Learning   Portfolio

            Aquaculture is a new, promising field of agriculture that is seen as a highly effective method of sustainable development. As a lover of seafood myself, I found this section of chapter 10 very interesting. Aquaculture is a market that is growing very rapidly. It is “the newest and fastest growing food production sector” today. (Done) Small scale aquaculture has the potential to sustain the lives of people with a definitive source of protein. It seems as though aquaculture should really be seen as a good thing. It can reduce fishing and population hazards in the wild by having a controlled amount of aquatic life made purely for consumption. However, there are some downsides to aquaculture as it rises in popularity.

 

            One of these problems is the fact that aquaculture contributes to certain bacteria gaining resistance to antibiotics. “Resistant bacteria isolated from both aquaculture and agriculture share the same resistance mechanisms, indicating that aquaculture is contributing to the same resistance issues established by terrestrial agriculture.” (Done) What this means is, aquaculture has the same exact issues with bacteria resistance to antibiotics as agriculture. The real problem here lies in that many of the antibiotics used for animals kept in aquaculture and agriculture are the same kinds of antibiotics humans use. “Of 51 antibiotics commonly used in aquaculture and agriculture, 39 (or 76%) are also of importance in human medicine…” (Done) This built resistance to antibiotics harms people because the antibiotics they use are no longer effective. The growing popularity of aquaculture is majorly adding to this problem.

 

            Aquaculture definitely has a large impact on people and the environment it serves. It can be better understood through the study of sociology. Through sociology, scientists can gain a better understanding of how a community of people responds to the presence of aquaculture in their region. Environmental Impact Assessments, or EIAs, evaluate the influence aquaculture will have on a community. These reports are extremely important in urban areas, because every change to the environment can pose an economic or social threat, as well as the potential to harm the ecosystem. Right now, most discussions about the environmental impacts are solely based on economic values. “In the current economic climate, net economic gain and the contribution of a development to a country׳s GDP should not monopolise the discussions.” (Hadjimichael) The economic conversation is taking priority over social issues that coincide with environmental impacts. Recognizing social impacts of aquaculture is important, because it reflects the market of people that will be affected. “To ensure balanced decision making, EIAs should become integrated assessments that also explore the potential social impacts of a development and address the desires and concerns of these communities.” (Hadjimichael) The community’s opinions of aquaculture play an important role in its creation. By incorporating the public’s opinions of these economic and environmental changes, sociology is helping create change in communities.

 

            Aquaculture has the potential to uplift communities in a sustainable way, providing them with necessary food that can always be relied on and replenished. The concerns that accompany aquaculture are reflective of the concerns society faces with agriculture. As aquaculture grows in numbers, its impact on bacterial resistance to antibiotics also climbs. Because of the major impact aquaculture has on people, it is important to use sociology to include society’s concerns as a whole in the discussion of the use of aquaculture. Illustrating the importance of aquaculture can be difficult if it is overshadowed by the dangers it poses. A good counter to this would be to show people how an aquaculture plant works. Viewers could see the numbers themselves, and realize the effect aquaculture may have on the community. This can be achieved by not just using economic graphs and plots, but also can including common interests by showing pictures of a community using aquaculture as a food source. Real pictures of an aquaculture plant can give viewers a more realistic sense of its effect on society. By implementing inclusive ways to involve the public in the growth of aquaculture, it can continue to grow and help sustain communities for all people.