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Melody of the hidden world: A discussion on aquaculture and its benefits 

20 Apr 2021

The Leo Club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura hosted a webinar on threats to our oceans and aquaculture in collaboration with The Pearl Protectors on 18 April featuring a range of environmentalists. The panellists for the webinar were Co-ordinator of The Pearl Protectors and Economist Muditha Katuwawala, Awareness Co-ordinator of The Pearl Protectors and SDG Consultant Avishka Sendanayake, Advocacy Co-ordinator of The Pearl Protectors and LLB Consultant Maleesha Gunawardana, and intersectional environmentalist, advocate for sustainable living, and Member of The Pearl Protectors Alina Fernando.  The discussion began with an explanation of aquaculture, which is the farming of aquatic organisms including molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic plants, which, they list as a means to protect the ocean. Aquaculture has a tradition of about 4,000 years. It began in China, possibly due to the desires of an emperor to have a constant supply of fish. It is speculated that the techniques for keeping fish in ponds originated in China with fishermen who kept their surplus catch alive temporarily in baskets submerged in rivers or small bodies of water created by damming one side of a river bed. Another possibility is that aquaculture developed from ancient practices for trapping fish, with the operations steadily improving from trapping-holding to trapping-holding-growing, and finally into complete husbandry practices.    “Fisheries existed long before aquaculture” - Muditha Katuwawala  Describing the effects that high tides have on coastal shores and estuaries, Muditha Katuwawala explained that they fill up with water causing marine organisms to inhabit the area in search of food, nursing or spawning. If the sand in these rocky tidal flats recede, these marine organisms become trapped. Once humans see this, they harvest these organisms from there. “With the development of aquaculture, humans developed the concept of aquaculture management in which they opt to only harvest the larger animals and leave the smaller ones alone.” Before the development of aquaculture, fisheries were in place; in today's current world, both fisheries and aquaculture sectors are blooming.  “There is a chance that sustainable fishing tools can reduce the impact that fishing has on the oceans, but overall, the sad fact remains that the majority of the fishers don’t use these equipment, which is why aquaculture is a necessity.”    The importance of aquaculture  Listing a few reasons why this is a necessary procedure, Katuwawala explained that it helps to rebuild populations of threatened and endangered species and they also aid in breeding fish for zoos and aquariums. “33% of the global fisheries stock are threatened and vulnerable due to overexploitation. The reason we don’t see big fish when diving is due to overexploitation, which is where aquaculture comes in in order to prevent this.”  Aquaculture not only helps save the coast, but also helps contribute to livelihoods. People that live in coastal areas have a way to earn a living and it also contributes to employment and export earnings. The fish sourced from aquaculture are also extremely high in protein, which contributes to the development of nutritional status of undernourished people.    Farming methods  The oldest type of fish farming is the pond system, which originated thousands of years ago. Pond farms include earthen ponds, ditch or canal systems, with clay-based soils that can easily be diked to make enclosures. Katuwawala explained that the fact that they are self-contained and can be used for several different types of fish at once makes them an optimal choice for farmers. “When handled properly, ponds have a wealth of potential. Because they’re situated inland, or at least isolated from larger bodies of water, it’s relatively simple to send the waste water into side pools to be processed, or used as fertiliser. This significantly reduces the negative effects of pond enclosures on the natural environment.”  He added that there are many other farming methods that can help aquaculture continue sustainably and thereby protecting our oceans. 


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