It must be noted that integrated aquaculture systems that provide ecological benefits and sustain ecosystem outcomes are not new. On the contrary, aquaculture has been practiced sustainably for millennia by many local and indigenous communities for food, trade, cultural, and environmental outcomes, with many of these systems an important precursor and parallel to this restorative aquaculture approach. Importantly, when discussing the need to “restore” our natural systems or lamenting the loss of essential marine habitats, conservationists often refer to pre-colonial levels of environmental connectivity and abundance, which were often the result of local and Indigenous resource management. When we seek the transformation of global food systems, we must not overlook solutions that have fostered sustainability and restorative outcomes for significant periods of time, including solutions that are not based on current concepts of new technological or infrastructure-related innovation but are rooted in place-based knowledge and traditional management.
For example, freshwater fish farming in earthen ponds has been practiced in China since 1100 BC. Additionally, across Southeast Asia, fish production has historically been coupled with rice farming. However, with greater demand for food, [not to mention an opportunity for industrialization and high profits to be made by some] monocultures for both systems have become increasingly common. In China, the co-culture of fish with rice (Indigenous and Customary Aquaculture) began an estimated 2000 years ago and has since been developed in many Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. These systems represent a unique aqua-agricultural landscape. Rice-fish systems can support natural biodiversity, through greater access for species to a range of ecosystems, though the diversity of the systems and farming approaches themselves remains key to fostering these benefits. A range of integrated rice-fish production practices and systems exist (alternating rice-fish culture, concurrent rice-fish culture, community-based fisheries and aquaculture, and rice field fisheries) providing the opportunity to foster approaches that best work with natural processes and the needs of local communities.
In Hawaii, integrated aquaculture and agriculture (e.g. traditional fish ponds and taro) were pioneered and managed historically, including at a catchment scale with inland and coastal ecosystems used to support redistribution of foods farmed in different areas through cooperation and trade across communities. They also represent an opportunity to renew focus on integrated systems that can assist food and nutrition security by fostering access to nutritionally valuable foods with reduced or even enhanced environmental effects. Rural and Native Hawaiian communities are actively revitalizing fish pond systems and their traditional nearshore environments, including seaweeds, corals, and wild fisheries. This place-based revitalization and restoration are rooted in Indigenous science and worldview and focus on biocultural resource abundance for the entire watershed.
In the Pacific Northwest of North America, clam gardens are an Indigenous aquaculture practice dating back at least 3500 years. Indigenous people created and maintained these systems by modifying marine substrate, resulting in some systems that were at least 4x more productive than non-clam gardens. Beyond increased productivity, these clam gardens create enhanced systems that promote biodiversity of other marine species and mammals. Additionally, recent research on clam gardens in British Columbia shows that the unique clam garden design can provide increased climate resilience by buffering temperature and carbonate fluctuations, in addition to the traditional practices of returning clam shells to the beach, which also help buffer against acidic coastal waters. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington State, as part of their comprehensive plan to strengthen their climate resiliency and find solutions through Indigenous knowledge, are currently revitalizing their clam gardens for food, climate, cultural, and environmental benefits.
Editorial note: Indigenous groups continue to practice traditional aquaculture around the globe, of what today might be called “restorative or regenerative.” To share about a few: Close to home on Long Island, the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers are a multi-generation collective of Indigenous women who are enrolled members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. By leveraging their 10,000+-year-old traditional relationship with the sea and with seaweed to capture carbon and nitrogen that has poisoned the waters of Shinnecock Bay and beyond, these farmers are cleaning up the Bay, providing job training, and growing and planting kelp (see the article on B-x). Native Conservancy and OceanBack, founded by Dune Lankard, an Eyak Athabaskan Native Eagle Clan member from the Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound in Alaska, brings Native tribal members, women, youth and fishermen together to help restore the ocean and learn how to grow traditional sea vegetables. A kelp economy in Alaska could mean both continued income from traditional fish farmers and restoration for salmon, which is all but devastated. In Hawaii, a community group called Limu Hui seeks to restore the health of Hawai‘i’s limu species (a Hawaiian red algae) and pass on the ancestral knowledge of limu held by elders to the next generation. On British Columbia’s Central Coast, the Heiltsuk Nation and scientists from Simon Fraser University piloted research studying whether commercially harvesting feather boa kelp (Egregia menziesii) could be sustainable for the algae and the ecosystem it supports. They found that it grew back better by following traditional Heiltsuk practices of only harvesting part of each kelp at a time than if left alone. The Indigenous Aquaculture Collaborative Network is also working as a community of practice to advance Indigenous Aquaculture (indigenousaquaculture.org/).
Reprinted with permission from The Nature Conservancy's 2021. Global Principles of Restorative Aquaculture. Arlington, VA. The full report can be found here: https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/TNC_PrinciplesofRestorativeAquaculture.pdf
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