Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants which involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing. Mariculture refers to aquaculture practised in marine environments. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production system in the world. The industry has grown at a strong and steady 8 to 10 percent over the past three decades and is expected to continue to expand at that rate for a while .
Ramesh Thapar was a laborious student throughout his academic career. He has done graduation in science subject from Allahabad University in 1990’s. He did his postgraduation in science from the same university. Thereafter, in 1994, he got his Ph.D. degree in Marine Science from Kerala University. In his service career of eleven years, he worked in several private companies on different posts and also travelled abroad. In his personal views, “The scope of Marine Science is vast and ever spreading. In current scenario more and more students are pursuing their career in marine science and oceanography fields.” He has attended many seminars and workshops and also presented his research works.
Preface
The development of freshwater aquaculture in the country only finally became established following the establishment of the Pond Culture Division at Cuttack in 1949 under the name of the Center of Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), West Bengal. Significant developments took place thereafter with the standardisation of induced breeding techniques and the development of hatchery systems and composite carp culture with the three Indian major carps and three exotic carps, including silver and grass carp, forming the basis for carp polyculture systems. Aquaculture is an especially important economic activity in China. Between 1980 and 1997, the Chinese Bureau of Fisheries reports, aquaculture harvests grew at an annual rate of 16.7 percent, jumping from 1,900,000 tonnes to nearly 23,000,000 tonnes.
In 2004, the total world production of fisheries was 140 million tonnes of which aquaculture contributed 45 million tonnes, about one third. The growth rate of worldwide aquaculture has been sustained and rapid, averaging about 8 percent per annum for over thirty years, while the take from wild fisheries has been essentially flat for the last decade. The aquaculture market reached $86 billion in 2009.
With the exception of benthic habitats directly beneath marine farms, most mariculture causes minimal destruction to habitats. However, the destruction of mangrove forests from the farming of shrimps is of concern. Globally, shrimp farming activity is a small contributor to the destruction of mangrove forests, however, locally it can be devastating. Mangrove forests provide rich matrices which support a great deal of biodiversity – predominately juvenile fish and crustaceans. Furthermore, they act as buffering systems whereby they reduce coastal erosion, and improve water quality for in situ animals by processing material and ‘filtering’ sediments
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