The conclusions of this section on fish farming and the environment are the following:

• Agriculture and aquaculture have been and will continue to be necessary to feed the world’s population.
• The global  population depends on an efficient and an increasing level of food production.
• There is  now a rapidly increasing consumer demand for fish and other aquaculture products.
• Aquaculture has considerable potential for expansion and can therefore play an increasingly important role in the future  supply of  food for humans.
• Several of the most important feed resources for meat production can be utilised much more efficiently if used in fish farming rather than livestock agriculture.
• This potential for improved utilisation should be maximised to enable the production of meat with the lowest input of resources possible.
• High production efficiency makes it possible to produce fish with low losses of  nutrients to the environment.  This minimises environmental impact from nutrients contained in fish feeds.
• From an ecological perspective, most of the ingredients in fish feed have their origins in the  sea and should therefore ultimately return to the sea, to be recycled in the marine ecosystem.  This assists in the maintenance of the balance between the amount of nutrients added to and removed from the system.
• Increased efficiency of production can influence and reduce fish production costs, making fish a more affordable food.
• Improved production efficiency has been a driving force in the development of both extensive  and intensive fish culture.
• There are possibilities for improved efficiency and further expansion of aquaculture production by combining the best knowledge and experience from both extensive and intensive  methodologies.
• Efficiency alone is not a substitute for an active policy for the distribution of purchasing power as a tool for a more equitable distribution of food.
• In intensive fish farming, it is the nutrients in the feed ingredients that cause fish growth and make  the final product. The more exactly the feed fits the requirement of the  fish, the more fish can be produced from a given amount of feed. One consequence is that the discharge of digestive material and excreted products will be minimised.
• Fish feed quality is so important in the  overall environmental impact of fish farming that the nutritional and technological competence of the feed manufacturer is crucial.
• Such confidence reduces the likelihood of excess dietary nutrients, which  would otherwise be wasted and would cause environmental impact.
• Equally it reduces the danger of a shortfall in any nutrients which may be harmful to the fish and could also lead to less efficient dietary  utilisation.

With future progress within the areas of the development, systematic breeding and technology/management, intensive aquaculture can and will continue to be both  eco-friendly and sustainable.