Maricultrue
Marine aquaculture is also known as ‘mariculture’. Organisms that are chosen for mariculture should be popular marine products that should fetch a high price. At the same time they should also be easy to grow and should not be expensive.
Organisms chosen for mariculture should be hardy and resistant to disease and parasites. If such organisms are not able to reproduce and multiply, severe economic problems can result.
Algae are grown and sold as luxury foods. Cultivation of oysters and mussels is taken to be the most successful form of mariculture. Mariculture with fishes is rather difficult. Only Japan has launched an important and ambitious program of Mari culture with certain selected types of fish.
Salmon, yellow tail, tuna, puffers, and a few other fish are being raised on experimental basis. In Southeast Asia and the Far East Countries some estuary fish farming of mullet and milkfish has been practiced with success for centuries.
These fishes are of hardy nature and they can tolerate salinity of various degrees. They are not artificially fed. However, since these fishes cannot be spawned and raised to sexual maturity in an artificial environment, the fry must be collected from a natural nursery environment.
The cost of operating the farms is comparatively low and about one metric ton per yields is common. Mariculture requires intensive artificial feed and is a costly affair, so this is not going to solve the problem of the world shortage of animal protein.
However, those farming methods in which natural feeding in estuarine environment is used have good potential to increase the food supply. With improved management of existing fisheries, some progress in mariculture can be expected.
