VOA标准英语2014--鱼养殖场需加倍投入以满足全球不断增长的需求

 

Farm-Raised Fish Must Double to Meet Growing Global Demand 鱼养殖场需加倍投入以满足全球不断增长的需求

IMPERIAL, CALIFORNIA —

As the world population grows, there is a growing need for more food - including seafood¹. By 2030, the World Bank expects that 70 percent of the demand for fish will come from Asia. A recent report led by the World Resources Institute finds that global fish production needs to more than double by the middle of the century to meet that demand. The WRI study says the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers are fished to their limit, and it encourages "sustainable growth" of aquaculture or fish farms.

In an ancient lake bed 26 kilometers north of the California-Mexico border, there is fresh water and new life. 

“We’re probably the largest catfish² farm this side of the Mississippi...the largest catfish farm in California,” said Craig Elliott, the co-owner of Imperial Catfish.

Elliott said that several times a week, thousands of kilograms of fish from his ponds end up in Asian grocery stores where live fish is in high demand. 

“In fact, we can’t really produce enough fish for the demand,” he said.

As demand for seafood increases worldwide, so do the number of fish farms. 

“It’s a relatively³ young industry but it grows at about 9 percent a year and we expect to keep that growth rate going in the next couple of decades,” said Mike Velings, founder⁴ of Aqua-Spark, a company that invests in sustainable aquaculture businesses.

Velings said China is the world leader in producing farmed fish. There are very few farms in the United States.

“The U.S. relies heavily on wild caught and on imports and only one percent of the world’s farming today is done in the U.S,” he added. 

Elliott pointed⁵ out that aquaculture is not an easy business in which to make a profit.

“You put a fish in at this big and it’s going to be 18 months to two years before they are two to three pounds and so you have all that big outlay⁶ and you have no return for a long long time.  Some people make it, some of them don’t,” said Elliott.

There are also environmental concerns. Activist⁷ Nathan Weaver⁸ cites the polluting impact of uneaten fish meal and waste products from farmed fish, in addition to the disruption of the natural food chain.

“Many of the species of fish we like to eat are large predatory fish, they are things like tuna or salmon⁹ that are already two or three levels up the food chain. So in order to farm these large carnivores you have to actually feed them smaller fish and the concern is that in order to keep a tuna farm or a salmon farm going you’ll end up having to catch all the little fish in the ocean,” said Weaver.

But the World Resources Institute says public policies, technology and private initiatives have prompted improvements in fish farms. For example, U.S.-based Whole Foods Market sells farm-raised seafood from environmentally-conscious farms that do not use pesticides¹⁰, antibiotics¹¹ or added growth hormones¹².  

For aquaculture to continue to grow, WRI calls for investments in technological¹³ innovations in areas that include breeding and disease control, and a shift to farming fish lower on the food chain, such as catfish. Elliott’s fish eat a mostly vegetarian¹⁴ diet, and he offers simple prescriptions¹⁵ for keeping his ponds free of pollution.

“Don’t overfeed, don’t overcrowd, [and] you’re not going to have those issues,” he said.

He plans to expand his farm to keep up with the demand.

1 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

2 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 outlay   

n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费

参考例句：

• There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
• The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

9 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

10 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

12 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

13 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

14 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

15 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。