Aquaculture is the farming of fish, shrimp, abalones, algae, and other seafood. Aquaculture supplies fish, such as catfish, salmon, and trout. It was developed a few thousand years ago in China. Aquaculture supplies over 20% of all the seafood harvested.
Fish farming has been practiced, in some parts of the world, for thousands of years. Goldfish originated about a thousand years ago in carp farms in China, and the Roman Empire farmed oysters and other seafood. Today, half of the seafood eaten in the U.S. is farmed. To help meet the growing global demand for seafood, aquaculture is growing fast.