With Fisheries collapsing and becoming virtually non functioning across the globe, fish farming now accounts for 47% of global fish production compared to 9% of the stock in 1980, with salmon farmers representing the fastest-growing segment of the industry...............Global output of aquaculture expanded 12-fold between 1980 and 2010 to 60 million tons, while captured fish intake stabilized at 90 million tons, according to the latest data available from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which tracks fish production...................The use of antibioitcs and crowded pens create conditions for the spread of disease for farm raised fish as well as creating overly fatty fish, setting up consumers to ingest just the opposite of lean fresh catch fish...........In Norway, the USA, Japan, China and in every farm fish Country, conventional fish farms essentially consist of a floating ring onto which a net is fastened.............. These constructions are placed in fjords or close to the ocean shore, with each net holding hundreds of thousands of fish............... Water flow is more limited in these farms than in the open sea, which can lead to problems such as disease and pollution.................Of course(and unfortunately), it always seems that people are set on technological advances in aquaculture as the answer to "dirty farming" rather than cleaning up our oceans and rivers so that wild fisheries can recover their vibrancy.............Farming, whether on land or in the water has had humanity on a downward slide since it's inception 5000 years ago.........When you grow food rather than hunt it,,,,,you can feed larger and larger human populations that bring a heavier and more damaging footprint to the planet...........Can we ever wean ourselve off this non sustainable "tilling"?

* WSJ.com - Fish farming  companies are exploring  new, healthier techniques  amid growing global  demand for food. Subscriber-only content will be available to non-subscribers for up to seven days after it is emailed.