2.3 Aquatic Organisms
27
of new ways to produce better environmentally sustainable fuels and new compounds
for detecting and treating diseases such as cancers.
Living aquatic resources become available through two main routes: capture from
the waters or through fish farming, also referred to as aquaculture. Another form
which is a hybrid between these two methods is mariculture, a process where aquatic
organisms are cultivated on the sea within enclosed areas. Algae, shellfish and sea
cucumber are some of the organisms which are cultivated in mariculture. This is done
to obtain either whole biomass or parts of these organisms for use as food, medicine,
jewelry or other applications (Engle 2009). The mode of sourcing a particular aquatic
resource is important as it affects the logistics involved in sourcing the feedstock
for the production process. Some existing manufacturing plants which processing
aquatic waste and by-products into other products are located close to the sea or river
from where the aquatic resource is sourced or farmed for the reason of nearness to
raw material which serves as the feedstock for the production plant. Where there is
not such plants situated close by the transport and storage of the raw materials (e.g.
shells, scales, viscera and bones) further adds to the cost of production.
The population of aquatic organisms is significantly affected by the level of fishing
by humans. According to the FAO, an estimated 94.6 million tonnes of fish were
sourced through capture in 2014 (FAO 2016). This includes both marine and inland
waters. Aesthetically valued shells and pearls which are used as ornaments for art,
decorative, jewelry or other aesthetic application are also sourced by humans from
the aquatic environment (FAO 2018).
The human activities have played key roles in the decline of the aquatic ecosystems. This includes overfishing, introduction of species to waters they would not
naturally exist in, discharge of polluted water into the waters, agriculture leading
to run off of fertilizers into the water, building of hydroelectricity dams, dredging
and diversion of the waters for activities such as irrigation, constructions near, on,
in water bodies and oil spillage. Pollution of the seas and oceans by dumping of
municipal and industrial waste has been shown to lead to diseases and illnesses such
as hepatitis, typhoid fever and gastroenteritis. These occur as a result of consuming
shellfish such as oysters and mussels which have fed on the contaminants (Kwaasi
2003).
Human activity in and around aquatic environment has also been responsible for
the eutrophication of lakes. This refers to the process whereby the nutrient level in
the water rises due to run off of nutrients from surrounding land resulting in the
increase in the population of aquatic plants which eventually leads to the death of
other aquatic life and depletion of the water. In nature, eutrophication occurs as a
slow process over long periods of time. At the natural pace, eutrophication does
not have such a pronounced negative impact on the environment. When this process
is accelerated, it distorts the balance in the ecosystem most often with devastating
effects.
The aquatic industry cuts across all three economic sectors: primary, secondary
and tertiary. Activities such as fishing, deep-sea mining and trawling belong to the
primary sector; the secondary sector comprises fish processing which includes activities such as commercial finfish canning and extraction of biopolymers from aquatic
27
of new ways to produce better environmentally sustainable fuels and new compounds
for detecting and treating diseases such as cancers.
Living aquatic resources become available through two main routes: capture from
the waters or through fish farming, also referred to as aquaculture. Another form
which is a hybrid between these two methods is mariculture, a process where aquatic
organisms are cultivated on the sea within enclosed areas. Algae, shellfish and sea
cucumber are some of the organisms which are cultivated in mariculture. This is done
to obtain either whole biomass or parts of these organisms for use as food, medicine,
jewelry or other applications (Engle 2009). The mode of sourcing a particular aquatic
resource is important as it affects the logistics involved in sourcing the feedstock
for the production process. Some existing manufacturing plants which processing
aquatic waste and by-products into other products are located close to the sea or river
from where the aquatic resource is sourced or farmed for the reason of nearness to
raw material which serves as the feedstock for the production plant. Where there is
not such plants situated close by the transport and storage of the raw materials (e.g.
shells, scales, viscera and bones) further adds to the cost of production.
The population of aquatic organisms is significantly affected by the level of fishing
by humans. According to the FAO, an estimated 94.6 million tonnes of fish were
sourced through capture in 2014 (FAO 2016). This includes both marine and inland
waters. Aesthetically valued shells and pearls which are used as ornaments for art,
decorative, jewelry or other aesthetic application are also sourced by humans from
the aquatic environment (FAO 2018).
The human activities have played key roles in the decline of the aquatic ecosystems. This includes overfishing, introduction of species to waters they would not
naturally exist in, discharge of polluted water into the waters, agriculture leading
to run off of fertilizers into the water, building of hydroelectricity dams, dredging
and diversion of the waters for activities such as irrigation, constructions near, on,
in water bodies and oil spillage. Pollution of the seas and oceans by dumping of
municipal and industrial waste has been shown to lead to diseases and illnesses such
as hepatitis, typhoid fever and gastroenteritis. These occur as a result of consuming
shellfish such as oysters and mussels which have fed on the contaminants (Kwaasi
2003).
Human activity in and around aquatic environment has also been responsible for
the eutrophication of lakes. This refers to the process whereby the nutrient level in
the water rises due to run off of nutrients from surrounding land resulting in the
increase in the population of aquatic plants which eventually leads to the death of
other aquatic life and depletion of the water. In nature, eutrophication occurs as a
slow process over long periods of time. At the natural pace, eutrophication does
not have such a pronounced negative impact on the environment. When this process
is accelerated, it distorts the balance in the ecosystem most often with devastating
effects.
The aquatic industry cuts across all three economic sectors: primary, secondary
and tertiary. Activities such as fishing, deep-sea mining and trawling belong to the
primary sector; the secondary sector comprises fish processing which includes activities such as commercial finfish canning and extraction of biopolymers from aquatic