Aquaculture, the farming of finfish such as salmon and trout, shellfish and seaweed, is set to grow considerably in the coming decades.
In Scotland 2.6 million tonnes live weight of Atlantic salmon was farmed in 2017 but marine aquaculture accounted for only 37.5% of all farmed food fish production in 2018. The United Nations reports that 31.4% of the world’s wild fish stocks are being over fished and another 58.1% have already been fully fished (FAO, 2016).
Aquaculture can meet the need for more sustainably sourced fisheries and the demands of a growing and more affluent world population. There has already been a 527% rise in global aquaculture production from 1990 to 2018 (FAO) and the UN report referenced above predicts the supply of farmed fish will overtake that of wild fish by 2021.