aquaculture
Americannoun
noun
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The science of cultivating marine or freshwater food fish, such as salmon and trout, or shellfish, such as oysters and clams, under controlled conditions.
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See hydroponics
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aquaculture
First recorded in 1865–70; aqua- + (agri)culture
Explanation
The practice of raising fish or water plants for food is known as aquaculture. A shrimp farmer works in the aquaculture industry. The word aquaculture combines the Latin aqua-, "water," with culture, also from a Latin root, meaning "agriculture" or "a cultivating." Originally, this term referred only to fish farming. Today, you can also practice aquaculture by growing seaweed and algae, or raising shellfish like oysters and scallops. Today, aquaculture provides about half of all the fish and shellfish eaten by humans.
Vocabulary lists containing aquaculture
Elements of the Universe: Aqua ("Water")
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Natural Resources and the Environment - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
McKeen recalled how he and other farmers at the time would pitch restaurants on serving fresh oysters, while simultaneously developing a scrappy style of aquaculture to propagate them in the Damariscotta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Unst is the UK's most northerly island and home to the UK's only spaceport, at Saxavord, as well as a sizeable aquaculture industry.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Humboldt Bay and the neighboring town of Eureka are home to aquaculture businesses, fisheries, environmental justice organizations, local tribes and many other residents and stakeholders whose opinions on the project differ.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
This region receives inputs from treated sewage, household wastewater, aquaculture operations, pig farming, and agricultural runoff.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026
Hawaii was also unique within Polynesia in using mass labor for aquaculture, by constructing large fishponds in which milkfish and mullet were grown.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
