Extensive aquaculture is essential for preserving the ecosystems in the coastal wetland areas and the landscape heritage.
Extensive aquaculture is carried out in large expanses of water and is a valid development model from an economic viewpoint: interventions by the aquaculture farmer are, in fact, limited solely to "planting" the young fish and monitoring the water flows.
The flesh of fish farmed using the extensive methods is of very high quality and basically equivalent to that of wild fish.
Extensive aquaculture is divided chiefly into "valliculture" and "pond-culture".
Valliculture is a form of extensive aquaculture that is carried out in coastal valleys and lagoons, the so-called "fishing valleys", origin of the term "valliculture". The fish, which often follow the marine currents, are bred in appropriately maintained brackish lagoons.
Pond-culture is a form of extensive aquaculture carried out mainly in ponds and lakes, both in brackish and freshwater environments. The ponds are maintained in a way that facilitates the development of the aquatic wildlife with a higher yield than that of the natural ecosystem.