Commentary: Fighting the faux fish fears
Marlys Miller, Editor, Pork Magazine, June 17, 2011
In case anyone failed to notice, aquaculture has arrived.
Just this year, according to the United Nations and several non-profit groups that track such data, farmed fish production has officially surpassed the harvest of so-called wild fish worldwide.
While the researchers, investors and marketers of aquacultured foods can take heart in those statistics, a well-funded coalition of activists continues to paint the cultivation of farmed fish yet another example of the (alleged) horrors of using genetic engineering—“Frankenfish,” as detractors love to label it. Their tactics should be familiar to anyone involved in meat and poultry production who has withstood attacks on “industrial production” and “factory farming” and other elated slurs on the business of raising domesticated livestock.
(In fact, the only element missing from the relentless assault on the validity of production agriculture is the existence of a viable “wild” alternative to animal husbandry, because if there were, those who oppose the meat and poultry industries would be crafting attack messaging similar to the campaigns against aquaculture right this moment).
Now, however, a major international conservation group has just issued a report that states without hesitation that the world needs more aquaculture, fish farms and algae cultivation projects to meet the global demand for animal foods.
The new report, titled, “Blue Frontiers: Managing the Environmental Costs of Aquaculture,” was released jointly by Conservation International, a UK-based environmental group that prides itself on pursuing a mission founded on “science and field demonstration to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, global biodiversity and the well-being of humanity;” and the WorldFish Centre, a Malaysian-based scientific non-profit that advocates sustainable aquaculture and collaborates with public sector agencies and academic research institutions acrossAsia, Africa and the Pacific Rim.
Aquaculture has great potential as a source of protein because fish process energy more efficiently than mammals, such as cows or pigs. They’re cold-blooded and thus need fewer calories to warm themselves and they live in water,so relatively more of the body converts to muscle than bone. For example: To produce a kilogram of fish protein requires just 13kg of grain, versus triple or even quadruple the amount for beef and pork. In addition, the report’s authors stated, aquaculture emits less phosphorous, nitrogen and greenhouse gases than livestock production.
Even considering those advantages, the new report is a measured, cautiously crafted endorsement of aquaculture that nevertheless recognizes the potential for ecological damage from poorly run or improperly managed operations. That’s not surprising, because even as global aquaculture has grown substantially over the last 40 years and now exceeds 70 million tons in annual production, China supplies nearly two-thirds of that production and another 30% 29.5% coming from the rest of Asia. (Europe and North and South America combined supply only about 7% of the world’s total production).
That means that most of the world’s farmed fish are coming from operations in countries that are the least equipped to properly monitor the environmental impacts likely to arise.
“China, India and the rest of Asia with their growing middle classes are where we can expect demand for fish to rise most significantly,” said Mike Phillips, a senior scientist at WorldFish and co-author of the Blue Frontiers report. “That’s where the growth will occur.”
Fish farm or else
But there is another, more potent reason thatglobal demand for aquatic foodproducts can be expected to skyrocket: the world’s oceans are being vacuumed of virtually all its edible fisheries stock, that’s why. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization now estimates that nearly 90% of the world’s fisheries are either over-exploited or fully depleted.
That means either global development of aquaculture continues to accelerate to fill the demand or else we find another way to supply protein for the approximately four billion human beings who currently depend on fish and seafood as a dietary staple.
Now, that’s not pretend that there are no worries aboutthe development trajectory of aquaculture, as the CI report labels it, particularly whether growth in farmed fish can be done in systemsthat don’t erodebiodiversity or place unacceptable stress onoceanic ecosystems.
The comprehensive assessment concluded the environmental impact of aquaculture is lower than raising cattle, pigs or poultry so it should be expanded to alleviate the growing global food crisis.
Now, for the bad news.
Despite the qualified endorsement for aquaculture, even the more progressive-minded people behind Conservation international can’t quite bring themselves to fully support the concept of raising animals for food.
“Aquaculture is most likely to meet the growing demand for animal products with the least demand on ecosystems,” said Sebastian Troëng, an official with Conservation International.
Troëngargued that cattle, poultry and pig production place “severe stress” on land-based ecosystems. Debatable, but not exactly breaking news coming from a conservation group.
Even worse, he shows his true colors by adding that, despite aquaculture’s promise, “It would be better still if more people became vegetarian, but that looks unlikely.”
You had to go there, didn’t you?
› To learn more about the Conservation International report, log onto
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/14/fish-farming-global-meat-demands.
Dan Murphy is a veteran food-industry journalist and commentator
Comment
Mary Ellen Walling
British Columbia Canada | June, 22, 2011 at 11:33 AM
Thank you Dan Murphy for your thoughtful piece on the important role aquaculture plays in providing a healthy food choice for the growing world population. As farmers, we all share the desire to ensure we are growing well cared for animals while minimizing our impact on the environment. With our abundant fresh and sea water access and our farming expertise, Canada has a key role to play into the future to supply the world with seafood. For any of your readers interested in learning more about us, please visit our website www.salmonfarmers.ca or our information website bcsalmonfacts.ca Thanks again. Mary Ellen
