Aquaculture’s promise and peril

Twenty years ago, a Stanford-led analysis sparked controversy by highlighting fish farming's damage to ocean fisheries. Now a follow-up study takes stock of the industry's progress and points to opportunities for sustainable growth. By Catherine Arnold Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment Despite aquaculture's potential to feed a growing world population while relieving pressure on badly depleted oceans, the industry has been plagued by questions about its environmental impacts. Go to the web site to A Stanford-led team of researchers conducted a review on the past 20 years of global aquaculture, finding that freshwater aquaculture has grown dramatically and feeds have become more sustainable. Still, there are many challenges and areas for growth, including the production of species that provide ecosystem services. But over the years, the diverse industry - which ranges from massive open-ocean salmon cages to family farm freshwater tilapia ponds - has made significant strides toward sustainability, according to a new Stanford-led analysis. The study notes, however, that in order for the global aquaculture sector to deliver on its full promise, more effective oversight measures are needed to help ensure that its environmentally sound systems are economically viable.