海洋牧场是基于海洋生态学原理和现代海洋工程技术，充分利用自然生产力，在特定海域科学培育和管理渔业资源而形成的人工渔场。海洋牧场的特点包括以增加渔业资源量为目的、具有明确的边界和权属、苗种主要来源于人工育苗或驯化、通过放流或移植进入自然海域、主要以天然饵料为食和对资源实施科学管理等。早在1965年，我国学者曾呈奎先生就原创性地提出在海洋中通过人工控制种植或养殖海洋生物，建设“牧场”的理念。上世纪八十年代以来，我国海洋牧场经历了从增殖放流、人工鱼礁建设到系统化的海洋牧场发展过程，在取得巨大成就的同时，也面临着海洋牧场的涵义应用过于宽泛、缺乏统筹规划和科学论证、忽视海洋牧场生态作用以及忽视项目评估和系统管理等问题。展望未来，我国的海洋牧场建设应在“生态优先、陆海统筹、三产贯通、四化同步、创新跨越”的发展理念指导下，加强海洋牧场建设的宏观引导、推动海洋牧场体系化建设、实施海洋牧场企业化运营，在获得经济效益的同时，实现产业繁荣和保持健康生态系统的和谐统一。

Marine Ranching is the artificial fishing site where fishery resources are scientifically bred and managed by fully using natural productivity of certain sea areas, based on principles of marine ecology and modern marine engineering techniques. It is characterized with the goal of enhancing stockment, definite boundary and ownership and resources managed in a scientific way. Besides, seedlings are artificially bred or domesticated, released or transplanted into open sea, and mainly fed with natural live feed. As early as 1965, Mr. Tseng Chengkui (Zeng Chengkui), a Chinese marine scientist, originally put forwards the idea of building artificial ranch in the ocean by planting and cultivating marine creatures. Since 1980s, the Chinese marine ranch construction has experienced three industrial forms including artificial reefs, stock enhancement and systematical ocean ranching. In spite of the great achievement, it is still facing problems including too broad application of its defination, lack of overall planning and feasibility studies, neglecting its ecological role as well as project evaluation and system management. In future, the development of marine ranching in China should recognize the importance of ecosystem, balance industrial arrangement both on the land and in the sea, comprehensively consider the primary, secondary and tertiary industry, realize four modernizations and encourage innovation for leaping development to realize both economic and ecological benefits.

中国科学院战略性先导科技专项（XDA11020700）；国家科技支撑计划（2011BAD13B02）；国家海洋公益性行业科研专项（2013418043）