August 30, 2006

Aquaculture to supply bulk of seafood by 2020

Aquaculture would supply the bulk of fish supplies by 2020, US seafood marketing expert Howard Johnson said at the Skretting Australasian Aquaculture Conference.  

Johnson said the world demand for seafood would increase by 38 million tonnes a year by the year 2020.

As wild fish stocks are declining, the shortfall would have to be made up by aquaculture.

The shortage would be exacerbated because of the health benefits of fish and the increased population by then. These two factors would lead to increased demand for seafood worldwide, especially from China. 

In the US, where the market is worth around US$60 billion, about 80 percent of its seafood is imported. The rising demand in the US for organic seafood could open up a huge market for Australian producers, he added.