Spirulina and Hematococus microalgae are intense used as aquaculture feed
and best cultivated in AlgaeLink's photo-bioreactors

Several hundred different species are farmed around the world both for sale on the international market and for subsistence food production. Global production of farmed aquatic animals and plants in 2003 reached 55 million metric tons with an on-farm value of $67 billion. Like agricultural farms, aquacultural farms range from small-scale operations for local food production to intensive, mechanized operations geared towards export. Farmed species that are traded in volume on the international market include oyster, tilapia, catfish, trout, clams, tuna, mussels, and scallops. Shrimp and salmon, two of the most valuable species, are also traded widely.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production system in the world and it accounts for approximately one-third of global fisheries landings. In addition to the production of fisheries products, aquaculture also consumes more fishmeal and fish oil than any other industry. Thus, the combined production and consumption of aquaculture accounts for about half of all fisheries' production in the world. The rapid expansion of the industry has focused attention on the need for effective management strategies. Such strategies are needed to enhance the positive contributions that shrimp farming and other forms of aquaculture can make to economic growth and poverty alleviation.