The need for a Balanced Ecosystem Approach to "Blue Revolution" Aquaculture

The global seafood market is at a crossroads. At present, it is structurally in the Stone Age; even with all the technological advances in seacraft, nets, and sonar, it is still largely a system of capturing marine fish that resembles the pursuits of hunter gatherer societies. However, while landings by global capture fisheries have leveled off, and many fish stocks have essentially collapsed, demand for seafood has been rising steadily, leading to the fast expansion of aquaculture.1 Moreover, an even greater demand for seafood may be anticipated if the desertification of agricultural land and exhaustion of freshwater reserves continues.2 Marine aquaculture, or mariculture, does not require arable land or freshwater; it stands, therefore, as the leading contender to supply the added food demand and become the next frontier for humankind’s food.