Aquaculture, although intended  as a sustainable solution to overfishing wild populations, has introduced a variety of problems with its unsustainable practices. The rapidly growing industry has resulted in the destruction of ecosystems, both in and out of the water. Fecal waste from the fish and fish food cause eutrophication and contamination of the underwater ecosystems. Also contributing to contamination, is antibiotics. Critical coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves and wetlands, are destroyed to make a place for fish farms to be built. Pressure on wild fish is not reduced, due to farmed fish being fed wild stock. Farmed fish are grown on a diet which includes other fish, this fish is caught from wild stock, thus depleting populations instead of helping to ease the stress on overfishing. The tightly packed enclosures invite parasites and diseases, which can be spread into the open water and affect marine life. The development of aquaculture sites displaces local communities due to control of the land by large, wealthy groups.¹ 

The image above is a systems thinking diagram, created to show the connections between different areas of the unsustainable aquaculture industry. Boxes in the diagram show causes in green, impacts in blue and solutions in pink. Lines drawn between the boxes show how they are connected, a plus or minus at the beginning of the line indicates whether the connection is positive or negative.

Causes of unsustainable aquaculture include a growing global demand for inexpensive fish, large and wealthy companies buying out land to farm, the use of tightly packed enclosures, chemicals and antibiotics, a solution to overfishing wild stock and living conditions for fish in enclosures. These causes come from the overall theme of big groups trying to get as much fish out into the market as quickly as possible, all while pulling in large profits.

These causes work to create impacts on the environment that change the way systems work and people are able to function.

Impacts include antibiotics needed for fish living in over packed enclosures, a decline in wild fish populations, farmed fish suffering from infection and parasites, destruction of wetlands and mangroves, escaped fish from farms, fisherman unable to catch as much fish as they had previously, displacement of coastal communities, eutrophication, ocean pollution and contamination, the use of wild fish as a source of food for farmed fish and land grabbing. All of these impacts interlock and affect each other.

Possible solutions include abiding by carrying capacity rules of the environment or enclosure, enacting policies that will incentivize sustainable practices, farming fish low on the food chain or vegetarian fish and the development of new technology.

Looking at the connections between each square in the systems diagram, it is clear that each aspect of the diagram is influenced by or influencing something else. Since everything flows into each other, a change in one area of the diagram would impact other areas. If there are sustainable practices implemented into the system, then it could potentially help to reduce the negative impacts of several problem areas.

The growing global demand for fish is the forefront of all of the developments in the aquaculture industry. Due to high demand of fish, the industry is seen as profitable, thus attracting large wealthy companies. Large companies have the upper hand in claiming land and pushing out anyone who can’t compete with them. The land grabbing and destruction on wetland and mangroves push out local communities. Large companies, if they are only concerned with making a profit, have a hand in all of the negative things that happen as a result of their unsustainable practices. If large companies reform their aquaculture farms and implement sustainable practices for their fish, the environment and surrounding people, then many of the problems could be reduced or eliminated. Many of the impacts are consequences of getting things done quickly, without assessing the outcomes. These outcomes affect, as stated before, local communities, by destroying a resource rich ecosystem, as well as fisherman. 

Fishermen face unintended consequences of large companies taking over and moving things quickly. The use of wild fish as fish food for farmed fish takes a large toll of the catch of fisherman, impacting their access to wild stock, which in turn will impact how much they are able to sell and how much money they are able to make to support their businesses and their own livelihoods.

Although aquaculture has the idea of letting up on some of the take away from wild populations, a decline in wild fish populations is one of the boxes with the most arrows pointed toward it, meaning it is affected by many aspects of the aquaculture industry. The impact on wild populations is a negative impact on the livelihoods of fisherman, but also on the growth of farmed fish. If farmed fish are causing wild populations to decline and farmed fish rely on wild populations as part of their diet, the farmed fish will also be affected by the decline of wild populations as an unintended consequence.

Poor living conditions for fish in the aquaculture industry is one of the largest contributors to ocean pollution and destruction and the health issues which fish face. This cause is linked to disease and contamination, not something people want to see in connection with the growth of their food. Living conditions which invite diseases and parasites are a source of many other problems and fixing this problem would result in a better quality product and improvements to the surrounding marine environment.

The use of antibiotics is one source of contaminants, which affects the health of wild fish populations as well as the cleanliness of the ocean. Antibiotics are generally a precautionary measure added to the fish food regularly so that the fish don’t get sick, which pumps a lot of unnecessary antibiotics into their system and into the ocean as well. 

Ocean pollution and destruction is a piece of the diagram which can be looked at as an unintended consequence, The pollution and destruction which is inflicted upon the marine environment is a result of, again, the approach of doing things quickly and inexpensively. This impact is one which is connected to a much larger picture, which is not pictured on the chart, the whole health of the ocean and all that lives in it. 

Looking at the systems thinking diagram helps to put together the whole picture and see where things are taking effect and being affected by other things. The diagram narrows down some of the most problematic areas, as seen with the decline in the wild fish populations. It highlights the areas where there is the most cross traffic between categories, showing what is most impacted. Looking at the example of decline in wild fish populations again, this category is impacted by so many different impacts. It looks a little overwhelming, but looking at how all of the impacts are connected makes it a little easier to process. Fixing one problem, like using wild fish in a farmed fish’s diet, is something that won’t fix everything. However, if that problem was fixed, then there would be a whole domino effect to follow, some of which may be expected, but some which may be a positive unintended consequence. If everything is altered little by little, then the connections will mend themselves.

Bibliography

¹ Blulab. “Aquaculture.” Slow Food, www.slowfood.com/slowfish/pagine/eng/pagina–id_pg=44.lasso.html.