Aquaculture & Fisheries

Fish and shellfish farming, aquatic animal health and fisheries science.

Aquaculture research covers the farming of fish, crustaceans and mollusks: nutrition and feed formulation, growth, reproduction, water quality and the prevention and treatment of diseases in aquatic animals.

Fisheries science studies wild fish populations and their ecology as a basis for sustainable catch levels. A recurring theme across both is replacing fishmeal and fish oil in aquafeeds with alternative ingredients.

Typical research questions

  • Which alternative ingredients can replace fishmeal and fish oil in aquafeeds?
  • How can disease outbreaks in fish and shrimp farms be prevented?
  • How do fish populations respond to fishing pressure and warming waters?
  • How can shellfish farming be sited and managed sustainably?

Publications per year

Papers whose main topic belongs to this field, 2010–2025.

0 10k 20k2010: 10,53020102011: 10,7912012: 11,7732013: 12,6092014: 12,4252015: 13,16720152016: 13,5552017: 13,2932018: 13,2952019: 13,9742020: 14,38820202021: 13,3592022: 12,4922023: 13,1602024: 14,3802025: 16,9482025

Research fronts: fastest-growing topics

Papers 2024–2025 compared with 2021–2022, topics with at least 500 recent papers.

Topic2021–20222024–2025Change
Fisheries and Aquaculture StudiesAgriculture · Water Management · Resource Sustainability · Food Security9991,718+72%
Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture StudiesAquaculture · Oyster Reefs · Ecosystem Services · Marine Environment2,9554,256+44%
Fish Biology and Ecology StudiesFish · Length-Weight Relationships · Morphology · Biodiversity6,9098,362+21%
Aquaculture Nutrition and GrowthAquaculture · Nutrition · Fish Feed · Fatty Acids8,67210,265+18%
Aquaculture disease management and microbiotaFish Immunology · Aquaculture · Probiotics · Innate Immunity6,3166,727+7%

Largest topics

By number of papers 2024–2025.

  1. Aquaculture Nutrition and GrowthAquaculture · Nutrition · Fish Feed · Fatty Acids 10,265
  2. Fish Biology and Ecology StudiesFish · Length-Weight Relationships · Morphology · Biodiversity 8,362
  3. Aquaculture disease management and microbiotaFish Immunology · Aquaculture · Probiotics · Innate Immunity 6,727
  4. Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture StudiesAquaculture · Oyster Reefs · Ecosystem Services · Marine Environment 4,256
  5. Fisheries and Aquaculture StudiesAgriculture · Water Management · Resource Sustainability · Food Security 1,718

Highly cited recent papers

Most-cited articles and reviews published 2024–2025. Citation counts favor reviews and papers published early in the window.

  1. Environmental, economic, and social sustainability in aquaculture: the aquaculture performance indicators Taryn Garlock, Frank Asche, James L. Anderson et al. · Nature Communications · 2024 · 197 citations · Open access
  2. Substitution of fishmeal: Highlights of potential plant protein sources for aquaculture sustainability Syed Makhdoom Hussain, Aumme Adeeba Bano, Shafaqat Ali et al. · Heliyon · 2024 · 182 citations · Open access
  3. Alternative protein sources in aquafeed: Current scenario and future perspectives Valentina Serra, G. Pastorelli, Doriana Eurosia Angela Tedesco et al. · Veterinary and Animal Science · 2024 · 119 citations · Open access
  4. Fermentation in aquafeed processing: Achieving sustainability in feeds for global aquaculture production Muhammad A.B. Siddik, B Julien, SM Majharul Islam et al. · Reviews in Aquaculture · 2024 · 108 citations · Open access
  5. Biofloc Technology (BFT) in Aquaculture: What Goes Right, What Goes Wrong? A Scientific‐Based Snapshot Mohammad Hossein Khanjani, Moslem Sharifinia, Maurício Gustavo Coelho Emerenciano · Aquaculture Nutrition · 2024 · 105 citations · Open access
  6. A review of the global use of fishmeal and fish oil and the Fish In:Fish Out metric Patrícia Majluf, Kathryn A. Matthews, Daniel F Pauly et al. · Science Advances · 2024 · 101 citations · Open access

Study programs in this field

All study programs