Farmed
Raised in ponds, cages and tanks. 28 fish on EveryFish so far.
Fish farming, or aquaculture, raises fish in ponds, tanks, raceways and cages. It has grown fast since the 1980s while wild catches have levelled off, and in 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization reported, farms produced more aquatic animals than wild fisheries for the first time. Asia produces most farmed fish, with China far ahead and India second. Carps, tilapias, catfishes, salmon and milkfish are the main species.
Carps, tilapia and salmon
Freshwater carps raised in ponds are the most farmed fish by weight, led by grass carp and silver carp in China and the Indian major carps in India and Bangladesh. Andhra Pradesh is India's leading fish-farming state, sending rohu, catla and pangas across the country. Nile tilapia is farmed in more than a hundred countries. Atlantic salmon, raised in sea cages in Norway, Chile and Scotland, is one of the most valuable farmed fish. The pangasius catfish of Vietnam is exported worldwide.
Benefits and concerns
Farming can supply cheap protein and jobs and take pressure off wild stocks. But farms can pollute water with waste and drugs, spread disease and sea lice to wild fish, and let farmed fish escape and breed with wild ones. Some farmed fish, especially salmon and shrimp, are fed fish meal and oil made from wild fish. Clearing mangroves for shrimp farms has been a serious problem in Asia. Better feeds, rules on siting and certification schemes aim to address these concerns.
Famous farmed fish
Still to be written: Grass carp, Silver carp, Catla, Atlantic salmon, Iridescent shark.
Further reading
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