Of that percentage, over half of aquaculture production came from freshwater. The remaining portion was made up mainly of aquaculture production in marine environments, with a small fraction in brackish water. Much fish farming relies heavily on fish feed, that is, capturing small fish like mackerel and anchovy and feeding them to carnivorous farmed fish. In the production of the ten most commonly farmed fish, roughly 2kg of wild fish feed are required for every kilogram of farmed fish produced. This means that at the moment fish feed is further draining wild fish stocks, without even producing an equivalent mass of farmed fish.
China is responsible for more than two-thirds of the total.
It depends on the sort of fish. Some fish can command higher prices because they are perceived to be tastier and more stylish, eg salmon and shrimp. Some would agree. The FAO has optimistically suggested that scientific improvements in aquaculture, leading to the creation of genetically more successful fish, might be the solution to the stagnation in ocean fish stocks. This could eventually reduce the commercial viability of ocean fishing, and persuade investors to reallocate funds.