Almost all species, including the 24 major ones, are caught in association with other non-target species. About 70 percent of the global catch is eaten directly, up to half of which is still produced by small-scale fisheries. Some 30 percent of production is used as feed, chiefly in aquaculture and to fatten livestock. The farming of fish, shellfish and seaweeds grew rapidly from 1984 to 1992, with average rates of increase of 9 percent per year by volume and 14 percent per year by value. Apart from the few Asian countries that produce over 80 percent of the world's farmed aquatic products and some significant operations in other countries such as Norway, most countries have few aquatic farms.
Aquaculture remains a new frontier, particularly in the tropics where fish grow fastest.
New knowledge and skills are needed to accomplish this. Researchers, often in partnership with the farmers and others they seek to help, will hold the keys to the innovations and solutions that are needed. Between aquaculture and captive fisheries, a great range of technologies lie whose possibilities have barely been imagined. In the process, artificially reared marine species known as fingerlings are released directly to the open sea and later recaptured after growing to market size. The system may require modifications of the physical environment, such as the construction of artificial reefs, or protection from and enhancement of nursery and grow-out areas to improve the survival rate of released fingerlings and common property management in capture fisheries at the time of recapture.