Although most aquaculture facilities manage with the best intent for stress reduction, beneficial health and fast growth, many larger intensive aquaculture systems are managed where the stock is raised under stressful environmental conditions where there is little ecological balance.
Aquaculture , also known as aquaculture, is a farming of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, algae and other organisms. Aquaculture is a commercial breeding ground for freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions and can be harvested from wild fish. Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments and in underwater habitats.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), aquaculture "means farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants." Reported production from global aquaculture operations in 2014 provided more than half of the fish and shellfish consumed directly by humans. However, the reported figures of reliability are problematic. Mariculture refers to the cultivation of marine organisms in seawater, usually in sheltered coastal or offshore waters. The farming of marine fish is an example of mariculture, and so also is the farming of marine crustaceans (such as shrimp), mollusks (such as oysters), and seaweed. Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are prominent in the U.S. mariculture. Mariculture may consist of raising the organisms on or in artificial enclosures such as in floating netted enclosures for salmon and on racks for oysters. In the case of enclosed salmon, they are fed by the operators; oysters on racks filter feed on naturally available food. Abalone have been farmed on an artificial reef consuming seaweed which grows naturally on the reef units