Focus areas for aquaculture in 2025

Most forms of agriculture were developed centuries ago and are now fully mature sectors that, from time-to-time,  benefit from minor refinements through the implementation of newly developed technologies.  Commercial fish farming (aquaculture), however, is different in that the industry is relatively young at about 60 years old, and is developing at a rapid rate.  Overlay this natural development with the significant benefits associated with swift advances in electronics, AI (artificial intelligence) and other fields, and it becomes apparent that aquaculture is an industry that is transforming quickly.  In this article we will look at some of the current areas of refinement towards efficiency, reduced environmental impact and cost effectiveness.
 
Genetics
Genetic improvement has been implemented in fish farming since the earliest days using selective breeding of parent fish that were perceived to hold the desirable traits.  Modern techniques, such as genome editing technologies, have added phenomenal accuracy and speed to the process, enabling specific genes to be selected to achieve a desired outcome.
 
Alternative feed ingredients
Using quality feed is imperative for commercial aquaculture, except possibly in the instance of integrated aquaculture, but the cost of feed is more than half of the total operational expenses on a fish farm.  Recent advances utilising fungi or insects in aquafeed demonstrate that the optimal amino acids and nutrients required by the fish can be supplied utilising these inputs, which are less expensive and more environmentally appropriate than the traditional fish meal and oil.  Black soldier fly larvae in particular show great promise in this area.
 
Precision aquaculture
The tactical use of specialised equipment such as cameras and meters enable the farmer to monitor the fish and/or the environment in which they live in real time.  Linking this to AI enables the remote monitoring of these components, along with remedial actions being implemented when parameters are outside of the target range.  Such close management results in very stable conditions which in turn promote optimal health and well-being of the fish.
 
It has recently been demonstrated that video cameras linked to AI to observe the movement patterns of fish can identify individuals which move differently to the group.  This is often linked to health related challenges, and such early detection enables the cause of the health problem to be identified and dealt with prior to most of the population displaying symptoms.  This again fosters excellent growth and performance by the fish which live under continuously stable conditions.
 
Accurate feeding
Various techniques are employed to provide the correct amount of feed as required by the fish, without any waste of this expensive resource.  Hand feeding to satiation is often relied upon but remains subjective, as it depends on the feeders perception of how hungry the fish are, and therefore cannot be optimal.  Utilising automatic feeders linked to cameras and AI to monitor the behaviour of the fish and feed whilst activity levels exceed a set threshold, is an advancement that seeks to take the subjectivity out of this very important part of raising fish.
 
Circular systems
In our modern world we have become aware that our actions can have an impact on the environment in which we operate.  As the aquaculture industry develops scale, the potential for a diversity of impacts becomes an increasing reality, and one we seek to understand and minimise.  Technologies that reduce the use of resources, and recycle and reuse wastes are becoming popular, especially where these have been demonstrated to have the ability to return attractive economic returns as well.  Aquaponics is an example of such a technology i.e. the wastewater from the fish, which contains solids and dissolved organic nutrients, is directed through an area in which plants are grown.  The plant crops strip these nutrients from the water and grow, leaving the clean water to return to the fish.  Supplementation of iron, calcium and potassium may be required according to the composition of the source water and the crop type that is being grown.  Aquaponics has certainly shown itself to be a profitable method of producing both plant and fish crops utilising integrated infrastructure and resources.
 
Solid waste collected from the filters of a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) can be dried and fed to black soldier fly larvae, which are then fed to the fish, or utilised to produce biogas that can run a generator to supply power to the RAS.
 
Aquaponics produces vegetable crops utilising the wastes from the fish production systems, and cleans the water to return to the fish

Urban systems
The two largest logistic cost components on a fish farm relate to getting feed to the farm and transporting the fish to the market.  Positioning the production facility close to either the feed source or market can make a profound difference to the profitability of a fish farm, and systems such as RAS and aquaponics allow for this.
 
As the aquaculture industry grows and rapidly incorporates these and other new technologies it is expected that the industry will continue to refine processes, increase efficiency and become even more viable, all with a decreased impact on the environment in which it operates.