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|  To help meet these data needs, FAO has been assisting countries in upgrading their data collection, processing and reporting capabilities. Technical assistance at national and regional level is a significant component of the work programme of FAO's technical units responsible for fishery statistical development and involves both normative and field programme activities. Outputs of the normative activities include technical documents on statistical methodology and guidelines for data collection, while field programme activities involve project formulation and implementation, technical backstopping and organization of training courses and workshops.Aquaculture comprises diverse systems of farming plants and animals in inland, coastal and marine areas, using and producing a wide variety of animal and plant species. While it is usually advisable to use local species, introduced (or alien) species are responsible for approximately 17 percent of the world's finfish production and have significant social and economic impact. Genetic resourcesare the foundation on which species, stocks and genetically-improved strains are based. The culture of several important species still relies on the collection of brood stock or seed from natural populations. | | |  Aquaculture can be a very productive use of resources, with the amount of food produced per hectar considerably higher than with arable farming or livestock rearing. Aquafeed resources production is one of the fastest expanding agricultural industries in the world, with growth rates in excess of 30 percent per year. Resource availability and use have allowed a more than three times faster sector growth compared with terrestrial farm animal meat production. Finfish, particularly Chinese and Indian carp species, account for the greatest share (50%) of total aquaculture production, followed by molluscs (24%) and aquatic plants (22%). Although low in production quantity, some of the minor product groups, such as shrimp and marine fish, have a disproportionate economic importance because of their high unit value. The most harvested species in recent years have been the Japanese kelp, Pacific Cupped Oyster and the Silver Carp. At the end of the last millennium, aquaculture production reached almost 43 million metric tonnes, of which 33 million metric tonnes of fish and shellfish contributed about one quarter to global fisheries production. | | | | Production is largely derived from land-based freshwater culture systems. These continue to have considerable potential for further expansion, particularly the multiple resource use systems that are integrated with agriculture and irrigation. The marine environment offers resources for aquaculture which remain largely to be explored. | | | | |
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