New 🐟 Mercury Safety Guide & Omega-3 Rankings Updated for 2026. View Omega-3 Rankings →

🌿 Sustainable Seafood ⚡ Omega-3 Rankings 🔬 Mercury Safety 🏆 World Records 🎣 Fishing Licenses

API Docs

Get API Key →

Farmer Reference

Aquaculture Methods

Every major aquaculture method - RAS, cage culture, pond, raceway, IMTA, aquaponics and beyond. How each works, which species suit it, sustainability rating, setup and operating costs, plus environmental impact.

🌾 16 methods 💧 4 water types

Aquaponics 1 method

A closed-loop system combining fish farming with hydroponic vegetable production - fish waste fertil...

★★★★★ Freshwater Any

Ras 2 methods

Coral Aquaculture (Reef Restoration)

Farming coral fragments for reef restoration and the aquarium trade - crucial for the future of cora...

★★★★★ Saltwater Medium

Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS)

Land-based fish farming with continuous water recirculation, filtration, and treatment - the most co...

★★★★☆ Both Industrial

Pond 3 methods

Rice-Fish Culture

Integrated production of rice and freshwater fish (usually carp or tilapia) in the same paddies - on...

★★★★★ Freshwater Small farm

Fish farming in earthen ponds - the oldest and still most common aquaculture method worldwide, produ...

★★★☆☆ Freshwater Any

Shrimp Pond Culture

Intensive brackish-water pond farming of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and giant tiger...

★★☆☆☆ Brackish Industrial

Longline Shellfish 3 methods

Seaweed Aquaculture

Cultivation of edible seaweeds - nori, kombu, wakame, dulse, kelp - one of the fastest-growing aquac...

★★★★★ Saltwater Any

Shellfish Longline Culture

Farming mussels, oysters, and scallops on ropes suspended from surface longlines - one of the most s...

★★★★★ Saltwater Medium

Bivalve Raft Culture

Growing mussels, oysters, and scallops on ropes hanging from wooden rafts - iconic Galician mesetas...

★★★★★ Saltwater Medium

Hatchery 2 methods

Hatchery & Larviculture

Controlled breeding and rearing of fish through egg and larval stages - the technological foundation...

★★★★☆ Both Industrial

Ornamental Fish Breeding

Commercial breeding of aquarium fish for the ornamental trade - a $15 billion global industry led by...

★★★★☆ Both Small farm

Imta 1 method

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)

Farming species at multiple trophic levels together so waste from one species becomes food for anoth...

★★★★★ Saltwater Medium

Flow Through 1 method

Flow-Through Culture

Water flows continuously from a natural source (spring, stream) through fish rearing tanks and is di...

★★★☆☆ Freshwater Medium

Ranching 1 method

Hatchery-reared fish released to grow in the open ocean and recaptured at maturity - a hybrid of aqu...

★★★☆☆ Saltwater Industrial

Raceway 1 method

Raceway Culture

Elongated concrete channels with continuous flow-through water - the classic trout farming design.

★★★☆☆ Freshwater Medium

Cage 1 method

Sea Cage Culture

Growing fish in floating net pens in coastal or offshore waters - the dominant method for farmed Atl...

★★☆☆☆ Saltwater Industrial