Abstract:In the past thirty years, global aquaculture production continues to grow at an annual rate of nearly 9%. The rapid development of global aquaculture not only helps maintaining world food supply, but also brings environmental pollution, biodiversity decline and a series of ecological problems, causing widespread concern in the international community. The issue of aquaculture carrying capacity, that is, the carrying capacity of resource and environment for aquaculture, has become a worldwide concern and a key scientific question for sustainable aquaculture development. In this paper, evolvement of the concept of aquaculture carrying capacity and environmental carrying capacity are elucidated briefly, exemplary work on aquaculture carrying capacity are introduced, the development of assessment methods and modeling of aquaculture carrying capacity are analyzed, and its related issues and prospective application in aquaculture governance are discussed in order to promote carrying capacity-based aquaculture spatial planning. Scientific evaluation and comprehensive application of aquaculture carrying capacity may solve the environmental problems constraining the sustainable development of mariculture to a certain degree, and may provide scientific basis for ecosystem-based aquaculture spatial planning and governance.
