Acquaculture: production and markets

Aquaculture is a production technology with its origins in Egypt and China thousands of years ago. However, aquaculture was not very important in terms of quantity produced until the 1970s. Then, a significant change took place as better control of the production process enabled a number of new technologies and production practices to be developed and implemented. This improved the competitiveness of aquaculture products both as a source of basic food and as a cash crop. The competitiveness of aquaculture has further been increased by the product development and marketing that was possible with a more predictable supply. The combined effect of productivity and market growth has made aquaculture the world’s fastest growing animalbased food sector in recent decades (FAO 2006).