SPECIES TROPHIC LEVEL INFLUENCE ON ECONOMICS IN AQUACULTURE Amir Neori* and Ana M.

Nobre Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Center for Mariculture, P.O. Box 1212, Eilat 88112, Israel. Presently on sabbatical at: Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093-0218. E-mail: aneori@gmail.com Capture fisheries produce mostly carnivorous animals, while aquaculture produces mostly species that are closer to the base of the food pyramid. Green water phytoplankton, used to feed filter feeding fish, is produced at about 250 million metric tons (MMT) y-1. Herbivorous & omnivorous carps total over a dozen MMT y-1. In mariculture, aquatic plants and filter feeding bivalves lead, at about 15 MMT y-1 each. All these species also command the lowest market value per kg in aquaculture. Is the low trophic level & low price feature a coincidence? How can it be understood? What does it imply to a seafood market that is dominated by cultured species? Here we examine the importance of ecological efficiency relative to additional considerations (e.g., consumer preferences, traditions, technology) in the determination of profitability and scale of production of Trophic level legend: aquatic species.
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Ecological efficiency does not seem to 4 be directly important to cost in capture 3 fisheries. In culture, however, it directly determines cost of feed and of waste 2 treatment, which are two of the main 1 production expenses. Waste also limits yield. The cultured species that are 0 close to the base of the food chain 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Unit value ($ ton-1) pyramid often use aquatic food resources more efficiently and produce less waste than the cultured predators. Most of aquaculture's leading organisms green water phytoplankton (food for filter feeders), filter feeder fish, seaweeds and bivalves are extractive species, i.e., they extract their nutrition from the water column, cleaning it as they grow. Carnivores are fed species, i.e., in culture they cant be grown on natural food. They must be fed a rich feed and discharge most of the nutrients they eat to the water as they grow. This is likely to be the reason that culture of salmon, the leading cultured aquatic carnivore, is at least twice as expensive per kg as the production of kelp, carps and bivalves. Expensive production technologies and feed, with negative impacts to environment and society, can price a high value fish 0 1 ( n i d o p e r t l c a u q A 6 n o t

Algae (1 ) Shellfish (2.00 ) Fish herbivores / detritivores (2.10 2.25) Omnivores (2.5) Carnivores ocasionally omnivores (<3) Carnivore - large (4)

out of the commodity seafood market and into niche seafood markets. A high value species is not necessarily a most profitable species in culture. Studies suggest that seafood consumers think with their wallet more than with their taste. This may explain why nine of ten leading species in world aquaculture belong to the 'low value' category, i.e., around or below a market value of US$ 1 kg-1, while production of the top carnivores is in smaller quantities and at least twice as expensive. Even in the US, low value catfish (233K MT, 1.7 US$ 1 kg-1) and not salmonids (33K MT, US$ 2.9 kg-1) lead production (2008 NOAA figures). It seems that overall, low trophic level organisms are profitable to aqua-culturists even though their revenue per kg is low, thanks to their low production cost and the large demand for 'low value' seafood. Plants, being the most ecologically efficient and friendly organisms, can be produced most cheaply (at or below US$ 0.5 kg-1). This may explain the leading position of five seaweed species at FAO's aquaculture production list (see figure). Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), where species from several complementing trophic levels e.g., seaweeds, herbivorous molluscs and carnivorous fish are co-cultivated, can improve the ecological efficiency of the culture, cut production cost and increase the overall sustainability of aquaculture.