CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Although there are thousand of years of experience supporting aquaculture in and other countries, it is relatively young industry in the United States. It is also one of the fastest growing segments of animae agriculture. Aquaculture output has grown at a rate of more than 10% for captured fishers and 3% for livestock meat production (FAO, 2000) while only 13 million tons of fish were produced in North American in 1990, there were over 31 million tons produced in 1998. Concurrently, the value of this production doubled from 490 million to nearly 81 billion (USAA, 1998).

Human consumption of fish and related foods is increasing each year. Demand for fish products is greater than the ability of the oceans to supply them. A reduction in wild –caught fish coupled with increased consumption by American consumers has led to increased profitability, improvement in technology required for captive production, and a rapid expansion of farmed aquatic specie. As a result aquaculture is becoming a major alternatives crop globally and in many areas of the United States illustrates the increasing percentage of the total world fish production supplied by aquaculture in relation to the oceanic catch. Because the oceanic fish is no longer increasing significantly, additional production depends on growing more fish through aquaculture. Approximately 75 percent of the earths surface is covered by water yet humans harvest only 1 percent of their total food supply from this source.

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