Knives in Aquaculture
The term Aquaculture is used when referring to the cultivation of fresh water and salt water organisms. It is not like fishing, aquaculture entails the farming of aquatic populations (ie fish) under controlled conditions, you have probably heard the terms fish farming, shrimp farming and oyster farming. All of these are farmed in a controlled manner. China has been using Aquaculture for many thousands of years. When rivers run low they take the trout from the river, keep is in smaller enclosed areas and farm the fish to eat, until their rivers return to normal, and the supply of fish is plentiful again.
Much of the fish we eat is through fish farming, if we take salmon for instance, most people will think that this fish is caught from the sea naturally. They would be right in one respect it is from the sea, but it certainly isn’t natural, many of these salmon spend their two years lives in cages in the sea, before being brought to the surface and being de-boned to put on our dinner plates. These sorts of salmon are reliant on humans for food and for their protection against disease. There are more natural fish farms however, but these tend to be smaller and family owned concerns.
When looking into the fish products that are sold on shelves in the supermarket, then you get a good idea just how much fish farming goes on in the United Kingdom. There is plenty supply of tuna and salmon, most of these products are kept out of their natural environment until they are at an ideal weight to sell on, then its onto the dinner table for these fish.
It is not all though, who use farming of fish to get their food, spearfishing is still used in some parts of the world, the use of knives (Messer) on the end of long sticks to enable the human to catch their prey is used. In the western world though it is considered to be more a sport, than an actual need for food.
Since healthy eating became trendy again, so did fish, such as salmon, tuna and other fish which are deemed good for you. In Japan the new super food is Sushi, with Sushi bars opening all over Japan, and catching on to western countries such as England and the USA. Although people think of this as just raw fish that it on offer, it is actually fish that has been fermented (usually in a certain kind of vinegar) to bring out the taste of the fish. The fish is wrapped with tofu, or rice and seaweed is used to form the roll or the wrap. Sushi is just one of the reasons for which acquaculture has become so popular, and the need for fish has become overwhelming. There are companies who specialise in acquaculture and make a good living from it, training new people to work in the acquaculture farms.
While ever there is a need for fish, there will be a need for acquaculture. Once the fish has been farmed and sold in the shops, it ends up on your dinner table, on a plate, cooked with pepper from a pepper mill (Pfeffermühle) adding a hint of spice to the otherwise bland dish.