Fish have been a major component of our diet and it has been suggested that fish/seafood consumption contributed to the development of the human brain, and this together with the acquisition of bipedalism, perhaps made us what we are. In the modern context global fish consumption is increasing. However, unlike our other staples, until a few years back the greater proportion of our fish supplies were of a hunted origin. This scenario is changing and a greater proportion of fish we consume now is of farmed origin.Aquaculture, the farming of waters, is thought to have originated in China, many millennia ago. Nevertheless, it transformed into a major food sector only since the second half of the last century, and continues to forge ahead, primarily in the developing world. China leads the global aquaculture production in volume, in the number of species that are farmed, and have contributed immensely to transforming the practices from an art to a science. This book attempts to capture some of the key elements and practices that have contributed to the success of Chinese aquaculture. The book entails contributions from over 100 leading experts in China, and provides insights into some aquaculture practices that are little known to the rest of the world. This book will be essential reading for aquaculturists, practitioners, researchers and students, and planners and developers.

List of Contributors xxixForeword xxxviiPreface xxxixAcknowledgments xliSection 1 Notable Developments in Chinese Aquaculture in the Past Few Decades 11.1 Contribution of Chinese Aquaculture to the Sector, Globally, and to Overall Food Security 3Jiansan Jia, Weiming Miao, Junning Cai, and Xinhua Yuan1.2 Inland Aquaculture: Trends and Prospects 25Zhongjie Li, Jiashou Liu, Qidong Wang, and Sena S. De Silva1.3 Mariculture: Developments, Present Status and Prospects 38Qingyin Wang, Hui Liu, and Juan Sui1.4 Chinese Aquaculture: Its Contribution to Rural Development and the Economy 55Ningsheng Yang1.5 Species Composition in Chinese Aquaculture with Reference to Trophic Level of Cultured Species 70Qisheng Tang, Dong Han, Xiujuan Shan, Wenbing Zhang, and Yuze MaoSection 2 Traditionally Farmed Species/Species Groups and Farming Practices 932.1 Grass Carp: The Fish that Feeds Half of China 95Congxin Xie, Jiale Li, Dapeng Li, Yubang Shen, Yu Gao, and Zhimin Zhang2.2 Typical Cases of Silver Carp Culture 116Guiwei Zou, Dan Wang, and Xiangzhong Luo2.3 Developments in Common Carp Culture and Selective Breeding of New Varieties 125Xuesong Hu, Yanlong Ge, Chitao Li, Zhiying Jia, Mei Shang, Shihui Wang, and Lianyu Shi2.4 Crucian Carp and Gibel Carp Culture 149Zhou Li, Zhong?]Wei Wang, Yang Wang, and Jian?]Fang Gui2.5 Recent Developments in Bream Culture: Culture Systems and Genetic Improvement 158Weimin Wang and Zexia Gao2.6 Integrated Rice?]Field Aquaculture in China, A Long?]Standing Practice, with Recent Leapfrog Developments 174Jiashou Liu, Qidong Wang, Jing Yuan, Tanglin Zhang, Shaowen Ye, Wei Li, Zhongjie Li, and Jian?]Fang GuiSection 3 Emerging Cultured Species/Species Groups 1853.1 Freshwater Pearl Culture 187Jiale Li, Xiaoping Wu, and Zhiyi Bai3.2 Chinese mitten Crab Culture: Current Status and Recent Progress Towards Sustainable Development 197Yongxu Cheng, Xugan Wu, and Jiayao Li3.3 Culture of the Oriental River Prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense) 218Fu Hongtuo and Shubo Jin3.4 Mud Crab, Scylla paramamosain China's Leading Maricultured Crab 226Yuanyou Li, Chunxiang Ai, and Lijie Liu3.5 Sturgeon Culture: Status and Practices 234Deguo Yang, Guojun Ma, and Dajiang Sun3.6 Snakehead Culture 246Xiuqi Li, Qinglei Meng, and Nan Xie3.7 Mandarin Fish Culture: Status and Development Prospects 256Guocheng Yao, and Wei Li3.8 The Success of Yellow Catfish Aquaculture in China: From Rare Wild Fish to Popular Farmed Fish 270Dapeng Li, Congxin Xie, Xugang He, Rong Tan, Xing Tian, Zhimin Zhang, and Yu Gao3.9 Aquaculture of the Paddy Eel, Monopterus albus 283Daiqin Yang, Fang Chen, and Guoliang Ruan3.10 Aquaculture of the Large Yellow Croaker 297Shixi Chen, Yongquan Su, and Wanshu Hong3.11 Flatfish Farming 309Changtao Guan, Yuxia Ding, Aijun Ma, Yufen Wang, Jun Li, Qi Ni, Xuezhou Liu, Qiyao Wang, Kangsen Mai, Hong Lin, Bin Huang, and Zhengyong Yang3.12 Rabbitfish - an Emerging Herbivorous Marine Aquaculture Species 329Yuanyou Li, Qinghao Zhang, and Yang Liu3.13 Soft?]Shelled Turtle Culture 335Zhong Yang He, and Haiqi Zhang3.14 Hard?]Shelled Turtle Culture 353Xinping Zhu and Jian ZhaoSection 4 Alien Species in Chinese Aquaculture 3634.1 Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) Cultivation in China: A Decade of Unprecedented Development 365Qidong Wang, Huaiyu Ding, Zhonghu Tao, and Dawen Ma4.2 Development of the Culture of the White?]Legged Shrimp, Penaeus vannamei 378Xiaohan Chen and Jianhua Xiong4.3 Channel Catfish Culture 393Dapeng Li, Congxin Xie, Xugang He, Chenglong Qi, Yu Gao, and Xiao Liang4.4 Status and Trends of the Tilapia Farming Industry Development 404Pao Xu and Junchao Ming4.5 Development of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) Culture 421Junjie Bai and Shengjie LiSection 5 Developments in Feeds in Chinese Aquaculture 4315.1 Feed Developments in Freshwater Aquaculture 433Shouqi Xie, Dong Han, Yong Yang, and Song Zhang5.2 Feed Developments in Mariculture 451Kangsen Mai and Wenbing ZhangSection 6 Genetic Breeding and Seed Industry 4636.1 Applications of Genetic Breeding Biotechnologies in Chinese Aquaculture 465Li Zhou and Jian?]Fang Gui6.2 Half?]Smooth Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis): Whole Genome Sequencing to Molecular Sex Control 497Song Lin Chen and Qian Zhou6.3 Stock Enhancement and Genetic Preservation of Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) in the Yangtze River Estuary 514Guangpeng Feng and Ping Zhuang6.4 Enhancing Aquaculture Through Artificial Propagation: Freshwater Fish Fry and Fingerling Production 527Xinhui Li and Yuguo XiaSection 7 Environmental-Related Issues in Chinese Aquaculture 5417.1 Multi-Trophic Mariculture Practices in Coastal Waters 543Jihong Zhang, Changzi Ge, Jianguang Fang, and Qisheng Tang7.2 Ecological Engineering Technologies for Optimizing Freshwater Pond Aquaculture 555Xing-guo Liu, Hao Xu, and Chong Liu7.3 Disease Prevention and Control 577Lang Gui and Qi-Ya Zhang7.4 Development of Lake and Reservoir Aquaculture Related Practices in China 599Jiashou Liu, Qidong Wang, Tanglin Zhang, Shaowen Ye, Wei Li, Jing Yuan, and Zhongjie Li7.5 In Situ Conservation of Aquatic Genetic Resources and Associated Reserves 611Wenbo Yang, Kun Cao, Fang Ding, Yingren Li, and Jilong LiSection 8 Development Strategies and Prospects 6298.1 Development Strategies and Prospects - Driving Forces and Sustainable Development of Chinese Aquaculture 631Qisheng Tang and Hui LiuIndex 647