Environmental Impacts of Aquaculture

Book excerpt: The continued expansion of aquaculture - in a wide range of environments and of a growing number of species, both vertebrate and invertebrate - has lead to increasing demands on aquatic resources. These demands vary with the culture species, the culture method and the environmental and ecological setting. While there are many examples of efforts to mitigate detrimental environmental effects, the environment remains the ultimate constraint on the future sustainable development of this maturing industry. The relationships between the activities of aquaculture and the environment are of significant economic importance, as well as of innate scientific interest. As a result, a large international research community has developed over the past decade. In Environmental Impacts of Aquaculture, the research is synthesized and critically reviewed, providing a source of reference to the most important recent developments at research and professional level.