Zhongjie Li
Institute of Hydrobiology-CAS, China
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Aquac Res Development
It is acknowledged that China is the mainstay in global aquaculture, contributing for example 65.7 (of 76,321,310 t) and 63.6 (of 38,994,913 t) percent to total global and freshwater aquaculture production, respectively in 2011, significantly increasing the corresponding contributions from 36.1 to 38.5 percent of the global total (7,359,881 t) and global freshwater (2,342,706 t) aquaculture production in 1989. Overall, aquaculture production in China in turn has enabled to reduce our dependency on food fish supplies from a hunted to a farmed origin, like all the other staples. It is evident that, though inland aquaculture is practiced in most provinces of China, the great bulk of it occurs in the area that lies approximately between 110 to 120 ºE and 19 to 35 ºN. Importantly, the provinces in the Yangtze River Basin accounted for 66 percent of the inland aquaculture production in China. The major changes that are likely to occur in freshwater aquaculture in Yangtze River Basin in all probability will be associated with minimizing environmental perturbations arising from aquaculture practices. In regard to the trends of freshwater aquaculture in Yangtze River Basin, two aspects can be expected. Firstly, it is the stricter use of natural freshwaters including lakes, reservoirs and rivers for aquaculture. Secondly, in compensation for aquaculture production losses from natural water bodies, more attention will be paid to controlled water bodies.
Zhongjie Li is currently working as a Professor in State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
Email: zhongjie@ihb.ac.cn