By Kim Joo-hyun
The fishing industry is caught in a dilemma between hopes to expand industrial fishing and the need to address environmental problems, according to a U.S. professor.
“Throughout history, people have often responded to food shortages by exploiting animals, plant foods, or fish more intensively,” said Brian Fagan, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Today, with billions depending on fish for protein, the world is faced with a tremendous challenge that is veiled by ignorance and indifference, he said.
More than 75 percent of the world’s fish stocks are already fully exploited or overexploited.
How to cope with the risk of overexploitation and degradation was the hot topic at the fourth International Fisheries Symposium, hosted by the state-run Korea National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives last week in Seoul.
Over 90 million tons of wild fish are harvested annually ― 75 percent of which is for human consumption. Fisheries provide approximately 16 percent of the world’s animal protein, and fisheries products are the primary or secondary animal protein source for 3 billion-4 billion people in the world.
“The ocean is not a bottomless pit and we need to do our part to ensure the future generation enjoy the same seafood we do today,” said Kelvin Ng, the Asia-Pacific regional director for the Marine Stewardship Council.
This is even a greater concern for developing countries that rely heavily on fishing by more traditional methods as opposed commercial fishing in developed countries.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, low-income food-poor countries depend most on fish as a main source of protein in their diet.
Fish and seafood are known to be excellent sources of micronutrients such as calcium, iodine, zinc, iron, selenium and others.
Just 100 grams of a small fish known as “chanwa pileng” delivers 20 milligrams of zinc, a micronutrient whose absence results in 800,000 child deaths per year. The recommended daily intake for children is only 3.7 mg.
The FAO explains that there also lies socioeconomic importance in fisheries and aquaculture: It is valued at over $800 billion and provides livelihoods for about 660 million-880 million people.
In addition, the amount of fish and seafood exported for trade in developing countries is more than double that of developed countries.
Lahsen Ababouch, director of the Policy and Economics Division in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the FAO, believes governments, policymakers, NGOs, fishermen, processors and even retailers all have a shared responsibility.
“Fisheries’ sustainability is too important to be left to governments, industry, NGOs or markets alone,” he said.
The KNFC International Fisheries Symposium, hosted under the theme “To Make Fisheries an Industry for the Future, a Renaissance for Fisheries,” provided several potential solutions.
Ababouch suggested fisheries and aquaculture stakeholders should engage other ocean industries to address cross-cutting issues that affect seafood supply.
He also said it was important to ensure oil and gas firms, shipping and other ocean users understand the special role and needs of fisheries and aquaculture and they should work together to raise awareness of the threats to sustainable supply.
Kelvin Ng from the MSC, a neutral party that performs the world’s most recognized and credible seafood sustainability certification and ecolabeling program, said that wide participation of suppliers getting certified could have a considerable impact on the global sustainability problem.
Professor Fagan stressed that people did not believe there was a shortage and therefore education was key. Ababouch emphasized that everyone shared responsibility, while Ng called on consumers to ask questions and care more about the environment.
Experts and officials covered a broad range of topics, but all shared one message: Change must begin with the people, the consumers that buy and eat fish, and for change to occur, it has to be a collaborative effort.
(jhk@heraldcorp.com)
