Genetics and Breeding in Aquaculture : Proceedings of the 44th U.S.–Japan Aquaculture Panel Symposium

Intensification of aquaculture production has caused environmental deterioration associated with water and sediment eutrophication and consequent harmful algal bloom, hypoxia and sulfide production, resulting in sporadic mass fish kills in some parts of the world. Eutrophication is harmful for not only the cultured fish but also surrounding environments. In contrast, eutrophication has been reduced in coastal waters of Japan because of diminished production and improved feeding management of finfish aquaculture and/ or enforcement of the Total Pollutant Load Control System, issued by the Ministry of the Environment in 1979, which regulates the allowable amount of terrestrial nitrogen/phosphorus discharge to the sea. The oligotrophication (relative to the past) of coastal 2 waters is considered to have brought about a decline in carrying capacity of the coastal environment, causing in part a continuous decrease in some coastal fishery resources and reduced productivity in molluscan and algal aquaculture. Benthic fish fisheries production in Seto Inland Sea, for instance, has decreased markedly, and the fishery production of the benthic fish was found to be negatively correlated with the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) level in the coastal water (Handa and Harada, 2012). 2016 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) NWFSC (Northwest Fisheries Science Center) Submitted Public Domain 1864