## Chapter I: [Special Feature] Sustainable Development of Aquaculture

☐ Japan's aquaculture production has been on a moderate decline, accounting for about 20% of the total fishery and aquaculture production in volume and about 30% in value.

☐ The demand for fishery products as food supply has grown around the world. On the other hand, due to limitations in the quantity of fishery resources, it is difficult to substantially increase the production volume through fisheries using fishing vessels. An essential task for securing supply of fishery products is to aim at sustainable development of aquaculture, along with appropriate management and use of fishery resources in waters surrounding Japan.

Japan has traditionally engaged in aquaculture. As a result, the development of aquaculture around the world has significantly benefited from Japan's aquaculture technology. For increasingly developing the world's aquaculture and reducing the load on natural fishery resources, Japan's aquaculture technology needs to make further contribution.

## Section 1: Developments of aquaculture to date

## (1) Significance of aquaculture

In aquaculture, as in the case of the livestock industry, stable production of fishery products is possible in terms of both quantity and quality as a result of rearing and management of aquatic organisms by humans. The consumption volume of fish species that are mainly produced through aquaculture, such as yellowtail and salmon, has increased in recent years.

O It is necessary to develop aquaculture along with the closely associated fisheries using fishing vessels, while taking into consideration the characteristics of aquaculture.

[Changes in the per capita purchase quantity of fresh fish by item]

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Family Income and Expenditure Survey

Note: Two-or-more-person households

## [Characteristics of aquaculture as compared to fisheries using fishing vessels]

(1) A well-planned supply system and business projections are possible.

(2) Fishery products with stable high quality can be produced efficiently through breeding and improvement of rearing methods.

(3) Feeds and habitat conditions, etc. can be recorded.

(4) Feed-borne parasites can be eliminated.

(5) Aquaculture sites are prone to becoming polluted by feces and waste feed.

(6) Fishery medicines, etc. need to be used in order to prevent diseases, etc.

[Percentage of aquaculture production in Japan's fishery and aquaculture production volume (2012)]

Source: Compiled by Fisheries Agency based on Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Annual Statistics on Fishery and Aquaculture Production Note: "Wild" scallop denotes scallop harvested through the sowing method.

## (2) History of aquaculture

## (Aquaculture with a history of more than 3,000 years)

O The earliest record of aquaculture dates back to the 11th century B.C. in China (Yin dynasty). In China, inland water aquaculture has been conducted actively since then.

In Europe, morays, eels, oysters, etc. have been cultured since ancient Roman times. Since then, inland water aquaculture has been conducted actively.

In Southeast Asia and South Asia, culture of shrimps and prawns has been active since the latter half of the 1980s.

With regard to marine fish aquaculture, culture of Atlantic salmon was started in Norway in around 1960. In 1978, a large fishery company in Chile started culture of coho salmon. Large-scale culture of bluefin tuna was launched for the first time in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain in 1997.