Conclusions
All business involves risk — the best we can do is to minimize the impact that risks have on the financial stability
of our operations. How we manage risk in aquaculture is
almost as important as the risk itself. While any number
of options may exist to manage each potential risk, each
option has associated costs and benefits that you must
weigh against the risk itself. Keep in mind the three guiding rules of risk management: (1) don’t risk more than you
can afford to lose, (2) don’t risk a lot for a little, and (3)
understand the likelihood and severity of possible losses
prior to investment or initiating an aquaculture business.
Whether you are new to aquaculture or an experienced
producer, these rules should be second nature. Doing your
homework, educating yourself about aquaculture production and marketing strategies, and remembering that aquaculture, as with other agricultural enterprises, is a business
will help you manage the risks that lay ahead.
For More Information
The National Risk Management Feasibility Program
for Aquaculture website (www.agecon.msstate.edu/
aquaculture/) and the USDA Risk Management Agency
website (www.rma.usda.gov/) are first stops for investigating risk management issues. USDA also has a fact
sheet, Risk and Risk Management (USDA RMA Fact
Sheet # PA-1667-03) that may be useful. Extension
agents and specialists, university personnel or your state
aquaculture association can help provide further information; a list of state aquaculture extension personnel is
available on the NRAC website (www.nrac.umd.edu) or
you can contact your local Cooperative Extension Office
for an initial contact. Further information about aquaculture insurance programs around the world is available
from Review of the Current State of World Aquaculture
Insurance (FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 493.
Rome, FAO. 2006. 92p).
Acknowledgments
This work was conducted with the support
of the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education and the Northeastern
Regional Aquaculture Center, through
grant number 2004-38500-14589 from the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service, USDA. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in this publication are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture