Aquaculture

    Aquaculture, especially shrimp farming, can be a quick and important source of income and foreign exchange earnings. It can bring social and economic benefits to coastal areas that, for example, do not have the options of growing agricultural crops. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that aquaculture is probably the fastest growing food-producing sector (FAO 2006).

    But aquaculture has its negative aspects. Aquaculture can be a cause for social conflicts by competing with other coastal land uses such as mangroves, rice paddies, tourism, and preservation of nature. Aquaculture can also lose its export competitiveness because exporters of aquaculture products must compete on a global level. More seriously, aquaculture has been linked to various regional and local environmental problems. A new report on responsible shrimp farming has raised environmental issues including conversion of mangroves, salinization of groundwater and agricultural land, use of fish meal in shrimp diets, and pollution of coastal waters due to pond effluents (FAO et al. 2006).

Taiwan and Beyond

    Imagine an area that has lost its competitiveness in aquaculture exports due to globalization and, at the same time, has had to face environmental problems due to past mismanagement of aquaculture. What sustainable alternatives does this depressed area have? This is the main research question for this project.

    We will initially focus on Taiwan, an early aquaculture exporter in the world (Tsai et al. 2006), which has lost its competitive advantage in aquaculture exports and is now facing aquaculture-related environmental problems such as land subsidence and flooding. Many countries in Asia, South America, and Africa are following the steps of Taiwan in the development path of commercial aquaculture. This project can serve as a useful reference to these countries. Additionally, this project can encourage the sharing of strategic plans from different countries.

Core Concepts of Sustainable Aquaculture

This project presents a sustainable aquaculture strategic plan, which includes wetland, ecotourism, and sustainable aquaculture. The plan is anchored on the following three concepts: integrated coastal management (GESAMP 2001), ecological park (Hsieh et al. 2004), and multifunctional agriculture (OECD 2001).

Wetlands can temporarily store storm water, thus reducing downstream peak flows, and can remove pollutants from water that flows or runs off into the wetlands. They can also provide natural habitats for a large variety of endemic and migratory birds, insects, fish, and plants. Given proper management, wetlands can also become a focal point for the development of ecotourism. In our plan, ecotourism plays a double role: it will be developed along with the creation of manmade wetlands, and it will be a revenue-generating option for the local population.

To become sustainable, aquaculture must change from its past operations. We recommend use of biotechnologies such as recirculation systems and automatic feeder to make aquaculture more environmentally friendly. We also recommend use of ‘traditional’ practices such as extensive or semi-intensive production, reduced use of chemicals, organic feed, and eco-labeling of aquaculture products.

Relevance of the Sustainable Aquaculture Project to GLP 

GLP Theme 1

l           Understand the role of broader economic, social, and political forces in shaping land-use decision.

l           Explain how land-use decision making can impact ecosystem dynamics.

l           Describe how globalization and market forces can impact land-use decision making.

GLP Theme 2

l           Describe how changes of ecosystem services can be caused by land use mismanagement.

l           Understand how a land use at a local or regional scale can be affected by economic factors at the global scale.

l           Characterize how land-use decisions are made within the socio-economic, political, and environmental contexts.

GLP Theme 3

l           Identify a sustainable development strategy for the depressed aquaculture sector.

l           Explain how the concepts of integrated coastal management, ecological park, and multifunctional agriculture can be used to formulate a sustainable development plan.

l           Quantify through simulation the effects of conversion to wetlands on reduction of flood water and rate of land subsidence.

l           Provide an example of a locally specific response to threats to land systems.

References

1. FAO. 2006. State of World Aquaculture: 2006. Food and Agriculture Organization: Rome.

2. FAO/NACA/UNEP/WB/WWF. 2006. International Principles for Responsible Shrimp Farming. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA Bangkok, Thailand.

3. GESAMP (Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). 2001. Planning and Management for Sustainable Coastal Aquaculture Development. Food and Agriculture Organization: Rome.

4. Hsieh H, Chen C, Lin Y. 2004. Strategic planning for a wetlands conservation greenway along the west coast of Taiwan. Ocean & Coastal Management 47: 257-272.

5. OECD. 2001. Multifunctionality: Towards an Analytical Framework. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development: Paris.

6. Tsai B, Chang K, Chang C, Chu C. 2006. Analyzing spatial and temporal changes of aquaculture in Yunlin County, Taiwan. The Professional Geographer 58: 161-171.

Links

1. Global Land Project (http://www.globallandproject.org/)

2. Department of Geography, National Taiwan University (http://www.geog.ntu.edu.tw/English)

3. Fisheries and Aquaculture, Food and Agriculture Organization (http://www.fao.org/fi/)

Contact

Prof. K. Chang, ktchang@ntu.edu.tw