Agencies like the World Bank also should provide funding to rehabilitate ecosystems degraded by aquaculture and to locate fishponds away from fragile mangroves and other coastal wetlands.

The authors suggest that fish farmers adopt "polyculture systems," in which different species are raised in the same facility. In Chile, for example, farmers grow salmon and red algae together. Body wastes produced by the salmon help fertilize the algae, which is then sold as a separate cash crop.

According to Naylor, consumers in the United States and other industrialized countries can do their part by ordering fewer shrimp cocktails and more oysters or grilled tilapia.

"People can still buy Pacific salmon, as long it comes from wild places like Alaska's Copper River area," she adds.

"We want people to understand the farming process so they can make better choices at the market," notes Mooney. "We're not saying, 'Stop aquaculture!' We just want the industry to be more careful and help sustain the resource we're all dependent on."

'"/>

Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
28-Jun-2000