ABSTRACTAquaculture, as an enterprise, is a relatively recent matter of concern among American entrepreneurs. It is an undertaking that requires knowledgeable, venturesome and resourceful technologistscum‐business managers to structure a practicable system of economic aquafood production utilizing the available resources from sunlight to market. The risks are numerous, and often ill‐defined, but the potential rewards are great, and thus aquaculture has attracted bold and venturous investors even though in many recent cases the requisite knowledge and skills were lacking.There is an attractive analogy often drawn between terrestrial and aquatic animal husbandry which may be appropriate only if a realistic recognition is made of the metaphorical nature of the comparison. It has become common to compare aquaculture with the poultry industry which has reached a highly sophisticated and complex state of development. No aquacultural candidate animal is yet as well understood as the chicken is, nor do we have command over the environment to a sufficient degree to enable the production of aquafoods in adequate sustained supply to justify a major investment in the vertically integrated system from feed to marketing that seems to be required.We have yet to provide a high level of assurance that we can comnand a supply of vigorous seed for stocking, an appropriate feed for growing, control disease, predators and competitors or manage the environment so as to materially reduce the risks, and enhance the probability of a satisfactory return on investment.These matters of biological and engineering importance are considered in the context of aquabusiness imperatives, and are judged as risks to the vent