Standing up against negative press

He said a very negative image of fish farming had been created, and there was a danger that the public may be misled into believing that these instances of bad practice are the whole story. “They most certainly are not,” he wrote, and pointed out that aquaculture will be an important tool in helping combat the problem and feed the global population - especially in south Asia and China.“In China, the farming of carp is one of the largest examples in the world of a low-intensive, very old food production technology providing essential good quality protein to rural populations. In Europe, we have the Scottish and Norwegian salmon farming industries, both very important in economic and food terms. These industries are very sensitive to criticism of their practices, and are constantly raising environmental standards,” Parker wrote.He underlined that fish is an excellent, healthy food, and that with declining wild fish stocks, the only way to produce more fish is by various forms of aquaculture.