In the last few decades there has been remarkable growth of the aquaculture industry (9.2% per year since
1970) due mainly to a plateau in wild capture and limited stock potential (FAO, 2002), together with an increase
in world population and global per capita fish consumption which has doubled over the past 50 years (Ahmed
and Delgado, 2000). Besides these factors, aquaculture has also been promoted in view of the fact that it
provides consumers with safe, nutritious and high quality food products.