8 percent in 1991 was followed by three straight bad years, which lowered production to 63 900 tonnes. Although recovery has been on the way since 1995, the 1998 production of fleshy prawn remained just below what China produced a decade ago.

Another high-value product, the Yesso scallop (Pecten yesoensis), of which only China and Japan are major producers, was attempted. Japan produced slightly more scallop before 1991 when Chinese production was of 188 700 tonnes. Reaching a 115.5 percent rate of increase in 1993 with 728 400 tonnes, production began to level off. The sharp decrease of 37.2 percent in 1998 put the production of scallop just under the 1993 level.

One most dramatic development in China’s aquaculture is the culture of the Chinese river crab (Eriocheir sinensis). China is the only country producing this expensive crab, although the Republic of Korea has begun to show some production since 1994. In 1989, crab production was of 3 300 tonnes; it had risen to 123 200 tonnes a decade later - an average annual increase of 51.4 percent.

The softshell turtle (Trionyx sinensis) is known to aquaculture in China, in the Republic of Korea, in Taiwan and in Thailand. Taiwan had been consistent in improving turtle production throughout the years and China began to report production in 1994, with 4 400 tonnes. With an almost fourfold increase the following year, China has made impressive progress in the production of this delicacy. In 1998, China had a 93.8 percent share in softshell production, leaving Taiwan, Thailand and the Republic of Korea far behind.

The progress of Chinese aquaculture over the past decade has come about among a host of problems. In the past few years, the government has taken many legislative initiatives to facilitate land and water development, particularly to bring together the control of these finite natural assets under fewer ministries. With a reported shortage of freshwater and land in a country where populations are growing fast, the problems that China faces are in the area of natural resource management.

Expansion of aquaculture in China relates strongly to the quality of the aquatic environment. The deterioration of water quality in several lakes and reservoirs, rivers and some coastal areas continues to deprive aquaculture. Industrial and domestic effluents, particularly around populous cities, could easily add to the rapid hyper-nutrification and eutrophication if subjected to inadequate treatment. The increasing occurrence of red tides would make it extremely difficult to ensure safe timing for aquaculture crops.

Table 4. Main aquaculture species produced by China, 1989-1998 (in thousand tonnes)


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Pacific cupped oyster

448

503

534

752

1 029

1 915

2 280

2 285

2 329

2 833

Japanese carpet shell

186

234

328

576

913

1 107

1 069

1 094

1 257

1 404

Marine mollusc

208

224

212

185

230

264

1 051

1 188

1 042

1 022

Yesso scallop

129

147

189

338

728

826

916

1 000

1 001

629

Sea mussel

491

496

498

539

510

415

415

366

398

541

Razor clam

138

140

165

199

223

253

307

343

354

415

Blood cockle

52

56

57

56

75

97

125

132

130

158












Silver carp

1 336

1 399

1 361

1 541

1 807

2 139

2 473

2 800

3 070

3 133

Grass carp

935

1 023

1 046

1 232

1 465

1 790

2 071

2 408

2 632

2 808

Common carp

461

522

594

706

892

1 128

1 399

1 592

1 761

1 928

Bighead carp

629

658

680

770

902

1 054

1 237

1 400

1 535

1 567

Crucian carp

205

212

219

254

292

385

534

690

858

1 032

Freshwater fish

192

187

247

262

433

535

614

740

878

971

Nile tilapia

89

106

120

157

191

236

315

394

485

526

White amur bream

144

162

153

182

219

282

336

379

435

449

Japanese eel

60

68

81

92

100

110

120

147

167

163

Mud carp

78

80

80

81

90

100

110

130

150

160

Black carp

39

37

36

52

66

103

103

119

138

153

Chinese river crab

3

5

8

10

18

31

42

63

101

123

China

6 045

6 482

6 881

8 256

10 357

12 967

15 856

17 715

19 316

20 794


The prospect of growth in aquaculture is good despite the problems alluded to above. Aquaculture has been made part of farming and increasing demand from local markets would put fish production high on any government’s economic priority list. With a higher cost for aquaculture products, high-end technology in water treatment, fish feed and therapeutic agents would be more affordable.

1.6 India’s aquaculture

Although India has taken up marine shrimp farming for many years, freshwater aquaculture has continued to be dominant. In terms of annual production, India has for many years ranked as a top aquaculture producer, next only to China. With a steady increase in the volume of annual harvest to 2.03 million tonnes, India was able to double aquaculture production in the decade ending in 1998. The Indian major carps (Labeo rohita, Catla catla, and Cirrhinus mrigala) continued to be popular and their annual yields continued to rise at a fast pace. As shortage of land and water has become much more severe in India, the harvest of miscellaneous fishes (grouped into the so-called Osteichthys or bony fish) has declined precipitously. The Chinese carps (grass carp or Ctenopharyngodon idellus, common carp and silver carp, Hypophthalm-ichthys molitrix) have recently become more popular: their production a little more than doubled in the last six years of the decade.

In seizing the opportunity that coldwater aquaculture and coastal aquaculture have offered to produce high-value species such as the rainbow trout (Onchorhychus mykiss), the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) and the giant freshwater prawn (Machrobrachium rosenbergii), India has done quite well. The annual harvest of the black tiger shrimp almost tripled over the decade under survey and some production of the giant freshwater prawn was noticeable.

1.7 Japan’s aquaculture

Figure 5. Aquaculture in Japan

Ranking third in the world in terms of annual production in weight, aquaculture in Japan is highly diversified; the ten aquatic organisms farmed belong to nine FAO-listed species groups. Among cultivated fin fish, the common carp, Japanese eel, Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata), rainbow trout and silver seabream (Pagrus auratus) are listed. The Yesso scallop and Pacific cupped oyster are two species of mollusc that Japan has produced in bulk. The Laver, Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and Japanese kelp, the essential ingredients of traditional Japanese dishes, have also been grown in large quantities. In terms of the overall production, Japan’s aquaculture has been somewhat stagnant during the past decade; in fact, it has begun to show clear signs of decline since 1997. 1998 production was just below that of 1989, a decrease of 2.3 percent in a decade.

Most important in terms of production volume are the group of aquatic plants that comprise Laver, Wakame and Japanese kelp. The Laver (Porphyra tenera), also known as Algue nori and Lechuga nori, is a red seaweed grown in East Asia by Japan, China and the Republic of Korea. Smaller quantities have been produced by DPR Korea and by Taiwan. Like other species, the annual Laver production has been rather constant, with a slight decrease in the last few years. With an almost fourfold increase in annual production in China, Japan’s demand on Laver could be satisfied without growing it at home. Meanwhile, the production in the Republic of Korea is also increasing albeit slightly. The situation for the Wakame is more stressful since the production in all three countries, Japan and the two Koreas, has gone down in the last decade.

The Yesso scallop (Pecten yessoensis) provides a similar picture. The average growth of 2.5 percent per year would be too little to supply the local market. Over the same period, China has quintupled scallop production and could make up for what is still lacking.

Table 5. Japan’s aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of the main species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Japanese amberjack

153

161

161

149

142

148

170

146

138

147

Silver sea bream

46

52

60

66

73

77

72

77

81

83

Japanese eel

40

39

39

36

34

29

29

29

24

22

Rainbow trout

16

15

15

14

14

13

13

14

13

14

Common carp

17

16

16

15

13

13

13

12

12

12

Yesso scallop

180

192

189

208

241

199

228

266

254

226

Pacific cupped oyster

256

249

239

245

236

223

227

223

218

199

Japan

785

804

803

818

833

781

820

829

807

767

1.8 Indonesia’s aquaculture

Indonesia has practiced aquaculture for a long time and in a great variety of forms. As FAO aquaculture statistics show, Indonesians have cultivated a great many species for domestic consumption and export. Of this long list of species, nine species of carp, tilapia, milkfish and seaweed are the most important. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) has been popular, and the world came to know its pen culture in the sewage flowing from Java. Production of the common carp overtook that of milkfish by 1995, with 152 700 tonnes as compared with 151 200 tonnes for the diadromous fish. Its production has continued to rise ever since.

As fingerlings must be obtained from the wild and are in limited supply, the cultivation of milkfish in the Pacific countries has progressed slowly. Although artificial breeding has succeeded to some extent in recent years, the average growth was pegged at 2.7 percent a year for the past decade. Since the advent of marine shrimp culture, milkfish production has fluctuated considerably.

The cultivation of the red seaweed (Rhodophyceae) has been confined to Indonesia. This cheap aquatic plant was grown extensively around the archipelago, though its statistics were only compiled recently. Seaweed cultivation has been inconsistent and the influence of marine shrimp culture could be a factor affecting its growth. On the other hand, the annual production of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) and banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis) has grown considerably. In the decade ending 1998, the average annual growth rates were recorded at 6.9 percent for the giant tiger prawn and 8.0 percent for the banana prawn.

The Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), introduced into Indonesia in the 1950s, has continued to be cultivated in large parts of the archipelago. The subsequent introduction of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has added richness to pond culture of these two chiclids, whose annual yields have remained high. According to FAO fishery statistics, the annual production of Mozambique tilapia has remained greater than that of Nile tilapia, with a much slower rate of increase in annual production, however. In the decade ending in 1998, the annual production of Mozambique tilapia rose one and a half times, from 27 000 tonnes in 1989 to 41 830 tonnes in 1998. Faster by comparison, the annual production of Nile tilapia increased 2.3-fold, from 12 309 tonnes in 1989 to 29 000 tonnes a decade later.

Table 6. Indonesia’s aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of the main species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Common carp

88

89

84

94

131

135

153

178

147

148

Milkfish

119

132

141

147

164

153

151

162

143

148

Mozambique tilapia

27

42

41

45

43

47

53

60

45

42

Nile tilapia

12

12

13

15

18

18

19

26

28

29

Java barb

21

28

20

21

22

23

38

33

24

29

Nilem

21

14

10

10

11

12

12

19

11

12

Giant tiger prawn

64

67

97

98

87

83

89

96

96

103

Banana prawn

19

18

19

22

29

24

32

29

31

32

Indonesia

448

500

518

550

600

598

645

733

663

697


Figure 6. Aquaculture in Indonesia

Indigenous to Java, the silver barb (Puntius javanicus) and Nilem carp (Osteochilus hasselti) have remained popular, although their annual production was lower than that of the chiclids. Similar observations go for the freshwater catfish (Clarias spp.), giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy), snake-skinned gourami (Trichogaster pectoralis) and kissing gourami (Helostoma temminckii), which have been long cultivated in the archipelago. The highly fluctuating production statistics of these species could be attributed to a number of factors, including haphazard data collection, since a considerable quantity of those native fish are apparently unreported.

The coastal aquaculture in Indonesia featured the milkfish, mullet and sea bass. As in the Philippines, the Mozambique tilapia is often cultivated in brackish-water ponds owing to its euryhaline nature. The sudden burst in production of the river eel (Anguilla spp.) to 18 900 tonnes in 1996 and its subsequent precipitated decline was noted.

Marine shrimp culture has been going strong in Indonesia with the clear objective of export. The annual production rate for both black tiger and banana shrimp showed a steady increase. The absence of production fluctuation has become a strength for this export commodity in the world market. The production of Metapenaeus shrimp was less steady; however, the volume in some years was impressive.

The culture of mud crab and swimming crab in Indonesia was noted. Although their annual production has remained low, the practice could one day break new grounds as the market for crabs has been expanding.

1.9 Bangladesh’s aquaculture

Situated on a rich delta, Bangladesh has one of the most extensive river systems, covering one of the world’s richest inland fishery resources. In 1998, Bangladesh’s capture fishery landed 839 141 tonnes of quality fish, including the anadromous Hilsa. The high population density has deprived Bangladesh of the water and land needed for producing enough food. Aquaculture has begun to be developed in Bangladesh, though wealthy landlords, who normally maintain large dugout ponds on their premises, have long been known to cultivate the Indian major carps.

Table 7. Bangladesh’s aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of principal species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Roho labeo

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

82

95

Silver carp

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

82

95

Catla

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

66

77

Common carp

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

33

39

Mrigal

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

33

38

Grass carp

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

33


Bangladesh

187

194

203

257

282

320

380

450

513

584


Aquaculture, as normally practiced in Bangladesh, is strictly stocking, often with fish seed collected from the wild. Most ponds are flooded during the yearly monsoon and some wild fish are trapped once water has receded. Rich natural food in the ponds makes feeding the fish a luxury; a large crop is produced anyway when the ponds are harvested just before the advent of the monsoon. Given the richness of the natural fish fauna in the Ganges-Yamuna-Brahmaputra river basin, varieties of fish are kept in ponds for harvest afterwards. Higher aquaculture production rates could be attained technically through proper stocking and feeding; however, so long as capture fishery continues to satisfy the demand of the local landlords, investment in aquaculture may not start in earnest.

Figure 7. Aquaculture in Bangladesh

Bangladesh fishery statistics have improved in recent years, and one could do with more reports on aquaculture production. The main aquaculture species are confined to the Indian major carps (Roho labeo, Catla and Mrigal). Bangladesh has also cultivated Chinese carps, and substantial production of silver carp and common carp has been reported. As statistics attest, progress in inland aquaculture has been somewhat slow.

The same scenario does not hold, though, when it comes to coastal aquaculture in Bangladesh. Investment to convert the rich coastline and its mangrove was brought with the required aquaculture technology into Bangladesh and India. Annual production of marine shrimp rose threefold from 18 235 tonnes in 1989 to 66 080 tonnes a decade later.

1.10 Thailand’s aquaculture

Aquaculture in Thailand has been facing waves of development almost every decade. There was a miracle-fish fever in the 1950s when FAO sent its fishery missions around the Third World carrying the promise to eradicate hunger with the prolific and fast-growing tilapia. The country was blessed in 1964 when Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), a fish presented to HM King Bhumibhol by Emperor Akihito of Japan, began to breed prolifically in a palace pond. The Department of Fisheries built a breeding pond in every fishery station around the country for the fish, which soon was firmly established in Thailand. In the meantime, a pioneering work in the cultivation of snake-skinned gourami (Trichogaster pectoralis) in paddy fields was highly successful; the salt-dried fish has remained popular until today. The artificial breeding brought the cage culture of the Pangas catfish (Pangasius sutchi) to the limelight; much effort was also devoted to the breeding of the giant Mekong catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), with considerable success. Training in artificial spawning of fish went from national to village level, and fishery officers with needles and syringes were a common sight. The culture of catfish (Clarias batrachus) stole the scene in the early 1970s, with widespread environmental repercussions on other farming activities for the first time. The fish-poultry, and fish-duck combination were widely practiced. Frequent outbreaks of fish disease dampened the hopes of fish farmers; some fish diseases made the catfish ugly in the eyes of the public. A serious fish epidemic that swept Southeast Asia in the late 1970s was blamed on the catfish. A catfish replacement was found: the striped snakehead (Channa striata), a hardy fish that can be kept alive for a long time.

Figure 8. Aquaculture in Thailand

Table 8. Thailand’s aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of the main species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Nile tilapia

21

23

28

43

54

59

76

90

102

102

Catfish hybrid

12

18

29

24

31

34

44

48

53

53

Thai silver bard

13

15

16

24

22

24

27

38

42

42

Snake-skinned gourami

13

12

13

13

15

17

17

14

14

14

Pangas catfish

14

13

15

14

12

13

12

10

10

10

Giant river prawn

8

7

8

10

9

10

8

8

8

8

Giant tiger prawn

81

108

155

179

220

260

257

236

224

240

Blood cockle

13

12

26

19

21

11

14

16

8

8

Blue mussel

59

58

36

14

24

26

51

35

43

43

Thailand

260

292

353

371

458

510

560

557

552

649


In 1980s, cage culture was busy with the goby. The marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) was a fish of export quality, and the fish market in Hong Kong always had large orders for it. The introduction of the African catfish (C. gariepinus) brought Thailand a new hope, given its fast growth rate. The crossing between the tasty Clarias macrocephalus and C. gariepinus created a popular hybrid that retained the quality of high growth with high quality flesh. In the past decade, Thailand’s aquaculture grew 8.7 percent a year. Of the main species, it is clear that Thailand’s aquaculture caters to domestic consumption, with the exception of the giant tiger prawn, for which the country has captured a 40-percent share of the world’s production. As in many countries, production of the Nile tilapia has continued to increase: almost fivefold in the past decade for Thailand, much greater than the world’s average. Pond cultivation of the catfish hybrid and Thai silver barb (Puntius gonionotus) has increased the fish supply considerably. On the other hand, the swamp rearing of the snakeskin gourami (Trichogaster pectoralis) and pen culture of the Pangas catfish (Pangasius pangasius), which face growing problems of pollution and environmental changes, have seen production remain more or less static.

Where aquaculture has to depend on public property, production is harder to secure. Mussel, oyster and blood cockle cultivation are carried out on public property. The fluctuation of the production of these molluscs demonstrates the case.

1.11 Viet Nam’s aquaculture

Ranking seventh in the world in terms of aquaculture production in 1998, Viet Nam has brought forward shrimp aquaculture aiming at export markets. As one of five main giant tiger prawn exporters, Viet Nam’s production followed all others in 1989. Increasing by an average annual rate of 11.5 percent up to 1996, Viet Nam’s giant tiger prawn production rose by 80 percent to 81 000 tonnes in 1997, overtaking the Philippines and India, and became the third in the group. Although the rate of increase in 1998 was a mere 7.4 percent, Viet Nam was able to maintain its third place behind Thailand and Indonesia.

Banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis) has been cultivated in fewer countries than the giant tiger prawn owing to the availability of seeds. All five giant tiger prawn countries, including Singapore and Guam, have been involved in banana prawn cultivation, though the last two only on a moderate scale. Viet Nam’s production is second only to Indonesia’s; its annual rate of increase was of 17.1 percent during the past decade. Viet Nam’s 1998 production of banana prawn was estimated at 23 200 tonnes.

Viet Nam cultivates other crustaceans to feed the export markets, while integrating aquaculture into rural development as a means of achieving food security and poverty alleviation.

Table 9. Viet Nam’s aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of the main species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Giant tiger prawn

21

23

27

28

32

34

39

45

81

87

Banana prawn

6

6

7

8

8

9

10

12

22

23

Viet Nam

163

160

165

168

183

217

452

433

494

522


Figure 9. Aquaculture in Vietnam

1.12 The Republic of Korea’s aquaculture

The Republic of Korea ranked tenth in 1998 in terms of aquaculture production after the United States and Norway. Even though the annual production was a mere 1.1 percent of the world’s aquaculture production, the Republic of Korea’s aquaculture is unique in many ways. The main production comes from three species of seaweed, four species of mollusc and one species of halibut.

Of the three countries in the world that have been producing the brown seaweed Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), the Republic of Korea is the leader. The other two countries are Japan and DPR Korea. In a highly variable annual production, the Republic of Korea shared between 60 and 80 percent of Wakame production worldwide during the past decade. On average, total Wakame annual production dropped 3.85 percent per year, leaving the 1998 production at 343 400 tonnes. Although the fluctuation in annual production is least in the Republic of Korea, the 1998 production dropped by 44.5 percent to 239 700 tonnes - some 15 percent less than a decade ago.

Annual fluctuations have also been great on the production of a higher-value seaweed, the Laver, of whose world output the Republic of Korea has about 20 percent share. The Republic of Korea was second to China in terms of growth rate and came third after China and Japan in terms of production. The years 1990 and 1995 were particularly disastrous for Laver cultivation, and 1996 was more disastrous still. The direct environmental influence has been the main factor of unreliability.

On mollusc aquaculture, the Republic of Korea has made key investments in four species: the Pacific cupped oyster (Crassostrea gigas), the inflated ark (Scapharca broughtonii), the Korean mussel (Mytilus coruscus) and the Japanese carpet shell (Ruditapes philippinarum). Blood cockle has also been cultivated, on a smaller scale.

Table 10. Republic of Korea’s aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of the main species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Bastard halibut

0

1

2

3

4

5

7

9

26

22

Pacific cupped oyster

243

219

215

235

258

172

191

185

201

176

Inflated ark

17

18

17

21

12

14

9

20

13

23

Korean mussel

8

10

9

10

55

40

75

70

64

18

Japanese carpet shell

65

62

46

54

10

19

15

18

14

17

Republic of Korea

404

377

342

375

392

343

368

358

392

327


Although oyster has been cultivated throughout the world, the Republic of Korea has been next only to China and Japan in oyster production. The Pacific cupped oyster has been popularly cultivated in France, New Zealand and the United States, where annual production exceeds 10 000 tonnes. The cultivation of inflated ark (Scapharca broughtonii), a relatively expensive commodity, is confined only to the Republic. Its annual production has varied widely. Nineteen ninety-eight was a particularly good year for inflated ark production since the harvest reached 23 000 tonnes, up 75.0 percent from the previous year. The Korean mussel (Mytilus coruscus) is also exclusive to the Republic, and aquaculture there has been relatively successful in the past five years or so. Mussel aquaculture was highly unstable as its production and prices varied widely. The harvest in 1993 was as high as 55 200 tonnes, up 469.5 percent over the previous year. What was rather unusual was that with the sudden surge in supply, the value of the mussel also rose 8.1 percent to US$623 per tonne. The precipitous 72 percent drop in volume in 1998 to a mere 17 800 tonnes also caused the value to drop 58.1 percent to US$231 per tonne.

The Republic has also produced Japanese carpet shells, which are also cultivated in France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Korea is second to China in terms of volume of annual production, which is highly inconsistent. In fact, this type of aquaculture has been on the decline: a drop of 73.6 percent over the past decade. The production volume for 1998 was 17 200 tonnes.

Figure 10. Aquaculture in Korea Rep

The Republic of Korea has been doing well with bastard halibut cultivation, which is also grown in Japan and nowhere else. The production of this high-value fish was only of 249 tonnes in 1989, about one seventeenth of the Japanese production that year. With the average rate of annual increase at 67.8 percent, production peaked in 1997 at 26 300 tonnes. The 1998 production level of 22 300 tonnes showed a 15.2 percent decrease over the previous year. What was remarkable about bastard halibut aquaculture was that the Republic had only a 5.5-percent share, the rest going to Japan. That share rose to 75.4 percent in 1997 then dropped to 74.6 percent in the following year.

1.13 The Philippines’ aquaculture

Ranking fourth in the world in 1998 after China, India and Japan in terms of annual aquaculture production in weight, aquaculture in the Philippines was preponderant, with 55.3 percent of aquatic plants during 1989-1998 on average. The share of aquatic plants in the annual aquaculture production was only 42.7 percent in 1989; it continued to grow at a relatively faster rate over other types of aquaculture, and finally captured a 67.3 percent share of the national production in 1998. Excluding seaweed aquaculture, the Philippines ranked ninth in the world in 1998, since Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea had a higher fish and shellfish production. Over 1989-1998, the growth of aquaculture in the Philippines was at the annual percentage rate of 4.7. The overall growth was greatly influenced by the rapid growth of seaweed production, from 268 700 tonnes in 1989 to 642 600 tonnes in 1998, a rate of 10.2 percent per year. The culture of diadromous fish - particularly milkfish (Chanos chanos), the national fish of the Philippines - continued to experience negative growth, at the rate of -1.9 percent per year over the ten-year period. The production of freshwater fish also had a negative annual percentage rate, of -1.4; however, the production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) grew overall despite annual fluctuations. Commercial marine shrimp farming in the Philippines came to the fore in 1994 when production soared to 90 400 tonnes before declining to 36 800 tonnes in 1998, in line with other shrimp-producing countries. Mollusc production, which was dominated by the green mussel (Perna viridis) and the slipper cupped oyster (Crassostrea iredalei), experienced less annual fluctuations and remained somewhat stable during the period.

Figure 11. Aquaculture in the Philippines

In seaweed aquaculture, the Philippines ranked second in the world, after China. There are four main kinds of seaweed cultivated here, three of which account together for less than 5.0 percent, the lion’s share going to the fourth species, the eucheuma seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii). The annual production of the green seaweed Caulerpa (Caulerpa spp.) was 16 100 tonnes in 1989 and 19 800 tonnes in 1996, but it dropped to 3 700 tonnes in 1997 and in 1998.

Table 11. Philippines’ aquaculture production (in thousand tonnes) of the main species, 1989-1998


1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Milkfish

193

211

234

171

149

161

151

150

161

162

Nile tilapia

43

55

59

77

81

74

70

68

78

61

Giant tiger prawn

44

48

46

76

86

90

89

76

40

37

Green mussel

16

18

17

20

25

11

15

21

12

16

Slipper cupped oyster

13

13

12

15

18

12

12

12

14

13

Philippines

361

380

409

387

392

390

362

349

330

312


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