Abstract

Aquaculture is growing more rapidly than all other food animal-producing sectors; its contribution to global supplies of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Now days the capture fishery has declined and wild stocks diminished, the aquaculture industry has become an important source of seafood. Over the past 10 years, the contribution of capture fishery to global fish production has declined from 70.2 % in 2001 to 59.9 % in 2011. Simultaneously, aquaculture has steadily increased its contribution from 27.6 to 40.1 % at an average annual growth rate of approximately 6 %(www.fao.org/fishery/topic/16140/en). This unrivalled growth of global aquaculture has not been free of challenges and aquaculture will continue to face challenges as its expansion continues. In fact, a multitude of challenges, such as disease outbreaks and the rising cost of feed, are now threatening the sustainable growth of aquaculture. Among finfish, carps, barbels and other members of the cyprinids constitute 63 % of world aquaculture production with an estimated value of US $34 billion. These fish species have a relatively low value compared with other types of farmed fish such as salmon, trout and seabass, and are typically raised in simple pond systems where they are a food source for families in developing countries.