.png)
The sustainability of seafood production
Since we have historical records, we noticed that Human feeding behavior has been shaped by the new technologies. We created weapons and followed the wildlife movements to find food and dominate the fire to start the cooking process. But, in my opinion, the first major consumption behavior change was when Humans started agriculture and animal domestication. This breakthrough allowed the rise of the civilizations we all know, including ours. However, our diet has always been similar over the centuries, but recently our choices have been questioned with issues that may be a consequence of past extravagances. Overfishing, deforestation, soil erosion, rivers or ocean contamination/pollution, the spread of non-native species, climate change, are all consequences of our feeding choices.
How many fish do you eat per week? And vegetables? Every day, we are all blasted by these questions about our food consumption, mainly about their sustainability. But what is the reality behind these questions? Does 100 % sustainable feed production exist? In this article, I will try to give my opinion regarding the importance of the ocean in sustainable food production and give you the desire to read more about the subject. So, imagine that our ancestors had never tried to domesticate animals, probably we would still be hunting and eating bears, lions, or wolves. This is what is happening in our oceans, we are “hunting” all the top predators.
Aquaculture is the only solution for overfishing and several ocean problems. One incredible technology is the “Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture” (figure 1, Ahmed and Glaser, 2016), where it’s possible to produce different trophic levels in one facility. With this production, we can have a feeding species and two filtering species that can clean the production effluent. With this, we can produce a maximum of three species for human consumption or with a commercial interest, in one facility, inland or offshore, with minimal or zero environmental impact, for example, we can produce seabass or sea bream with oyster and macroalgae.
Aquaculture can also play an important role against climate changes, i.e, seaweed produced in offshore aquaculture can absorb CO2 and provide a buffer from the effects of ocean acidification on sensitive habitats (Schubel and Thompson, 2019). Another major example is the importance of small-scale or subsistence aquaculture in poor African and Asian countries, like Mozambique or Thailand. Aquaculture not only provides a source of income and animal protein but also provides jobs for women who otherwise wouldn't have a job (Kusakabe, 2003).
Aquaculture can not only feed the world, whether through subsistence or industrial aquaculture (Akinrotimi et al. 2011), it can also perform many services to society. However, the ideal solution for sustainable production has not yet been discovered. Still, we are on a good path to achieve this goal. Also, we cannot look at food production as inhabitants of a developed country, but rather as part of a planet where 690 million people went hungry in 2019.
So yes, the ocean can feed the world indirectly and sustainably. But there is still a long path to go before aquaculture being as sustainable as possible. And remember, don't accept everything you read, the most important thing is to get information from several sources and make the decision by our head, sometimes documentaries are sensationalist and don't show the big picture.
References
Ahmed, N., & Glaser, M. (2016). Can “Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)” adapt to climate change in coastal Bangladesh?. Ocean & Coastal Management, 132, 120-131.
Akinrotimi, O. A., Abu, O. M. G., & Aranyo, A. A. (2011). Transforming aquaculture from subsistence to commercial level for sustainable development in Niger delta region of Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture and Social Research (JASR), 11(2), 22-33.
Schubel, J. R., & Thompson, K. (2019). Farming the Sea: The only way to meet humanity's future food needs. GeoHealth, 3(9), 238-244.
Kusakabe, K. (2003). Women's involvement in small-scale aquaculture in Northeast Thailand. Development in Practice, 13(4), 333-345.
Guilherme Teixeira
Biologist
Comments