VOA慢速英语:鱼类产量需要翻倍来满足全球日益增长的需求（双语）

鱼类产量需要翻倍来满足全球日益增长的需求

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

As the world population grows, there is a need for more food - including seafood. The World Bank predicts that by 2030, 70 percent of the demand for fish will come from Asian countries. The World Resources Institute recently studied world fish production.

随着世界人口的增长，我们需要包括海鲜在内的更多的食物。世界银行预测，到2030年，对鱼的需求中有70%的需求来自亚洲国家。最近，世界资源研究所在研究世界鱼类的产量。

The group says fish production needs to more than double by the middle of the century to meet that demand. It says the world's oceans, lakes and rivers are fished to their limit, and it says more fish must be produced in aquaculture projects or fish farms.

该组织称，到了本世纪中期鱼类的产量需要现在的两倍多才能满足需求。并称，世界上的海洋，湖泊，和河流已经达到捕捞限制量，必须在水产养殖生产项目或养鱼场中获取更多的鱼。

One such farm is operating in the California Community of Imperial. Imperial is 26 kilometers north of the border with Mexico. Craig Elliott is part owner of Imperial Catfish.

在加利福尼亚的帝国社区就运营着这样一个渔场。帝国社区位于美国与墨西哥边境以北26公里。克雷格·艾略特是帝国鲶鱼渔场的合伙人。

"We're probably the largest catfish farm this side of the Mississippi...the largest catfish farm in California," said Craig Elliott.

艾略特说：“我们可能是密西西比河这一边最大的鲶鱼渔场，同样也是是加州最大的鲶鱼渔场。”

Mr. Elliott says that his business ships thousands of kilograms of fish every week to Asian grocery stores. Many people who go to those stores want to buy live fish.

艾略特先生说，他们公司的船只每周会向亚洲食品店运送数千公斤的鱼，这些食品店的许多客户都想买到活鱼。

"In fact, we can't really produce enough fish for the demand," Elliott said.

艾略特先生说：“实际上，我们真的不能生产足够的鱼来满足这一需求。”

As the demand for seafood increases, so does the number of fish farms. Mike Velings launched Aqua-Spark, a company that invests money in aquaculture business.

随着对海产品需求的不断增长，相对的，对渔场的需求数量也在增加。迈克·伟林斯开办了一家水产养殖投资公司——Aqua-Spark。

"It's a relatively 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.

伟林斯说，“这是一个相对年轻的行业，但它每年以9%的速度增长。我们预料在未来数十年将会继续保持在这一增长速度。”

Mr. Velings says China produces more fish on farms than any other country. He says there are very few fish farms in the United States.

伟林斯先生称，中国渔场的鱼类生产量超过了世界上其它国家，而美国的渔场却很少。

"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," Velings added.

伟林斯补充说：“美国在很大程度上依赖野生捕捞和进口。现在美国在全球鱼类养殖百分比中只占1%。”

Craig Elliott says it is not easy to operate a profitable aquaculture business.

克雷格·艾略特称，经营一家盈利的水产养殖公司并不容易。

"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 outlay and you have no return for a long long time. Some people make it, some of them don't," said Elliott.

艾略特说：“放入一条这样大的鱼，需要18个月到两年才能长大2到3磅，这样的话你就要承担很大的开支，而且在很长一段时间内得不到回报。有人成功了，有人失败了。”

There are also environmental concerns. Nathan Weaver is an environmental Activist. He says uneaten fish meal and waste products from farmed fish can be harmful to other creatures.

这里面还存在环境问题。环保人士内森·韦弗称，吃剩的鱼粉饲料和鱼类养殖所产生的垃圾会对其它生物造成伤害。

"Many of the species of fish we like to eat are large predatory fish, they are things like tuna or salmon 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.

韦弗说：“我们喜欢吃的很多鱼品种都是大型肉食性鱼类，包括金枪鱼和鲑鱼等。它们在食物链中处于第二到第三级位置。所以为了养殖这些大型肉食性鱼类，就必须用小鱼喂它们。这里的问题在于，为了维持一家金枪鱼或鲑鱼渔场运转，最终不得不捕捞完海洋中所有小鱼。”

But the World Resources Institute says government policies, technology and private efforts have led to improvements in fish farms. It says one U.S. food store chain only sells fish from farms that do not use pesticides, antibiotics or added growth hormones.

但世界资源研究所表示，政府的政策、科技和个人的努力已经使得养鱼场有所改善。并称，美国一家食品连锁店只出售来自于不使用农药、抗生素和生长激素的渔场的鱼。

And that's the Agriculture Report. I'm Caty Weaver.

这就是本期的美国之音慢速英语农业报道，我是卡蒂·韦弗。