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Abstract In modem times, there have not been many primary industries in the I’ world that have recorded consistent annual growth over a period of two decades or so. Aquaculture is one of these, a sector that has not only achieved regular annual growth on a global basis, but is also continuing its expansion. Aquaculture is anticipated to account increasingly for the shortfall in aquatic food supply that would result from the population increase projected until 2025 (Hempel, 1993; Williams, 1996; Sverdrup- Jensen, 1997) and the leveling off, if not the dwindling, of the returns from wild fisheries (Botsford et al., 1997; Ye, 1999). Global aquaculture production excluding aquatic plants has increased from 13,724,214 metric tons (mt) in 1991 to 35,585,111 mt in 2000. The value (in thousand US$) of aquaculture production has also increased from 25,611,354 to 50,859,147 (FAO, 2002). Over the last decade, the world has witnessed sharp increase in aquaculture Production in many developingcountries (FAO, 2002). It is very likely that global aquaculture production will continue to increase, and much of this will occur in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America (Hasan, 2001). Marine aquaculture plays an important role in aquaculture production. The increase in demand for marine products, accompanied by shortage in supply through fishing, has encouraged the development of marine aquaculture. Therefore, marine aquaculture production (excluding aquatic plants) has increased from 5,375,264 mt in 1991 to 14,145,008 mt in 2000 with value (in thousand US$) increased from 13,038,088 to 24,625,242, respectively (FAO, 2002). |