Chapter 5: Oceans and fisheries

EXTENDED CASE STUDY

Farming cobia fish

Wild cobia are solitary fish that eat smaller fish or crustaceans and are difficult to catch in commercial
quantities. However, because they are carnivores, cobia can grow very quickly so are good for farming,
and they contain twice as much omega 3 oils as farmed salmon.

Cobia farming in Panama

The largest offshore fish farm in the world, Open Blue, is situated 14 km off the coast of Panama
(Figure CS5.1). Cobia fish are reared in huge diamond-shaped cages, as shown in Figure CS5.2. Maintenance
and operating costs are high in offshore waters: waves can reach 7 m high, making the maintenance and
harvesting difficult. However, the fish are in demand, and in 2015 the fishery sold 800 tonnes to high-end
restaurants in the United States. Sales are projected to be double that in 2017.

Cuba

Caribbean Sea
Central
America
1
farm
site

Panama
Panama City

Pacific
Ocean South
America

600 km

Figure CS5.1 The Panama offshore concession and penning area.

buoys feeding tube,

camera cables
and sensors

submerged
pen

mooring grid
anchored to seafloor
weight for ballast

Figure CS5.2 A cobia fish cage.

IGCSE_Environ_Casestudy 5.indd 1 18/04/17 2:25 PM

 Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Environmental Management

The fish cages are anchored 20 m below the ocean surface and each contains 40 000 cobia fish, each fish
weighing about 4 kg. The fish are reared in an onshore hatchery before being transferred to the cages. The
fish are kept at a much lower density than farmed salmon and the high-energy water currents flush the cages
of waste. Antibiotics have not been needed because there is a low risk of disease under these conditions.
Researchers have not detected any fish waste outside the pens and it is suspected that plankton are using it as
a nutrient source, as the waters are otherwise nutrient-poor, being so far offshore.
The caged fish are fed pellets containing 25% fishmeal and 5% fish oil, with the remainder based on grains.
The fishmeal and oil are derived from sardines and anchovies, which are found in huge shoals off the Pacific
coast of South America.
Only artisanal fishing (small-scale fishing or fisheries for subsistence or local, small markets) can take place
in a concession area of 1000 ha of ocean. (A concession area is an area in which controlled fishing or fish
farming is allowed to take place, so it is not subject to marine reserve status.) No large-scale commercial
fishing takes place in this offshore deep-water area. The area was chosen to be well away from sensitive
marine ecosystems, and research programmes ensure that environmental impacts are monitored and
remain negligible.

Cobia farming in Taiwan

Figure CS5.3 A high density of cobia within a sea cage.

In Taiwan, farming cobia (Figure CS5.3) used to be big business for the Japanese market. However,
production has slumped in recent years after a number of issues with farming techniques. Cheap equipment
that broke down easily, technology that was difficult to maintain, as well as diseases and poor management
systems, have caused many businesses to go bankrupt. There is limited area for expansion and conflicts arise
between tourists, recreational fishers and commercial fishers. The threat of cyclones also makes farming
difficult, as the coastal areas can experience seven or eight cyclones per year. Cages have been brought nearer
to shore and fish densities have been increased. As a result, diseases such as fish lice, an external parasite, and
pasteurellosis, a bacterial disease that kills the fish rapidly, have become hard to control, and the quality of
the fish and their flesh has declined while pollution levels have increased.
However, new farming companies have developed a feeding system that includes probiotics, which allow
them to raise the fish without medication, and cages with stronger netting, which have been produced
by local suppliers along the south-west coast. The fish are first raised in hatcheries onshore, then they are
transferred to sea cages when they reach 300 g in weight. In 1 year they are grown to 5–6 kg for the Japanese
market and 7 kg for the Taiwanese market.

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 Chapter 5: Oceans and fisheries

Current research and development being carried out by Taiwanese cobia fish farming companies aims to:
• provide vaccination for diseases
• improve feed and reduce its cost
• increase growth rates through breeding programmes
• improve marketing.
Figure CS5.4 shows differing growth rates of young fish. Breeding programmes select the fastest growing
young fish and include these in the breeding stock. Conversion of feed into fish flesh can be improved
considerably by using breeding programmes and improving the nutritional value of the feed used. These
improvements reduce the cost of feeding fish to a saleable size.

500

fast growth rate

400 medium growth rate
Average weight / g

slow growth rate

300

200

100

0 1 2 3 4 5
Months
3
Figure CS5.4 Growth rates of cobia fish.

Questions
1 Discuss how the cobia fish farming off the coast of Panama has a limited environmental impact.
2 Cobia fish are carnivorous. Explain why this is an advantage and a disadvantage for fish farmers.
3 a Explain how the risk of disease is reduced in the fish farmed off the coast of Panama.
b Fishmeal is made from sardines and anchovies, which are caught off the Pacific coast of South
America. In your opinion, is this a reliable source of fish for the fishmeal industry?
4 Discuss the reasons for the slump in cobia fish farming in Taiwan.
5 a Compare the fish-farming strategies used in Panama and Taiwan to produce cobia.
b Consider your answer to 5a and explain which fish-farming area has the least impact on the marine
ecosystem.

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