Aquaculture and regulations key for sustainable oceans
Inside the United Nations, Michael Dean Krebs | 04.27.2012
A panel of authors, explorers, and experts gathered yesterday at UN headquarters to discuss oceanic topics ranging from aquaculture and tourism to illegal fishing and ocean acidification.
The conference entitled “Healthy Oceans: Charting a New Course,” presented the perspectives of professional fishermen, oceanic explorers, and others who work directly with the ocean. Participants urged policymakers to implement solid strategies to create sustainable ocean practices at the Rio+20 summit, or face dire consequences.
“We do not have time,” noted filmmaker and oceanographic explorer Fabien Cousteau in the opening remarks. “Without healthy oceans, there is no such thing as a healthy planet, a healthy society. We depend on the ocean for 70 percent of our food intake. Why aren’t we (aqua) farming instead?”
While the panelists noted that pollution and climate change are stark challenges, the discussion largely dealt with the need to regulate fishing in the high seas, and the need to invest in aquaculture farming.
There are currently 540 million people who depend upon the ocean for their livelihoods according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Panelists agreed that subsidies that encourage excessive fishing, the lack of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and little oversight and accountability for illegal fishing, are destroying the world’s most vital resource.
Paul Greenberg, author of “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild,” questioned why subsidies are not being invested in aquaculture instead. “It’s the fastest growing food system in the world, growing at 10 percent a year,” Greenberg told MediaGlobal when asked about aquafarming. “China grows more fish than all the world combined.”
“The problem in all these poor countries around environmental issues is poverty. You and I may see them as immediate problems to our survival and the economy, they tend not to,” noted Mark Kurlansky, author of “Cod” and “A World Without Fish.” “Environmental issues need to be presented in a larger development plan,” he noted while stressing the need to work with local fishermen.
With less than two months till Rio+20, the panelists acknowledged that solutions for a sustainable ocean resource are present, but implementation is still lacking.
