By 2050, the world population is expected to have grown to 9.8 billion people. That population will need to be fed every day, a difficult proposition given the challenges of a warming planet and the reduction of arable farmland. The sea can provide a solution for global sustenance with aquaculture, the controlled cultivation of aquatic animals in the sea or in inland waters.
Aquaculture is the fastest-growing form of food production in the world. It plays an increasingly pivotal role in addressing the problem of feeding a burgeoning population with fewer negative environmental impacts. The world's oceans already provide 17 percent of the animal protein consumed around the world, and fish farming is one of the most environmentally efficient, lesser resource-intensive, and eco-friendly ways to produce even more animal protein.