People and Economic Activity

Question 1

Describe the nature of aquaculture

What we’re growing, how we’re growing it, why we’re growing it

Answer 1

• Marine, estuary of freshwater
• In-situ or ex-situ
• Purpose: consumption, fismeal/oil, export earning
• Practiced in LICs vs HICs

2018 aquaculture - finfish from inland as well as marine and coastal

Question 2

What are the 4 types of economic activity?

Answer 2

Primary, secondary, tertiary and quarternary

Ensure that you can define all of these terms

Question 3

What are trends in the spatial patterns of aquaculture?

Answer 3

• A global activity highly concentrated in area, uneven distribution pattern
• Developing countries have increased their share of total volumes of fish produced
• Countries with large fishing catches often have larger aquaculture production
• The industry is heavily dominated by 4 countries which alone produce over 50% of total fish production
• When post-harvest operations data are included, it is estimated that one in two workers in the sector is a woman

Question 4

What are the future directions of aquaculture?

Answer 4

• Global Populations are increasing, with demand for protein increasing
• Arable land for agriculture is decreasing and climate change is making farming less productive
• People are seeking sustainable, low-fat, high-protein meals
• Wild catch fisheries are either at capacity or providing decreasing yields
• LICs and MICs are seeking profitable economic activities
• New technologies

Question 5

What factors explain the patterns of aquaculture?

Answer 5

BEESTOP (Biophysical, Ecological, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Organisational, Political)

Question 6

What are the economic impacts of aquaculture?

Answer 6

• Export earnings
• Tertiary services
• Economic driving disruption and displacement (recource conflict with industries such as tourism and decrease in land values)

Question 7

What are the social impacts of aquaculture?

Answer 7

• Essential to nutrition and other health benefits
• Only 1 in 5 workers are women in primary sectors, however this rises to 1 in 2 in secondary labour
• Slavery and child labour
• Corrupt Land Ownership Practices

Question 8

What are the environmental impacts of aquaculture?

Answer 8

• Continued reliance on fishing and wild catch (for feed)
• Environmental contamination leading to eutrophication
• Introduction of exotic species
• Land clearing of wetlands for aquaculture
• Disease
• There are also some positive environmental effects

Question 9

What are the factors determining the operation of an economic enterprise?

Answer 9

• Nature of the activity
• Locational factors
• Ecological dimensions
• Internal and external linkages and flows of people, ideas, goods and services
• Effects of global changes in the economic activity