四级拓展：VOA慢速

Spiiker VOA Special English, 纯正的美音，带你学习最前端的英语。

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需要更多包括海鲜在内的食物。世界银行预测，到2030年，70%的水产品需求将来自亚洲国家。世界资源研究所最近调查了世界鱼类产量。

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.
该所称，到本世纪中叶，渔产量需要翻倍才能满足这一需求。它说，世界上的海洋、湖泊和河流已经捕捞到极限。它还表示，更多鱼必须在水产养殖项目或渔场内生产。

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.
帝国郡这个加州社区就运营着这样一个渔场。帝国郡位于美国同墨西哥边境以北26公里。克雷格•埃利奥特（Craig Elliott）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.
埃利奥特说，“我们可能是密西西比河这一边最大的鲶鱼渔场，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.
埃利奥特先生说，他的公司每周向亚洲食品店运去数千公斤鱼。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.
埃利奥特说，“实际上，我们真的无法生产足够多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提升，对渔场数量的需求也在增加。迈克•伟林斯（Mike Velings）开办了一家投资水产养殖企业的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.
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。我们预计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.
伟林斯先生说，中国渔场生产的鱼超过了世界上任何其它国家。他说美国的渔场很少。

"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。目前全球只有1%的鱼类养殖是在美国完成的。”
 
Craig Elliott says it is not easy to operate a profitable aquaculture business.
埃利奥特说，经营一家盈利的水产养殖企业并不容易。
 
"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.
埃利奥特说，“放入一条这么大的鱼，需要18个月到两年才能长大2到3磅。这样你要承担很大的开支，在很长时间内得不到回报。有人成功了，有人没成功。”

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.
此外还有环境问题。内森•韦弗（Nathan Weaver）是一位环保人士。他说，吃剩的鱼粉饲料和养殖鱼产生的垃圾对其它生物有害。

"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.
韦弗说，“我们喜欢吃的很多鱼品种都是大型掠食性鱼类，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掠食性鱼类，必须用小鱼喂它们。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，政府政策、科技和私人努力已经使得渔场有所改善。该所表示，美国一家食品连锁店只出售来自于不使用农药、抗生素和生长添加激素的渔场的鱼。

And that's the Agriculture Report. I'm Caty Weaver.
以上就是本期农业报道的全部内容。我是卡蒂•韦弗（Caty Weaver）。

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