Using mangroves for aquaculture - Why should we?

Abstract

Although brackishwater ponds have been a major factor in mangrove loss in Southeast Asia where aquaculture is centuries-old, the “No Touch option” for mangroves is a luxury that most countries in the region cannot afford. So the question is not whether mangroves and aquaculture are compatible, but how best to integrate them so that mangrove services are maximized while some benefits from aquaculture remain? A review of “mangrove-friendly aquaculture” or MFA in Southeast Asia shows that while some technologies are traditional, others are government-driven (rather than research-based, to mitigate social conflict). MFA may be sited in subtidal waterways (e.g., seaweeds, bivalves) or the intertidal forest -- Hong Kong gei wai, Indonesian tambak tumpang sari, Vietnam mixed mangrove-shrimp farm systems and mangrove pens for mudcrab in Malaysia.