An excerpt from the FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO):

THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

There is little doubt that worldwide aquaculture growth will slow, albeit with growth spurts for particular species and regions. The success of the industry is bringing out constraints that were only potential when it started to grow. These obstacles will not simply disappear. Persistent efforts will remove or reduce them, but then others will arise. However, it is equally true that aquaculture will continue to grow in response to demand for fish and seafood generally. It will not come to a standstill.

As aquaculture entrepreneurs – large and small, modern and artisanal – and governments increasingly collaborate to remove knowledge constraints (those they are best equipped to handle and those that yield the best returns for the effort), the aquaculture industry will start to reduce its dependence on wild stocks. Currently, its need for broodstock, seed and feeds slows development. Once this dependence has been reduced, the industry will start to benefit from gains similar to those long enjoyed by the livestock industry, in particular those of selective breeding.