The notion of aquaculture refers to a set of techniques which is used to cultivate water species , both animals and plants. These are procedures that allow raising organisms aquatic for different purposes
Aquaculture can develop in saltwater or in sweet water . In some cases, specialists work under controlled and artificially arranged conditions. They can also develop their work in the natural environment, intervening in different ways.
It is important to keep in mind that the origins of aquaculture are very old. Several millennia before Christ , in China , were already developing practices of this type, especially with carp fish. In medieval times, aquaculture also began to become popular in the European continent.
More precisely, there is reference to examples of aquaculture dating from the 3800 a. C. ; two millennia later the legislature already protected fishermen from thieves, and in the 475 a. C. a treaty on carpentry was signed.
When the nature allows, aquaculture develops in lagoons, rivers or seas, for example. Appealing to different structures, it is possible to sow mussels, oysters and other species on the seabed. These extensive systems , anyway, they are not the most usual. Aquaculture is usually carried out in a way semi-intensive or intensive , even in swimming pools or artificial ponds.
The intervention by the human being and the use of technology take place to a much greater extent in the systems of intensive and semi-intensive cultivation than in the extensive ones: there is greater control, but the yield is also higher.
A clear example of the aquaculture system semi-intensive It is the use of floating cages to grow fish in lakes or in the sea. Although in this case water is not provided through a system of pumping , since it is the one found naturally in the environment, it is necessary to add food and control the crop.
Semi-open or open circuit channels, and ponds, on the other hand, can also be used to carry out such a cultivation system, since they allow taking advantage of the Water current; This is very frequently seen in truticulture (trout farming).
On the other hand, there are crops called intensive, which are usually carried out in facilities that are not directly in the natural environment, but in properly insulated pools or tanks with technical systems that are responsible for capturing and recirculating water. Through this type of system, both the environment and individuals undergo a control absolute.
As can be deduced from the characteristics, intensive aquaculture is much more expensive economically than semi-intensive, and in general than any of the less dependent systems of technology ; In addition, it requires much more control throughout the process to generate satisfactory results. However, this is offset by higher yield and remarkable productive potential, as evidenced by various experiences in the field.
By developing aquaculture isolated from the natural environment, specialists can control the different variables with greater precision, a peculiarity that helps increase the productivity .
The salmon farming (salmon and trout farming), the carpentry (tents ) and the shrimp farming (shrimp) are some of the most frequent variants of aquaculture, an activity of great economic importance since it allows obtaining sources of food and resources for different industries.
There are also crops auxiliary , which are used to gather the necessary food for the individuals of the main crops, such as mollusks or fish; In this group we find microinvertebrates (such as being cladoceros, Thamnocephalus, Dendrocephalus, Artemia salina and rotifers) and microalgae (among which stand out Tetraselmis, Isochrisis and Chlorella).
