Sustainable aquaculture: developing the promise of aquaculture

As experience with aquaculture grows worldwide, the concept of sustainable aquaculture is increasingly recognized to incorporate both spatial and temporal dimensions of environmental, economic, and social parameters. Practitioners have discovered that sustainable aquaculture must not only maximize benefits, but also minimize accumulation of detriments, as well as other types of negative impacts on natural and social environment. Therefore, sustainable aquaculture development must be advanced in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and that protects the quality of the environment for other users, while it is equally important for society to protect the quality of the environment for aquaculture. This paper provides a brief review of the worldwide aquaculture development in the last decade, and gives a few examples of sustainable aquaculture activities in the coastal areas that are using natural coastal habitats and ecosystems. Based on already existing national and international efforts to promote sustainable aquaculture, key recommendations are provided, including what should be the next proactive steps. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.