In popular opinion, they are often seen as identical, yet their activities and impact on the environment significantly differ. In many cases, the only thing connecting them is the product – fish. The term fishery refers to wild fish, where the human role is limited to their catch and processing – the closest equivalent on land is hunting. Aquaculture, on the other hand, involves fish farming in a closed environment, where they are bred, fed, and reared by humans.
For thousands of years, when simple techniques were used, and fishing took place in inland waters and coastal marine areas, fisheries met the needs of local communities without threatening the biological balance of waters and wild fish populations. However, in the 20th century, the industry transformed into a highly specialized sector, with a global fleet of 4.6 million ships venturing into the sea every day.
Currently, more than 75% of existing global floating units are used to catch about 100 million tons of fish annually – five times more than in 1950. This has led to a situation where wild populations of many fish species have decreased by over 95%. It threatens their further survival and risks the collapse of fisheries at the current scale around the year 2040.
Hence, in the last 30 years, we have observed a rapid growth of aquaculture, perceived as a potential and more environmentally sustainable source of fish than fisheries. However, despite its scale increasing more than sixfold since 1990, only about 55 million tons of fish currently come from farms. Around 16 million tons of wild fish are caught annually for their feeding. They serve as raw materials for the production of fishmeal and fish oil for fodder purposes, 70% of which is consumed by fish. The further prospects for the development of aquaculture and, at the same time, the preservation of wild fish populations depend on reducing catches and fully detaching fish fodder production from marine resources.
The current scale of fisheries threatens the collapse of wild fish populations, and aquaculture production is insufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the growing human population. This threatens a significant reduction in fish supply in the coming years. The solution is further sustainable development of aquaculture – independent of fish catches for fodder purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop alternative sources of protein and fat, among which insect protein and fat, including products from Hermetia illucens, are considered to be one of the most promising.
Article author: Mateusz Rawski
