Spiiker VOA Special English, 純正的美音，帶你學習最前端的英語。

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
這里是美國之音慢速英語農(nóng)業(yè)報道。

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.
隨著世界人口的增長需要更多包括海鮮在內(nèi)的食物。世界銀行預測，到2030年，70%的水產(chǎn)品需求將來自亞洲國家。世界資源研究所最近調(diào)查了世界魚類產(chǎn)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.
該所稱，到本世紀中葉，漁產(chǎn)量需要翻倍才能滿足這一需求。它說，世界上的海洋、湖泊和河流已經(jīng)捕撈到極限。它還表示，更多魚必須在水產(chǎn)養(yǎng)殖項目或漁場內(nèi)生產(chǎn)。

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.
帝國郡這個加州社區(qū)就運營著這樣一個漁場。帝國郡位于美國同墨西哥邊境以北26公里。克雷格?埃利奧特（Craig Elliott）是帝國鯰魚漁場的合伙人。
 
"We're probably the largest catfish farm this side of the Mississippi...the largest catfish farm in California," said Craig Elliott.
埃利奧特說，“我們可能是密西西比河這一邊最大的鯰魚漁場，是加州最大的鯰魚漁場。”

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.
埃利奧特先生說，他的公司每周向亞洲食品店運去數(shù)千公斤魚。這些食品店的許多客戶都想買到活魚。

"In fact, we can't really produce enough fish for the demand," Elliott said.
埃利奧特說，“實際上，我們真的無法生產(chǎn)足夠多的魚來滿足這一需求。”

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.
隨著對海產(chǎn)品需求的提升，對漁場數(shù)量的需求也在增加。邁克?偉林斯（Mike Velings）開辦了一家投資水產(chǎn)養(yǎng)殖企業(yè)的Aqua-Spark公司。

"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.
偉林斯說，“這是一個相對年輕的行業(yè)，但它每年以9%的速度增長。我們預計未來數(shù)十年將會繼續(xù)保持在這一增長速度。”

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.
偉林斯先生說，中國漁場生產(chǎn)的魚超過了世界上任何其它國家。他說美國的漁場很少。

"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.
偉林斯補充說，“美國在很大程度上依賴野生捕撈和進口。目前全球只有1%的魚類養(yǎng)殖是在美國完成的。”
 
Craig Elliott says it is not easy to operate a profitable aquaculture business.
埃利奧特說，經(jīng)營一家盈利的水產(chǎn)養(yǎng)殖企業(yè)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.
埃利奧特說，“放入一條這么大的魚，需要18個月到兩年才能長大2到3磅。這樣你要承擔很大的開支，在很長時間內(nèi)得不到回報。有人成功了，有人沒成功。”

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.
此外還有環(huán)境問題。內(nèi)森?韋弗（Nathan Weaver）是一位環(huán)保人士。他說，吃剩的魚粉飼料和養(yǎng)殖魚產(chǎn)生的垃圾對其它生物有害。

"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.
韋弗說，“我們喜歡吃的很多魚品種都是大型掠食性魚類，包括金槍魚和鮭魚等。它們在食物鏈中處于第二到第三級位置。所以為了養(yǎng)殖這些大型掠食性魚類，必須用小魚喂它們。問題在于，為了維持一家金槍魚或鮭魚漁場運轉(zhuǎn)，最終不得不捕撈海洋中所有小魚。”

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.
但世界資源研究所表示，政府政策、科技和私人努力已經(jīng)使得漁場有所改善。該所表示，美國一家食品連鎖店只出售來自于不使用農(nóng)藥、抗生素和生長添加激素的漁場的魚。

And that's the Agriculture Report. I'm Caty Weaver.
以上就是本期農(nóng)業(yè)報道的全部內(nèi)容。我是卡蒂?韋弗（Caty Weaver）。

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