Aquaculture

The aquaculture project would be the same size as New York's Central Park and produce 11 million pounds of yellowtail and white sea bass each year. But some people see it as an aquatic "factory farm."

The Greek fisherman casting a net from his small wooden boat is a postcard image of the Mediterranean. But fish stocks are so low now that many fishermen say they can't make a living anymore.

This summer, Michigan's aquaculture industry took a step forward. And that has touched off a debate over whether the Great Lakes are an appropriate place for fish farming.

Aquaculture in the U.S. has lagged because of opposition from environmentalists and people living on the coast. But entrepreneurs say they've found a way to produce fish on land with little pollution.

Coastal fish farms are a major source of the seafood we eat, but all the fish waste they generate takes a toll on the environment. So a researcher in Canada is trying to clean up fish farms by creating an ecosystem where fish waste gets taken up by other valuable seafood commodities, like shellfish and kelp.

The year's dry, hot weather forced aquaculturists to spend a lot more to keep their fish healthy and fed. For US catfish farmers, though, already suffering from competition with Asia, the drought has been an especially hard blow.