Being one of the pioneers in Stateside Aquaculture, two of the most common questions we get are:
- What are aquaculture and mariculture;
- What are the differences between maricultured and aquacultured coral.
Aquaculture is the process of cultivating or raising aquatic species in a closed environment created to match the natural environment as closely as possible. Mariculture is the process of cultivating or raising aquatic species in a segregated or unnatural location within the natural environment. For coral mariculture what it truly comes down to is that maricultured species are grown or raised still in the ocean (or saline lakes), but instead of growing on the reef they are harvested from the reef and transplanted into a lagoon or lake to grow. For coral aquaculture the coral is grown in a closed facility that is not connected to the ocean and is maintained to specifications that are intended to match (or in our case exceed) those of the ocean reef.
The differences in practices and system designs are easy to explain, but the differences in the end product are not so easily explained; especially to someone new to the aquarium hobby and coral in general. Read to find out how these differences present themselves in the coral you purchase at your Local Fish Store.
To best explain the differences in end products and how it affects your aquarium we will start by explaining why The Reef Farm has chosen Aquaculture as its method:
- Each aquacultured coral replaces the need to harvest your coral from the wild environment
- Much like a tank-raised fish; an aquacultured coral has already been acclimated to the artificial environment reducing the chances for mortality when introducing it to your tank
- Aquaculture is not location dependent and can be carried out anywhere in the world. The Sustainable Reef and The Reef Farm have strategically placed distribution centers in places around the country so that we can drastically reduce the time it takes for your product to get to you; again reducing the stress on the coral and increasing your chances for success in the hobby.
- Pests, diseases, and damage reduction can all be achieved in a closed environment much better than in the larger ocean. This means that your livestock has been grown in the best possible conditions that produce the healthiest livestock possible. this increases your success in the hobby by making sure you start with the best quality coral.
- Aquaculture allows for The Reef Farm to specifically choose the individual species and specimens that we want to culture. When collecting from the wild the diver is limited to whatever happens to be in the location in which they are diving. This is very limiting to stores and hobbyists who want to collect the most prized coral, and also limits the amount of less desirable coral that makes its way into the stores.
Maricultured coral is virtually identical in all ways to wild coral with the benefit coming mostly from the reduction of wild caught pieces.