Aquaculture is a form of agriculture that includes the cultivation, propagation and marketing of aquatic organisms. Aquaculture shares many similarities in concept to many land based agriculture industries such as cattle farming and many of the same management techniques are used in aquaculture. Like more traditional forms of agriculture the goal of aquaculture is to maximize production at a minimal cost to maintain a profit margin.

Aquaculture is poised to become an important source of protein for the world's growing population. Because the capture fishing industry has peaked and is likely to decline as wild stocks are diminished, Aquaculture will become an important source of seafood products. Already nearly one third of all aquatic products consumed in the United States were produced on fish farms. Almost all of the catfish and rainbow trout, half the shrimp, and one third of all salmon consumed in the United States are raised on fish farms. The aquaculture industry of the United States, however, is very small compared to the industry in other nations. Below is a graph of the distribution of aquaculture production by volume worldwide.

Aquaculture is already becoming an important factor in the world's fish markets. World aquaculture production doubled between 1984 and 1995 to nearly 21 million metric tons and was worth over $36.2 billion U.S. dollars. However, if aquaculture is to continue to grow its operations must be environmentally stable as well as profitable. This is no small challenge, as aquaculture, in its modern form and capacity is a relatively new industry and more research is required to determine at what level and in what manner aquaculture should be practiced to maintain an environmental balance. Unfortunately, many of the existing aquaculture farms were not designed to be environmentally friendly and, in some cases, no attention to the environment was given during their construction and operation. Such aquaculture projects are sources of significant biological, chemical, and nutrient pollution (click here for more information about the environmental impacts of aquaculture). If these problems are not addressed, the aquaculture industry may collapse.

Despite the environmental dangers of improperly run aquaculture projects, many believe that with the right management and precautions, aquaculture farms can operate with a minimal environmental impact. An environmentally friendly operation offers many significant advantages. The first is from an energy and production standpoint. Fish farming can be ten times more efficient than other forms of agriculture, such as cattle farming. Whereas a single acre of land can produce 1,000 pounds of beef, one acre of fish farms can produce 10,000 pounds of fish. Fish are also more efficient at converting food matter into flesh than most other animals. Most fish gain 1 lbs of body mass for every two pounds of feed. In comparison the conversion rate for pork is greater than 6 lbs of feed consumed for every pound of flesh gained (verify).

If aquaculture is so productive and potentially environmentally friendly, then why isn't it a much larger source of food and resources. One answer is that aquaculture in its modern form and size is a relatively new industry and is decades behind other agriculture techniques technologically. Another reason is that aquaculture, as implemented thus far, has not proven to be environmentally friendly.

Aquaculture is not one set of techniques, rather it is a myriad of processes that involve the cultivation of hundreds of varieties of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants. There are four main aquaculture techniques, pond, cage, raceway, and recirculating systems. Each of these operations is further categorized by its production output. Extensive farming operations are low density projects where little effort is used to stimulate rapid growth and development, often for environmental or economic reasons. The second category, intensive operations, apply to projects with high production densities, often the result of chemical or other inputs that increase the yield.