In 1855 the United States government entered into marine aquaculture with research and restoration hatcheries for Atlantic cod (
Gladus morhua), other gadoids, and even herring, at Woods Hole and Gloucester MA. They achieved large releases of juvenile cod at commercial scales by 1878 using lobster (
Homarus americanus) propagation techniques adapted from Gunnar Sars of Christiania, Norway. This activity was spurred by observations from Sir Thomas Cochrane, Admiral of the Red and Commander, British North Atlantic Fleet, reporting in 1848 to the British Admiralty on the declining cod fishery, based on first hand reports from the fishing fleets around Halifax, Nova Scotia. With this spectacular start to marine fish culture in the United States, immediately on top of a successful freshwater fish culture program with the successful transplantation of Atlantic shad (
Alosa sapidissima) from the east to the west coasts, the benefits of fish culture to commercial fisheries were readily accepted at the time. A more recent example of aquaculture supported fisheries starting in 1974 is the not for profit Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation, which has produced the largest agricultural crop in Alaska: Pink Salmon (
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from its five hatcheries
distributed around Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Now, in the beginning of the 21
st century, these examples of aquaculture assisted monoculture facilities are being increasingly operated alongside near shore marine aquaculture farms for fish, shellfish and marine algae along with inshore closed cycle production facilities for marine, brackish and freshwater fish, crustaceans and invertebrate species. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) production systems are beginning to help support the growing demand for seafood and fish for a steadily increasing population in the presence of stable or declining wild capture fisheries production.
IMTA is neither new, nor exotic, having been a practical food production technology in Asia for some 3000 years.1500 years ago IMTA was in common practice in Hawaii providing highly productive, integrated terrestrial and marine food culture systems extending from the cloud forest to man-made contained coastal lagoons. With new numerical modeling tools developed in the European Union to help understand and predict ecosystem interactions with aquaculture, manage aquaculture production and allow successful integration of marine and freshwater aquaculture with freshwater and marine fisheries production of food and industrial products, we are now in the position to achieve the sustainable marine spatial planning, integrated ecosystem management of watersheds and sustainable aquatic food production systems so long sought.
