Can deep-sea fishing ever be sustainable? Joanne Clarke, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow and colleagues suggests that there might be a way to make the practice less damaging.
Drawing Lines - Dynamic Ocean Management
Reducing bycatch of skates and rays – stop tickling them!
Climate Change and the Mariculture Industry
Climate Change & Aquaculture
Warning. May contain Slavery
Algae for the People
The human relationship with algae has been a long running affair. Historically, we have benefited from the oxygen they have produced, their fossils contributing to offshore petroleum reserves, and their vital role throughout the food web, directly and indirectly giving rise to species with commercial, recreational, and subsistence importance. In Asia, seaweeds have formed a staple dietary item for coastal communities for centuries. On the island of Jersey, ‘vraic’ has been collected from the shore to be used as fertilizers for growing crops. Today, seaweeds are still consumed throughout Asia, and is still used as fertilizer in Jersey (albeit in declining amounts), but its value as a resource has grown substantially. The Food and Agriculture Organisation statistics reveal that algal aquaculture (algaculture) has been steadily increasing. In 2012, over 23.8 million tonnes of algae was produced, with an estimated value of U$6.4 billion. Whilst much for this is for food production (Nori, which is entirely produced in Asia, is worth U$2 billion alone), algae – both micro and macro, has been shown to have many other uses.
GM in Aquaculture
Humans have been genetically modifying plants and animals for thousands of years with selective breeding. Since the 1970s, we have been able to modify DNA, creating cisgenic (adding recombinant DNA from the same or similar species) and transgenic (adding recombinant DNA from a another species with which the organism can’t naturally breed with) species. In the public domain genetically modified organisms for use in the food industry is a highly controversial topic. On one side, there are concerns surrounding their potential impacts to both human and environmental health. On the other, there are those who argue that the use of GMOs in aquaculture isn’t just of benefit to the industry, but for food security and even reducing our impacts on the oceans...
This article was written for (and appears in full) on The Fish Site - – please continue reading here.
‘Integrated Action’ (Ocean Management)
As human population grows, more and more demands are being placed on the coastal and ocean environment. Over half of the World’s human population currently lives at the coast, a figure that is projected to rise to 70% by 2020. Historically human use of the ocean was largely in the realm of fisheries or transport but today one can find other industries operating in the ocean such as oil and aggregate extraction as well as recreational use. In an increasingly crowded ocean and coastal environment, conflict between users becomes more common place. What is more, our understanding of how seemingly separate activities inland can have an impact on ocean and coastal environments. The traditional single-sector management approach is no longer sufficient. Today local communities, nongovernmental organizations, private industry, and all levels of government play a role in managing human use of the oceans and the coast. The need for integrated forms of management is widely recognised and can be seen in international law and agreements, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the Convention for Biological Diversity.
