Worth a Look:
The National Agricultural Library’s Aquaculture Web Pages

Whether you’re interested in the business of farming fish, the science of aquaculture, or simply want to create a fish pond for your home garden, you’ll want to browse the aquaculture web pages developed and hosted by the Agricultural Research Service’s National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. (tinyurl.com/NALaqua).

Part of the library’s Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, this fish-focused venue offers links to more than 160 carefully selected websites.Browse the home page for specially featured sources that open the door to information on everything from farming catfish, carp, salmon, shrimp, and many more species to business planning for a fish-farming operation.

Some of these featured links connect you to National Sea Grant sources on environmentally friendly fish farming and to time-saving searches on many aspects of aquaculture (tinyurl.com/aquasearch).These comprehensive searches include the National Agricultural Library’s own AGRICOLA (AGRICultural On-Line Access) database, which encompasses the library’s substantial collection. Holdings include articles from major scientific and industry journals and more than 4,000 books—old and new—on an impressive array of aquaculture subjects.

The collection’s oldest aquaculture volume might well be a 1786 compendium from Britain that advises “country gentlemen” on the basics of establishing and maintaining rural fish ponds “for pleasure and profit.” Newer acquisitions include the Mississippi-based Southern Regional Aquaculture Center’s 2010 book on fish genetics.

Other links take you to, for example, research organizations, federal agencies, databases of laws and regulations, and sources of graphics and images suitable for use by students and professionals alike.

Says program support assistant and aquaculture site content contributor Rebecca Thompson, “Anyone interested in aquaculture is likely to find something new and interesting on our web pages.”—By Marcia Wood, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.

"Worth a Look: The National Agricultural Library’s Aquaculture Web Pages" was published in the October 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.