Off-shore aquaculture using existing technologies could provide the entire world's seafood needs using a very small percentage of the global ocean area, although economic, environmental, and social constraints still exist:
Mapping the global potential for marine aquaculture (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0257-9) (DX)
Here, we map the biological production potential for marine aquaculture across the globe using an innovative approach that draws from physiology, allometry and growth theory. Even after applying substantial constraints based on existing ocean uses and limitations, we find vast areas in nearly every coastal country that are suitable for aquaculture. The development potential far exceeds the space required to meet foreseeable seafood demand; indeed, the current total landings of all wild-capture fisheries could be produced using less than 0.015% of the global ocean area. This analysis demonstrates that suitable space is unlikely to limit marine aquaculture development and highlights the role that other factors, such as economics and governance, play in shaping growth trajectories. We suggest that the vast amount of space suitable for marine aquaculture presents an opportunity for countries to develop aquaculture in a way that aligns with their economic, environmental and social objectives.
[...] We found that over 11,400,000 km2 are potentially suitable for fish and over 1,500,000 km2 could be developed for bivalves. Both fish and bivalve aquaculture showed expansive potential across the globe, including both tropical and temperate countries (Figs. 1 and 2 and Supplementary Table 3). However, as would be predicted by metabolic theory, many of the areas with the highest GPI were located in warm, tropical regions. The total potential production is considerable: if all areas designated as suitable in this analysis were developed (assuming no further economic, environmental or social constraints), we estimate that approximately 15 billion tonnes of finfish could be grown every year—over 100 times the current global seafood consumption.
Found at NextBigFuture.
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Alphabet's Tidal moonshot tracks individual fish to help sustainably feed humanity
Today Alphabet is announcing Tidal, an X division moonshot project with the goal of preserving the ocean's ability to support life and help feed humanity sustainably. Tidal's initial goal is to develop technologies that will give us a better understanding of what's happening under water, with a focus on helping fish farmers to run and grow their operations in environmentally friendly ways.
[...] To achieve its early goal, Tidal has developed an underwater camera system coupled with computer vision and other AI techniques to track and monitor thousands of individual fish as they develop. The electrical components had to be developed to withstand the extreme cold and crushing pressures of the ocean's unforgiving salt water environment. The system can also interpret behaviors not visible to farmers.
By logging eating behavior and environmental data like temperature and oxygen levels, the farmers can make smarter decisions about how to manage their pens, according to Davé. And healthy fish require fewer antibiotics, a concern amongst environmentalists.
Blog post. Also at Financial Times.
Related: No water? No soil? No problem: Aquaponics Provides Fresh, Organic Produce
Mapping the Global Potential for Marine Aquaculture
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday August 17 2017, @12:33AM (2 children)
Mono Cultures worked so well on land - lets poison the ocean too.
A very small portion of fish stock is already raised this way, and it causes a fair bit of trouble with wild stocks just about everywhere it is tried.
Diseases sweep through concentrated populations and spread into the wild stocks. Entire estuaries are over burdened with pens and cages and boatloads of fish poop.
Hatcheries are bad enough in this regard, but they can (and are) emptied and cleaned yearly.
What cleans the bays and estuaries full penned or fenced rearing areas?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:06AM
The death of fish stock and the environ, the bankruptcy of the "farmer", followed by a sufficient amount of time for the pens to rust away.
That is, unless the people never learn for their (predecessors) mistakes and try again, in which case it will take much longer. (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @03:45AM
Had to double-check the username. When did you become an environmentalist?
Are you also interested in wolf conservation? I hope so! I've always loved wolves! ♥ Nobody in my family has been a farmer since my grandparents, though, and we've never had wolves around here anyway.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday August 17 2017, @12:54AM (4 children)
The fish eat the shit other fish excrete, and eat the bodies of those not able to keep up.
Now I'm not alt-right, but that don't seem like a viable feeding alternative.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:17AM (3 children)
Your understanding is limited - nothing in ecology is that simplistic.
If fish would be eating just fish and byproducts, then the entire fish population would make a closed system - a food loop rather than a food chain.
Some fishes need to eat something else to sustain the chain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:28AM (2 children)
Understood, then again that is my understanding of fish farming. They feed some food from the top, the 1%'s eat it and take a dump, the 90%'s eat that, and the bottom 10% hopes some bones come their way.
I understand that is an ecology that can't last long.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:45AM
I'm afraid the (venture) capital world isn't a good analogy for aquaculture.
For the simple reason that nobody in his own mind will take the cost of growing fish spawn** to have only 1%-ers for the harvest and 99% of the rest improper for consumption and incurring costs to dispose of them.
---
** quite an expensive part of the cycle due to the required cleanness and controlled temperature and oxygen water levels and feed and what not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 17 2017, @01:17PM
Farming isn't about having an ecology. It's about producing food.
(Score: 2) by leftover on Thursday August 17 2017, @05:01AM
This resembles what I wanted to do 50 years ago as a nerdy high school graduate. It is about damned time somebody noticed that while we have limited arable land and limited fresh water, we (Earthlings) have a LOT of sun-drenched salty water. All the various complaints that it will not be fast, easy, cheap and insanely profitable are missing the point. Those complainers need to move out of the way. Engineers and scientists will find ways to make it work, skilled tradespeople will implement them and the aqua-farmers will get to work. Rent-seekers, politicians, and other such vermin are welcome to become entry-level nutrients.
Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.