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Seafood production is undergoing a dramatic transition. While many fisheries stocks worldwide have declined precipitously, fish farming (or aquaculture) has boomed. Global aquaculture production more than doubled in weight and value between 1986 and 1996, and it currently accounts for over one-quarter of all fish consumed by humans (1).

Here we focus on the environmental impact of two of the most lucrative and widely traded aquaculture products: shrimp and salmon. Globally, these crops make up only 5% of farmed fish by weight but almost one-fifth by value (2). Both shrimp and salmon farming have expanded and intensified rapidly as a result of technological changes in production and strong demand in industrialized countries {see the figure [created with data from (2, 3)]}. Fish farming is becoming the dominant production method for salmon, and it accounts for 25% of world shrimp production—a 10-fold …