With fish protein supplies levelling off in many countries as limits to capture fisheries production are reached, aqua-culture is being viewed as the primary means of achieving the incremental growth in aquatic food supply necessary to keep up with continued increases in population and demand. In response to the favorable economic conditions created for aquaculture producers in many coun tries by these relative shifts in supply and demand, aquaculture production is already rapidly increasing. Although aquaculture currently provides only 9% of total worldwide fisheries output, pro duction from aquaculture is growing at more than 7% annually, far outstrip ping rates of increase in most other worldwide food producing sectors. In some Southeast Asian nations, annual rates of growth since 1980 approach 20%, a gratifying development for consumers in these countries since up to 60% of the animal protein requirements in these nations are derived from fish.