Aquaculture in desert and arid lands: development constraints and opportunities

Aquaculture in desert and arid lands has been growing steadily over the last decade thanks to the modern technologies and alternative energy sources that have allowed water in these places of extremes to be exploited more effectively and more efficiently, using it for both crop irrigation and production of fish. This publication presents the evolution of desert and arid lands aquaculture in the past few decades in seven countries and regions (Australia, Egypt, Israel, Mexico, Southern Africa, the United States of America and Central Asia) describing the achievements of a number of farming operations, which demonstrate the significant potential for farming commercial aquatic organisms using geothermal, fresh and brackish waters. The global overview on desert aquaculture development shows, through the use of maps and tables, those countries with vast extensions of arid territories that should be better investigated for potential aquaculture development. Limiting factors were extensively discussed during the workshop, and several measures were identified and proposed. Desert conditions are characterized by high day temperatures, cold winter nights, high solar radiation, scarce precipitation and very low relative humidity. The experts reached consensus on the definition of aquaculture in the desert and arid lands, which was defined as follows: “Aquaculture activities practised in desert and arid lands characterized by low precipitation (<250 mm/year), high solar radiation, high rate of evaporation, using subsurface and surface water”. At the end of the workshop, a series of recommendations were elaborated by the experts to assist FAO Member countries wishing to generate a favourable national environment to promote sustainable aquaculture development. Limited water supply remains the single largest constraint for aquaculture development in arid and semi-arid regions; however, where the resource is available, the development of integrated aqua-agriculture systems may certainly provide economic output opportunities from such resource-limited regions. Such farming systems may also enable the production of highly priced fish, vegetables and fruits all year round.