WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2023 23 (CONTINUED ON PAGE 24) Future aquaculture production trends In the opinion of the author, future aquaculture production will be guided by the following market trends and developments in aquaculture technology. Attacking Malnutrition & increasing market demand for more Sustainable Healthy Diets At present the world is suffering a major health crisis from malnutrition on two fronts; a global crisis of under-nutrition from hunger and food insecurity (resulting in wasting, stunting, underweight, anemia and brain damage) and a global crisis of over-nutrition from the over consumption of fast and processed foods (resulting in obesity, heart disease, hypertension, stroke and diabetes) (Figure 4). Notwithstanding the fact that the above represents the world’s greatest preventable health challenge, farmed aquatic food products (includes finfish, crustaceans, mollusks, and seaweeds or other aquatic plants) represent a much healthier alternative to terrestrial-based processed foods and meats, and as such can play an important role in the global need for Sustainable Healthy Diets for improved nutrition, food security and reduction of malnutrition (FAO & WHO 2019; Tacon et al. 2023) (Figure 5). prawn, Oriental river prawn, etc.), marine fishes at 3.72 million ton (includes Mullets, Gilthead seabream, European seabass, Large yellow croaker, Pompano, Groupers, Japanese seabass, Japanese amberjack, Porgies/seabreams, Red drum, Turbot, etc.), salmon at 3.18 million tons (Atlantic salmon, Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, etc.), milkfish at 1.28 million tons, trout at 1.03 million tons (includes Rainbow trout, Sea trout, etc.), river eels at 0.30 million tons (includes Japanese eel, European eel, etc.), and sturgeons/ miscellaneous diadromous fish species (includes Sturgeons, Barramundi, Striped bass, Mississippi paddlefish, etc.). On an individual species basis, the top fed species in 2021 was the Whiteleg shrimp at 6.32 million tons, followed by Grass carp at 5.98 million tons, Nile tilapia at 4.83 million tons, Common carp at 4.18 million tons and Atlantic salmon at 2.90 million tons (FAO, 2023). In terms of production increase or growth (Apparent Percent Rate or APR) over the period 2015 to 2021, the highest APR was observed for freshwater crustaceans (13.4%), followed by miscellaneous diadromous fishes and sturgeons (7.8%), shrimp (7.3%), and marine fishes (7.2%); (Table 1). However, by value the top fed species group was shrimp (US $ 44.34 billion), followed by freshwater crustaceans (US $ 38.18 billion), and Chinese fed carps (US $ 33.26 billion). On the basis of the above fed-species production estimates for 2021 and the assumptions given in Table 2, total compound feed usage was estimated at approximately 62.5 million tons in 2021 (Figure 3). FIGURE 3. Total global compound feed usage by major fed species groups was estimated at 62.5 million tonnes in 2021 (values given in million tonnes and as % total). FIGURE 4. Malnutrition - the world’s greatest preventable health challenge. FIGURE 5. Nutrient composition of different foods. FIGURE 6. Moving finfish and crustacean production indoors.
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