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Abstract
Aquaculture has expanded rapidly over the past half century and has surpassed capture fisheries as a source of seafood globally. However, most of the aquaculture production growth has occurred in developing countries. Despite early leadership in the global aquaculture industry, most developed countries have played only a minor role in the Blue Revolution. This paper examines the potential for developed nations to increase aquaculture production using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) based production. The United States is used as a case study to highlight potential benefits associated with RAS-based production for developed country producers. The paper examines potential marketing and production benefits associated with RAS-based production in developed countries and evaluates the potential for RAS to avoid some regulatory and social opposition obstacles that have hindered other forms of aquaculture in developed countries.
Disclosure statement
The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
Notes
1 While annual growth rates for aquacultured animal-source foods measured in percentage terms have been higher than common types of terrestrial animal production, poultry production has grown at a faster rate in quantity terms (Edwards et al., Citation2019).
2 Countries are categorized as developed based on the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects: 2023 Report classifications (https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-2023/).
3 Afewerki et al. (Citation2023) discuss how innovation in the regulatory system is as important as technological and market innovation in the context of the Norwegian salmon industry. Asche, Egger, et al. (2022) argue that the over-regulation is an example of the anti-commons, i.e. a setting where competing and sometimes overlapping regulations lead to a situation where natural resources are under-utilized.
4 In extensive aquaculture systems the production cycle is typically not closed and the control with the production process is limited. As the intensity increases, the aquaculture systems are typically categorized as semi-intensive and intensive as the degree of control increases (Klinger et al., Citation2013). Normally, the scale of the facilities also increases when the industry is becoming more intensive (Pandey et al., Citation2023), and the complexity of the supply chain increases as there are room for more specialized suppliers (Asche, Citation2008).
5 While innovations and productivity growth are the main causes of production growth, diseases are the most important natural causes limiting growth and where it takes place (Asche, Anderson, et al., Citation2021; Asche & Roll, Citation2013).
6 As such, one can argue that the production risk moves from natural factors that are important in extensive production processes such as for shellfish farming (Moor, Ropicki, Anderson, et al., Citation2022; Moor, Ropicki, & Garlock, Citation2022), towards technological factors. For semi-intensive systems, the risk profile will be a mix (Asche et al., Citation2017; Oglend & Soini, Citation2020).
7 Hersoug (Citation2021) and Osmundsen et al. (Citation2022) provide perspectives on the Norwegian governance system, Pincinato et al. (Citation2021) on mortality and Walde et al. (Citation2023) on the challenges associated with treating for lice.
8 In general, better control with the production process provides more margins a producer can optimize over.
9 The total seafood consumption per capita figures are from NMFS Citation2022. The species-specific numbers are from the National Fisheries Institute (Citation2022).
10 The percentages shown are in relation to production only for the 10 species shown and not total US aquaculture production of all species. All species quantity data is not available in NMFS (Citation2022).
11 Birkenbach et al. (Citation2017, Citation2020), also in a fisheries setting show how better management lengthens the harvest season and increase industry revenue as one can serve better paying markets.
12 Production per acre was calculated as total live weight pounds of catfish sold in the US divided by US water acres devoted to food-size and fingerling fish production. Broodfish acreage was not included since similar data was not available for Atlantic Sapphire who purchases eggs for stocking. The number overstates production per acre of land to some extent since it only accounts for water acreage and not land used in support of production.
13 In 2022 Atlantic Sapphire harvested 2,253 tonnes of head-on-gutted (HOG) salmon at their Florida facility which was estimated to have a live weight equivalent of 2,682 tonnes based on an industry conversion factor of 0.84 HOG to live weight (MOWI, Citation2022). This was accomplished in their Phase 1 production building which is 3.57 hectares. The land area used to measure productivity includes area within the building not directly used for fish production (office space) but does not include storage and parking outside the facility, similar to the catfish number it overstates production per acre of land to some extent. Additionally, while not unexpected for a company at the forefront of a nascent industry, it is important to note Atlantic Sapphire was not profitable in 2022.
14 Country classifications are based on the UN’s 2024 World Economic Situation and Prospects report (UN, Citation2024).
15 All hourly rates are in US dollars converted using 2017 purchasing power parities.