Write by Guillaume Lourmiere the 1 July 2025
In aquaculture, not everything is perfect, there are really good things but also terribly wrong things done, some practices should be encouraged and others condemned. It’s a fact, to adequately feed everyone, aquaculture must develop, but not just anyhow and not just anywhere.
In general, multinational aquaculture companies, governments, and private research base their model on the agriculture’s development one, which is, ever-increasing technology (therefore more energy consumption), higher density in farms, greater intensity, less diversification of farmed species (monocultures), and above all, more profits for some while others lose their livelihoods. We have seen this in agriculture and we are seeing it today in aquaculture, these practices lead to hyper-specialization of production (ultra-intensive monocultures), an ever-increasing distance between production and consumption areas, disease transmission facilitated by high stocking densities, the ever-increasing use of antibiotics and chemicals, the enrichment of large companies and their shareholders at the expense of small producers and consumers, the creation of monopolies or semi-monopolies, and the destruction of fragile ecosystems that are essential for human populations and for wild fauna and flora.
In this context, from an aquaculture perspective, not all countries are in the same boat. There are those that already overproduce, those that have reached their environmental production limits, and those that can and must develop their aquaculture to achieve food security for their populations.
Tomorrow’s Aqua works to develop aquaculture where it’s needed, that is to say, in countries where food security is not yet achieved, and in countries that over-consume terrestrial animals (developed countries) even though they have underexploited aquaculture potential. Tomorrow’s Aqua also seeks to transfer and popularize scientific aquaculture knowledge so that as many people as possible can use it and adapt it to their local conditions. And of course, to learn from aquaculture farmers who possess immense traditional knowledge, that are too often ignored or disregarded by large corporations, private scientists, and governments.
Indeed, we live in a world where technological solutions are the only ones being promoted (in aquaculture and in all economic sectors), despite all the data, analyses, and historical perspective that demonstrate the limitations of this thinking and development. Unfortunately, this is far too often the only alternative promoted, whether in some universities, in most businesses or among farmers and consumers.
According to Tomorrow’s Aqua, aquaculture must focus on the farming of low-trophic species (micro- and macroalgae, bivalves and gastropods, detritivorous crustaceans, omnivorous fish, etc.) whose primary purpose is to provide quality food for local populations, not for export in large quantities to developed countries. Some species simply shouldn’t be farmed because they are only useful for a minority to maximize profits at the expense of the environment, workers, consumers, wild animals, the living conditions of farmed animals, and the people who live near aquaculture-related areas (ultra-intensive farms, processing plants, forage fishing areas, etc.). These include, for example, exclusively predatory marine fish (salmon, tuna, etc.), cephalopods (octopuses), sturgeons farmed for their caviar, and many others.
This vision is not encouraging, but neither is it pessimistic, it tries to be realistic. Tomorrow’s Aqua believes that we can always do better without being overly idealistic. Of course, there are economic issues to consider, but we must keep in mind that money is not edible.
Changing mentalities will take time, but younger generations understand that the production-driven world has reached its limits, and tomorrow they will be in charge of the power all over the world. Aquaculture will change because we simply will no longer have the possibility to continue as we are doing.
This vision of aquaculture is general, fortunately there are many alternatives in the world, producers, scientists, NGOs and governments can also be examples and inspirations to create a better future together.