Aquaculture: Potential Development

Abstract

Toward the end of the twentieth century, the human population on earth is still increasing at an average rate of 1.8% per annum (Global 2000 Report, 1980). The world population is expected to reach 6 billion just before the turn of the century. The rate of human population increase is not evenly distributed in time or space. We assume in developed countries this rate will be 0.6% per annum during the next 50 years. In the less developed countries, human population is expected to increase by 2.1% per year between 1980 and 2000. This rate is expected to decrease to 1.5% per year during the period between 2000 and 2030. Summing these rates yields the frightening figure of 9.3 billion people on this planet in the year 2000 (Table 1). Unchecked human population growth is the major vector dominating life processes on earth, including man’s. The negative repercussions of this vector on the environment are numerous: water, land, and atmospheric pollution; destruction of natural habitats, resulting in the extinction of species; uncontrolled hunting of wild animal populations (Africa); and overfishing.