Fish Farming Books                                      

"This careful examination of the farming of a large number of different fish species sheds considerable light on ways in which fish farmers can scientifically determine their optimum stocking levels"
Professional Fisherman

Intensive systems require a high degree of technical and management skill, enabling fish to be produced on a predictable volume basis to correspond with the needs of modern food processing and distribution. Now available in paperback, Intensive Fish Farming explains, at a level suited to both the professional and the student, the environmental requirements of fish, the different husbandry systems used, the problems of reprduction, nutrition and disease control. The editors have assembled an international team of experts to provide one of the most authoritative and comprehensive reference works available in this field, meeting the needs of both the academic and commercial world. Separate chapters consider the different aspects of successful intensification operations drawing on examples from the marine farming industry of Japan and the freshwater farming industries of the USA and Israel. A concluding chapter highlights current world trends and future prospects. The overall emphasis of this exceptional text is on the technical and economic factors which determine success in this important growth area of food production.

Although this book provides information on warmwater aquaculture in the United States that should be useful to aquacultural suppliers, lending institutions, resource managers, interested citizens, and others, the principal purpose is to tell the fish farmer what is to be done, why it is to be done, and how to do it. The reader is provided with the essentials of successful warmwater fish farming. The emphasis in this book is clearly on channel catfish, ranging from maintenance of brood stock to the culture of fingerlings and the production of market-sized fish. However, production techniques are described for numerous other fishes of commercial importance, as well as for crayfish, prawns, bullfrogs, and alligators. Other topics of potential interest to practicing aquaculturists include polyculture; nutrition and feeding; harvesting, holding, and transporting of fish; parasites and diseases; and multiple use of land and water.

Fishing is the activity of catching fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as shellfish, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms. The term is not usually applied to catching aquatic mammals, such as whales, where the term whaling is more appropriate, or to farmed fish. In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational sport. According to FAO statistics, the total number of fishermen and fish farmers is estimated to be 38 million. Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct and indirect employment to over 500 million people. In 2005, the worldwide per capita consumption of fish captured from wild fisheries was 14.4 kilograms, with an additional 7.4 kilograms harvested from fish farms.