[ Saving the Oceans with Sustainable Fisheries ]

Saving the Oceans with Sustainable Fisheries

Meaghan Mallari, Development Associate at SeaWeb talks about why sustainable fisheries are more important than ever and what SeaWeb is doing to ensure future generations have access to abundant seafood.

Daan f. / Flickr

For millennia, the ocean
has played an important role in shaping all aspects of life: society, culture,
politics, economies, and science. Yet human activity is fundamentally changing
the marine environment. The extraordinary natural
ability of marine species to recover from human and environmental stressors can
be reduced and even destroyed by intensive fishing.

Now, at the beginning of
the 21st century, more than 75% of the world’s fish populations are exploited
to the limit or overfished. As a global commodity, degradation of global fish stocks
has severe repercussions well beyond environmental concerns. The world’s
economy is tied to the integrity and health of the marine and coastal ecosystems
and to the sustainability of the seafood industry. Global fisheries are a vital
source of consumption – more than 3.5 billion people depend on the ocean for
their primary source of protein. More than a third of the world’s population
live within 100 kilometers of the ocean and derive their economic support from
endeavors related to global coastlines.

In recent years, the
seafood industry has addressed the economic repercussions of over-exploitation
through increased efforts toward sustainable practices. Once on the fringes of
the seafood industry, today sustainability is now close to the heart of many
fisheries, farms, and seafood businesses. Increased expectations for corporate
responsibility are buttressed by a growing demand for food from more ethical
sources as consumers take a greater interest in social and environmental
issues.

Yet, despite the growth in ethical purchasing,
lack of knowledge remains an obstacle for people trying to source seafood
responsibly. Much remains to be done to change the behavior of those
interacting with the ocean, particularly when it comes to the consumption of seafood.

In response, SeaWeb brings to the forefront issues
surrounding sustainable seafood, and more broadly sustainable management of
marine environments. By disseminating clear, targeted, actionable information,
SeaWeb works to change the behavior of those interacting with the sea,
especially that of consumers and of professionals who are trying to ethically
and responsibly source and purchase seafood.

Beginning on September 6^th, SeaWeb
will host the 10^th International Seafood Summit, an international event bringing together global representatives
from the seafood industry and conservation community for in-depth discussions,
presentations and networking around the issue of sustainable seafood. The goal
of the Summit is to foster dialogue and partnerships that lead to a seafood
marketplace that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

This year, the event will be hosted
in Hong Kong – the first Summit to be held in Asia.  Hong Kong is the key
finance and business center in Asia. In addition to being the primary seafood
trading hub in the region and having many well-known seafood markets which sell
fish from all around Asia, Hong Kong is also an entry point to mainland China
and is readily accessible from destinations around Asia and the rest of the
world. Almost 90% of global aquaculture production takes place in Asia, with
China alone accounting for more than 66% of world production.

Consumers purchase seafood from an open market in China’s Guangdong Province. China is the largest seafood exporter in the world, and 90% of the world’s aquaculture production occurs in Asia. Photo: SeaWeb.

The sustainable
seafood movement has made great strides in the past few years,
arguably the biggest paradigm shift ever witnessed in seafood markets, and the
Seafood Summit is designed as a forum to cultivate such progress. Set against
the landscape of a changing world order – across global politics, markets and
environmental change – in what ways can the seafood community, including
individual consumers, continue the momentum and further advance sustainability
solutions?

Resources:

Seafood Watch Buying Guides, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Afishianado Newsletter, SeaWeb

KidSafe Seafood, SeaWeb

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