Captive rearing, including aquaculture, has long been a tool for species production and conservation and its utility has never been more important. In fact, some conservation researchers suggest that 2,000-3,000 terrestrial species alone will need to be reared captively in the next 200 years. At the same time, the importance of efficient food production has never been more important. Applications of this tool include supporting recreational and harvest-based fish and wildlife management, restoration and recovery of declining populations, rehabilitation of displaced or injured fish and wildlife, and outreach and education. They also include providing health and sustainable food, while supporting small and large scale economic opportunities. Captive rearing takes many forms including production facilities, zoos, aquariums, hatcheries, and rehabilitation centers. Outcomes range from fresh filets, to wild supplementation or release programs, and even conservation-based refugia programs maintaining individuals or populations entirely in captivity. While numerous success stories have resulted from captive rearing efforts, the tool is often subject to criticism and these challenges exist in all sectors of aquaculture.
In order to continue success in aquaculture's varied captive rearing programs, it is critical that managers and researchers work together to identify clear thresholds for success, apply research-based methods to evaluate contemporary protocols, employ the latest available technology to meet objectives, and communicate successes and advances to the aquaculture community as a whole. This is true for programs aimed strictly at production or supplementation, to those aimed at maintaining valuable genes, and the many outcomes in between. The author provides a broad look at some of the challenges facing captive rearing in conservation aquaculture, some of the historical and contemporary efforts to overcome those challenges, and opportunities to tackle those challenges with new partners. This talk builds on a Symposia presented at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting in Reno 2019. It serves to uncover an important opportunity to build connections in the aquaculture and captive rearing communities across private, public, and non-profit institutions tackling similar challenges in this rapidly growing field.