In the U.S., this art has been practiced for over a century, but only recently has grown to gain the attention of the public. Rapid growth within this country, because of exploding demand for high-quality fish and other seafood, is anticipated.
Many people view aquariums simply as a place to view fishes in an entertaining and unusual setting.
While we plan to satisfy this common expectation of our visitors, we also have several other goals, especially with regard to the aquaculture pavilion. Not surprisingly, the majority of our visitors will be relatively unaware of the role of aquaculture in satisfying the nutritional needs of people and its vital role in reducing fishing pressure on natural stocks of fishes in both freshwater and saltwater environments. We plan to include an aquaculture demonstration pavilion as part of the complex. Many visitors will be surprised to see fish and plants raised indoors at high densities. The perceptual link between aquaculture systems as not only food producers but as instruments for conservation of natural fish stocks is an important one.