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The unprecedented growth of the aquaculture industry in recent decades, driven by increasing demand and consumption for seafood from a growing population, is reliant on the availability of suitable farming areas with adequate oceanic environmental parameters.
Led by Muhammed Oyinlola, researchers at CORU have published a new study in the journal PLoS One that identifies the marine areas that offer suitable environmental conditions for currently farmed aquatic species. Amongst the 102 most farmed marine species analyzed in the study, 7.2 million squared kilometres of ocean is suitable to farm one or more species, with more than 92% of the predicted area being suitable to farm fish, 87% for shellfish. Ultimately, the research aims to predict the spatial extent of area that is environmentally suitable for mariculture operations, and the results imply that factors other than environmental considerations, such as the lack of socio-economic and technological capacity, as well as aqua-feed supply, are currently limiting the potential for mariculture expansion in many areas.