tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/fish-farming-6307/articlesFish farming – The Conversation2024-02-11T19:04:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225142024-02-11T19:04:45Z2024-02-11T19:04:45ZPermaculture showed us how to farm the land more gently. Can we do the same as we farm the sea?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574289/original/file-20240208-28-ugs4w9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1166%2C32%2C3789%2C2076&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As wild fish and other marine species get scarcer from overfishing and demand for ‘<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912422000281">blue foods</a>’ grows around the world, farming of the ocean is growing rapidly. Fish, kelp, prawns, oysters and more are now widely farmed. The world now <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-aquaculture">eats more farmed seafood</a> than wild-caught. </p>
<p>These farms are springing up along coasts and in offshore waters worldwide. Australians will be familiar with Tasmania’s salmon industry, New South Wales’ oyster farms, and <a href="https://www.frdc.com.au/seaweed-aquaculture-australia#:%7E:text=Asparagopsis%20aquaculture&text=The%20commercial%20seaweed%20farming%20industry,South%20Australia%2C%20and%20Western%20Australia.">seaweed farms</a> along the southern coastline. Aquaculture is already <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/18/if-we-want-to-eat-it-we-have-to-farm-it-the-push-to-grow-australias-2bn-aquaculture-industry">larger than fishing</a> in Australia. Farming the sea is hailed as a vital source of food and biomass essential to reduce the damage we do to our oceans and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/59/11/967/251334">help feed a growing population</a>.</p>
<p>But the booming “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09733159.2016.1175131">blue economy</a>” is no panacea. Fish farms can pollute the water. Mangroves are often felled to make way for prawn farms. The solutions of today could turn out to be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-020-09628-6">problems of the future</a>. We cannot simply shift from one form of environmental exploitation to another. </p>
<p>There is an alternative: permaculture. This approach has proven itself on land as a way to blend farming with healthy ecosystems. What if it could do the same on water? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/farming-fish-in-fresh-water-is-more-affordable-and-sustainable-than-in-the-ocean-151904">Farming fish in fresh water is more affordable and sustainable than in the ocean</a>
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<h2>Making aquaculture better</h2>
<p>Many of today’s most pressing problems – from climate change to biodiversity loss to pollution – are <a href="https://foodsystemeconomics.org/wp-content/uploads/FSEC-Executive_Summary-Global_Policy_Report.pdf">linked to the way</a> we produce food on land. To make new farmland often involves removing habitat, destroying trees and adding synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.</p>
<p>Since humans began farming about 12,000 years ago, we have expanded to the point where we now <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/summary-for-policymakers/">actively control about 70%</a> of Earth’s ice-free land to make food, build cities, and many other uses. </p>
<p>On land, we are farmers, tending domesticated species. But at sea, we’ve been hunters, seeking wild populations. Now, the seas are to be farmed. We should farm in ways which do not damage these ecosystems.</p>
<p>We cannot afford to use the same intensive methods of farming in the oceans as we have been on land. Given how sick many of the world’s ocean systems are already from overfishing, algal blooms from nutrient overload, and habitat loss, there’s not much room for error. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="prawn farms in Thailand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574278/original/file-20240208-20-e8eu7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">It’s entirely possible for aquaculture to be done too intensively.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What is marine permaculture?</h2>
<p>Permaculture as we know it was developed in the 1960s by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. The latter is a co-author of the research forming the basis of this article. </p>
<p>The goal was simple: create ways of farming which give back to the soil and ecosystems, using tools like no-till farming, companion planting and food forests. Over the last 50 years, it has been adopted by farmers around the world.</p>
<p>Permaculture is framed around three ethics – care of Earth, care of people, and a fair share – aimed at producing benefits and distributing costs equitably between different people and nature. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/let-them-eat-carp-fish-farms-are-helping-to-fight-hunger-90421">Let them eat carp: Fish farms are helping to fight hunger</a>
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<p>So what would permaculture of the seas look like? While it hasn’t been fully articulated, many recent developments in ocean production and governance have strong parallels with the work permaculture practitioners have been doing for decades. </p>
<p>Aquaculture systems can, many now believe, not only be low-impact but work to <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.12982">restore lost or damaged ecosystems</a>. Picture oyster farms slowly bringing back the natural oyster reefs which once carpeted shallow coastal waters, or prawn farms surrounded by regrowing mangroves to protect the coast from erosion. </p>
<p>There are strong parallels between the closed-loop approach taken by permaculture on land and an emerging sea farming approach called integrated multi-trophic aquaculture. Here, species with different ecological roles are grown together, producing more food from your farm – and strengthening <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00165/full">natural ecosystem services</a>. </p>
<p>In these systems, food waste from consumers is recycled by seaweeds and shellfish, which in turn provide food and habitat to farmed fish species. If well-designed, these benefits flow out from the farm. </p>
<p>Permaculture’s influence is also evident in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/4/pgac196/6702749">nature-inspired design and biomimicry</a>, using natural shapes to give nature a boost. Australian work here includes efforts to restore rocky reefs by <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/like-sculptures-in-the-sea-artificial-reef-brings-hope-to-threatened-shoreline-20231018-p5edci.html">creating structures</a> with the nooks and crannies small sea creatures need. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="fish farms seen from above" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574279/original/file-20240208-26-t5obr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Fish farming is becoming big business. But that comes with risks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/salmon-fish-farm-hordaland-norway-703043050">Marius Dobilas/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>From the grassroots</h2>
<p>At present, a handful of corporations have disproportionately high <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127533">levels of control over fisheries and aquaculture</a>. In part, that’s because <a href="https://www.msc.org/en-au/what-we-are-doing/our-approach/fishing-methods-and-gear-types/can-a-super-trawler-fish-sustainably">supertrawlers</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-08-08/sea-swift-prawn-trawler-motherships-gulf-of-carpentaria/102696476">motherships</a>, and large blue-water fish farms are expensive.</p>
<p>If we instead took a marine permaculture approach to the blue economy, we would seek to return power back to the people who live and work at the water’s edge – a permaculture equivalent to <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/mongabay-explains-whats-the-difference-between-artisanal-and-industrial-fishing/">artisanal fishing</a>. </p>
<p>A localised approach to aquaculture has real benefit. Individuals and communities could develop their own versions of marine permaculture which work in their area, by adopting design solutions used elsewhere or just by tinkering and trialing. </p>
<p>If something isn’t working or it’s creating flow-on consequences, people can see what’s happening and respond quickly. </p>
<p>Small-scale sea farms are less likely to do damage, and should also boost resilience by investing in local social and environmental benefits.</p>
<h2>How do we make this a reality?</h2>
<p>For their part, governments can help by creating policy frameworks encouraging small-scale producers – especially those able to demonstrate positive social and ecological outcomes. </p>
<p>Governments have an essential role in creating comprehensive <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X10000436">spatial plans</a> to guide aquaculture in an area or region. This is important, as it removes uncertainty and avoids conflict between different uses. </p>
<p>Researchers can help by developing measures of success and testing new techniques to help guide the new communities which will form to farm the sea.</p>
<p>Over the past half-century, permaculture on land has grown into a diverse movement challenging conventional wisdom about how to produce food. </p>
<p>We’ll need that same intense creative energy to make marine permaculture a reality. It’s entirely possible to design food-producing seascapes which give back to the sea as well as take from it – while making it possible for smaller sea farmers to flourish. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-revolution-disguised-as-organic-gardening-in-memory-of-bill-mollison-66137">A revolution disguised as organic gardening: in memory of Bill Mollison</a>
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<p><em>Climate Foundation CEO Brian von Herzen and permaculture pioneer David Holmgren contributed to the research this article is based on.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222514/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Spillias does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As we go from fishing to fish farming, we should borrow restorative approaches from permaculture.Scott Spillias, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164892023-10-31T16:47:07Z2023-10-31T16:47:07ZFarming tuna on land heralded as a win for sustainability – but there are serious concerns around animal welfare<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556597/original/file-20231030-21-lzpkx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5160%2C3998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tuna-caught-atlantic-blue-transit-box-1795226674">Steven4z/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/atlantic-bluefin-tuna">Atlantic bluefin tuna</a> used to be caught only relatively rarely, mainly by sports fishermen in North America. But this all changed in the 1950s when consumers of sushi, particularly in Japan, <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/CE95Nn2N34sC?hl=en">developed more of a taste</a> for the species. </p>
<p>Historically, Atlantic bluefins have either been caught directly from the ocean or caught while young and fattened in large offshore cages called “ranches”. Both wild fishing and ranching pose sustainability issues since they involve taking fish from the wild. The surge in demand resulted in excessive fishing pressure. By 2006, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas <a href="https://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2006-05-e.pdf">warned</a> that the Atlantic bluefin stock was close to collapse. </p>
<p>Scientists are now exploring ways to breed Atlantic bluefin tuna in captivity as an alternative to catching young fish from the sea. These approaches involve the manipulation and release of hormones into the water to stimulate egg production in the fish. The resulting eggs and fish larvae are then kept in a series of tanks until they grow to a suitable size, at which point they are relocated to cages at sea.</p>
<p>In a significant breakthrough in July 2023, scientists at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/04/breeding-breakthrough-paves-way-for-intensive-tuna-farming-on-land">successfully bred Atlantic bluefin tuna</a> in tanks on land for the first time. This development has been seen as a <a href="https://www.nexttuna.com/page7.html#:%7E:text=Next%20Tuna%20will%20provide%20the,for%20European%20and%20global%20consumers.">win for sustainability</a>. By breeding fish in enclosed tanks, fewer Atlantic bluefins will need to be caught from the wild.</p>
<p>But there are concerns surrounding the welfare of farmed tuna and their environmental impact. Atlantic bluefins are not well suited to captivity as ordinarily they <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/2976">migrate over thousands of miles</a> of open ocean. Research also suggests that the methods used to get the tuna to spawn may <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33670655/Van_Beijnen_2017_The_closed_cycle_aquaculture_of_Atlantic_Bluefin_Tuna_in_Europe_current_status_market_perceptions_and_future_perspectives">cause them stress</a>.</p>
<h2>Welfare in hatcheries</h2>
<p>An astonishing proportion of tuna larvae die in the hatcheries. In the EU’s early Atlantic bluefin domestication project, called Transdott, which started in 2012, <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/311904/reporting">only 0.44% of tuna larvae</a> survived 30 days after hatching. </p>
<p>This death rate seems shockingly high. But an <a href="https://academic.oup.com/plankt/article/44/5/782/6307936">extremely high number</a> of tuna larvae die in the wild as well. Hatcheries may also become better at preventing some of these deaths in future, since they will struggle to make a profit if most of their stock dies. </p>
<p>There are, however, causes of death within hatcheries that don’t exist in the wild. Some larvae die by crashing into tank walls and others perish when they are moved between tanks. </p>
<p>It’s difficult to assess the day-to-day experience of tuna in hatcheries. Part of the reason for this is because conditions in hatcheries are often kept private. But undomesticated species of fish generally experience <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1050464821001182#:%7E:text=Generally%2C%20domesticated%20fish%20were%20characterized,comparison%20to%20the%20wild%20fish.">greater stress in captivity</a> and in response to human handling than domesticated species, which have adapted to this over time. </p>
<p>Since we are in the early stages of the domestication process for Atlantic bluefins, we should expect the tuna to be stressed by the large degree of human contact.</p>
<p>There is also some evidence that fish can become distressed by noise and are unaccustomed to vibrations. But noise may be hard to avoid on farms, particularly inland. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.200172">One study</a> found that <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/guppy">guppies</a> exposed to chronic noise exhibited a significantly shorter lifespan compared with those in either acute noise or noise-free conditions.</p>
<p>On a more positive note, it’s in producers’ interests to ensure that their fish have good welfare and are not distressed. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.4081/ijas.2005.2s.603">Research</a> has found that stressed fish don’t taste as good, so they don’t fetch as high a price.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing each life stage of the Atlantic bluefin tuna." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556603/original/file-20231030-23-q4pcps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The life cycle of the Atlantic bluefin tuna.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">The Spanish Institute of Oceanography</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>The transfer of young tuna to offshore enclosures raises several environmental concerns. Tuna are fed substantial amounts of frozen fish, such as mackerel and sardines, and there is always at least some uneaten. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2109.2007.01649.x">Research</a> has shown that this residual feed, when combined with fish faeces, reduces biodiversity directly below the tuna cages.</p>
<p>Other species of fish that are kept in captivity, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/Atlantic-salmon">Atlantic salmon</a>, often experience <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-problem-of-sea-lice-in-salmon-farms.html">high numbers of parasitic infestations</a> because they are packed so closely together. <a href="https://www.ncrac.org/files/biblio/SRAC0474.pdf">Research</a> suggests that higher stress levels can render fish more susceptible to diseases too. As tuna farming operations grow, there will probably be a need to use more antimicrobials to treat disease outbreaks.</p>
<h2>Slaughtering methods</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0144860905000701">most common way</a> of slaughtering large Atlantic bluefins is to shoot the fish in the head while they are still underwater. This method should theoretically cause minimal suffering as the fish usually die instantly. However, it’s not yet clear how easy it is for farm workers to get this technique right.</p>
<p>Smaller tuna are slaughtered in a way that probably causes them more suffering. The fish are crowded before slaughter, sometimes for several hours, which causes distress. They are then hauled out of the water and stabbed in the head with a metal spike (a process called “coring”). Fish can be mis-cored, meaning that they don’t lose consciousness immediately.</p>
<p>The extent of welfare concerns in Atlantic bluefin tuna hatcheries remains uncertain. But it’s worth noting that many of the factors that are detrimental to fish welfare may also have negative consequences for companies in the industry. </p>
<p>High death rates can hinder profitability, while stressed fish may be less palatable and, as a consequence, less valuable. As the industry evolves, there may be inherent incentives for companies to improve the welfare conditions for farmed Atlantic bluefin tuna.</p>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wasseem Emam has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Amber Dawn Ace and Valerie Monckton contributed to the drafting of this article.</span></em></p>Breeding tuna in captivity is a promising solution to overfishing, but there are concerns surrounding fish welfare.Wasseem Emam, PhD Candidate in the Institute of Aquaculture, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1670642021-10-05T16:24:59Z2021-10-05T16:24:59ZSome people are willing to pay more for sustainable seafood - new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421644/original/file-20210916-25-wktb4f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1200%2C738&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Increasing numbers of fish farms are receiving sustainability certifications.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Fish-farm-hero.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than seven billion people live on Earth today, of whom almost <a href="https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit/news/2021-going-be-bad-year-world-hunger">one billion</a> do not have enough to eat. By 2050, our planet’s human population is likely to reach almost <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts">ten billion</a>, an extremely challenging number of people to feed sustainably.</p>
<p>Oceans cover over <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanwater.html#:%7E:text=About%2097%20percent%20of%20Earth's,be%20found%20in%20our%20ocean.">70%</a> of the Earth’s surface, and many of the animals inhabiting them – like fish and shellfish – are a vital <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/sustainable-seafood">source of nutrition</a> for societies across the globe. Managing this resource sustainably can help combat food shortages. But to give fishers and fish farmers an incentive to harvest the seas with long-term environmental health in mind, there needs to be consumer demand for sustainable production practices.</p>
<p><a href="https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/publications/the-value-of-responsibly-farmed-fish-a-hedonic-price-study-of-asc">Our research</a>, using data from German households, shows that certified sustainable farmed fish sell for slightly higher prices – suggesting that some consumers are indeed willing to pay more for a meal that’s gentler on the environment.</p>
<p>Previous work has looked at the prices of products of open-water fisheries. But studies investigating consumer preferences for sustainably farmed (not fished) seafood remain scarce, despite the fact that <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ca9229en/CA9229EN.pdf">fish farms</a> now contribute more seafood to people’s plates than <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/25/12238">open-water fishing</a>. </p>
<p>In order to analyse how willing consumers are to pay more for sustainably produced farmed seafood, we analysed “<a href="https://www.marketingstudyguide.com/price-premium-metric/">price premiums</a>”, or the price difference between sustainable and “standard” seafood products across supermarkets. This difference reflects consumer readiness to pay a higher price for a product different in some way from its typical equivalent.</p>
<p>To do this, we took advantage of <a href="http://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/">ecolabelling</a> schemes. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13657305.2020.1840664">Ecolabels</a> have established themselves in the seafood market as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.06.002">tool</a> to help people differentiate between sustainably- and non-sustainably produced foods, by providing information about the food’s environmental impact.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fish farm in open water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421843/original/file-20210917-23-12mnqyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many farmed fish products originate from farms like this one, in a Norwegian fishing village.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninara/50202652263">Ninara/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.005">leading label</a> helping to assure environmentally friendly production of farmed seafood – the <a href="https://www.asc-aqua.org/">Aquaculture Stewardship Council</a> (ASC) label – was implemented in 2012. Its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.06.002">equivalent</a> for open-water fisheries, the <a href="https://www.msc.org/uk">Marine Stewardship Council</a> (MSC) label, was introduced in 1997.</p>
<h2>Consumer preferences</h2>
<p>There’s already a significant market for these products in countries across Europe. Just under <a href="https://www.asc-aqua.org/news/latest-news/two-reports-highlight-continued-growth-of-certified-seafood-in-the-netherlands/">three quarters</a> of fresh, frozen and canned seafood sold in Dutch supermarkets now carries either the ASC or MSC label. And in the UK, MSC-labelled products made up <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/shopping-sustainably/article/how-to-buy-sustainable-fish-ajvkk3x9RzeA">over a third</a> of supermarket seafood sales between 2019 and 2020. Money spent by UK consumers on MSC-certified fish alone in 2020 hit <a href="https://www.msc.org/docs/default-source/uk-files/marketreport_2020_interactive.pdf">£1.3 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Several <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12138">studies</a> provide evidence of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.12217">price premiums</a> associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.06.002">MSC-certified</a> seafood. We were interested to see whether this trend would hold for ASC-certified seafood, too.</p>
<p>We assessed prices for the three most common farmed whitefish carrying the ASC label in Germany: pangasius, tilapia and rainbow trout. Across the board, we found price premiums for smoked, fresh, and canned fish relative to frozen fish. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A packet of tilapia fish" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421645/original/file-20210916-15-15audc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Whitefish like tilapia can fetch higher prices when fresh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/2005713009362/farmed-fresh-tilapia-skinless-and-boneless-fillets-kirkland">Open Food Facts</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, we also found that on average, both ASC-labelled pangasius and tilapia fetch a price 6% above that of unlabelled products, while for ASC-labelled trout the price difference is even higher, at 9%. However, the variation in premiums for farmed fish appears to be lower than for ocean-caught fish, likely because of the fish farming is a more predictable method of production than open-water fishing, which is highly dependent on weather, legal restrictions and stock conditions. </p>
<p>Overall, our study indicates that consumers are willing to pay more for ASC-labelled farmed fish than for their non-labelled counterparts. This apparent willingness to pay for more sustainably produced seafood suggests that such consumers genuinely care about reducing the environmental impact of their diet, including lessening <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing">damage to ocean habitats</a> and injuries to marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds. </p>
<p>And the existence of this consumer demand for sustainable fish at a premium price could give retailers and farmers a powerful incentive to stock, and produce, more environmentally friendly products.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Asche receives or has received funding from the Norwegian Research Council and the Hewlet-Packard Foundation to to investigate the impact of ecolabels in seafood markets. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andreea L. Cojocaru and Julia Bronnmann do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ecolabelled seafood fetches higher prices in supermarkets, giving retailers and producers the incentive to up their sustainability game.Julia Bronnmann, Assistant Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics, University of Southern DenmarkAndreea L. Cojocaru, Postdoctoral Fellow in Natural Resource Economics, University of StavangerFrank Asche, Professor of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1223572019-10-22T20:06:23Z2019-10-22T20:06:23ZConfusion at the fish counter: How to eat fish responsibly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297962/original/file-20191021-56198-1kv4j0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=97%2C52%2C4177%2C3265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are plenty of fish to choose from, but many aspects to consider. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It now seems absurd that anyone once believed the ocean was inexhaustable: fish stocks are in dismal shape and scientists say overfishing is a global problem with <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.1229965">potentially irreversible consequences to ecosystems and human livelihoods</a>. </p>
<p>Sustainability has become a key driver of seafood consumer choices, according to a <a href="https://globescan.com/seafood-consumers-less-pollution-more-fish/">2018 survey</a> by Globescan on behalf of the <a href="https://www.msc.org/">Marine Stewardship Council</a>. </p>
<p>But no longer is a visit to the local fish-and-chips restaurant a simple choice between cod and halibut. Consumers must also weigh geography, catch method and species in their food order. When did eating fish and chips get so complicated? </p>
<p>As a researcher who studies sustainable seafood, I also ask: “Which fish should I be eating?”</p>
<h2>Why eat fish?</h2>
<p>Taste aside, there are <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/17-health-benefits-of-omega-3">numerous health benefits</a> to eating seafood, both for your brain and body. </p>
<p>Still, many Canadians remain confused or frustrated by varying health claims or unclear messages. They’re concerned about <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-and-overfishing-are-increasing-toxic-mercury-levels-in-fish/">mercury</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/june-8-2019-a-diet-of-microplastic-canada-s-northern-limits-elephants-smell-numbers-and-more-1.5165286/we-re-consuming-a-lot-of-plastic-and-have-no-idea-of-the-risks-1.5165311">microplastics</a> and <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/would-you-eat-genetically-modified-salmon">genetically modified foods</a>. (A Health Canada assessment concluded that the AquAdvantage GMO salmon is <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/genetically-modified-foods-other-novel-foods/approved-products/aquadvantage-salmon.html">safe for consumption</a>.)</p>
<p>It’s not surprising that many consumers are confused. The seafood industry is diverse and very different than any other meat industry in Canada. </p>
<p>For the most part, Canadians only eat one species of chicken, cow and pig. But an average grocery store sells a myriad of different species of fish and shellfish. Seafood is also a truly global commodity. </p>
<p>While most chicken and beef in North American supermarkets comes from Canada and the United States, fish species are imported from around the world — and come from very different growing conditions.</p>
<h2>Choosing the right fish</h2>
<p>Each consumer is different, so there isn’t one fish that rules them all. Consumers base their decisions on a variety of qualities — <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.04.007">health, sustainability, price and origin</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>1. Health claims</strong></em></p>
<p>Like apples or broccoli, many consumers eat fish because it’s healthy. Fatty fish like salmon and mackerel are very high in important nutrients and <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-omega-3-rich-foods">omega-3s</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-adults-need-to-eat-more-omega-3-fats-95508">Young adults need to eat more omega-3 fats</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yet many health benefits are often highly debated, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054%5B0986:FOFTCC%5D2.0.CO;2">claims can be confusing</a>. That healthy choice is sometimes obscured by concerns over contaminants like mercury or the use of antibiotics in aquaculture. </p>
<p>Some consumers, especially pregnant women or young children, may want to avoid larger, long-lived predatory fish like swordfish and tuna that can accumulate high levels of mercury.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-017-0511-8">In many countries like Canada and Norway</a>, antibiotic use in aquaculture has decreased substantially in recent years, yet it <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01284">remains widespread elsewhere</a>.</p>
<p>Some consumers seek organic options because they are grown without chemicals. In Canada, there are some certified organic options for farmed seafood, including <a href="https://www.thimblebayblues.ca/process/sustainability">organic mussels</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297978/original/file-20191021-56234-1ptyj90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mussels are high in protein, low in fat and often inexpensive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><strong>2. Sustainability</strong></em></p>
<p>With increasing overfishing and declining ocean health, <a href="https://thefishsite.com/articles/pollution-and-overfishing-top-seafood-consumers-concerns">many consumers seek sustainable seafood options</a>. </p>
<p>Shellfish like mussels and oysters are considered to have the <a href="https://ecsga.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Environmental_Impacts_Foods.pdf">lowest environmental impact</a> since they have low energy requirements and do not need to be fed. In some cases, they can even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-015-9949-9">clean the water where they are raised</a>, potentially helping protect or improve degraded waters.</p>
<p>Eating farmed fish helps reduce reliance on already vulnerable wild fish stocks. It also has a <a href="https://globalsalmoninitiative.org/files/documents/Reducing-food%E2%80%99s-environmental-impacts-through-producers-and-consumers.pdf">lower carbon footprint</a> than terrestrial livestock farming. Yet <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-aquaculture-controversy-in-canada">debates about seafood sustainability</a>, especially aquaculture, continue. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297984/original/file-20191021-56220-1rdd162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An aerial view of the Atlantic salmon aquaculture pens in New Brunswick.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Eco-certification labels, like the <a href="https://www.msc.org/">Marine Stewardship Council</a> and the <a href="https://www.asc-aqua.org/">Aquaculture Stewardship Council</a>, help consumers identify seafood caught or grown in environmentally friendly ways. Depending on where you live, popular fish, including some types of tuna, salmon and halibut, have earned a spot on the “avoid” list of the <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations/consumer-guides">Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch</a>. </p>
<p><em><strong>3. Supporting local</strong></em></p>
<p>In recent years, some Canadians have focused on eating local to reduce their environmental footprint and support nearby producers. For many, this means avoiding most shrimp and opting for fish like Canadian Atlantic salmon and lobster if you live near the coast or freshwater fish if you’re inland. </p>
<p>Consumers also need to know that many homegrown favourites are also imported, like Atlantic salmon from Norway or Chile, or tilapia from China or Indonesia. </p>
<p><em><strong>4. Seeking affordability</strong></em></p>
<p>While there are many great domestic seafood options, seafood in Canada is <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/society/why-canadas-seafood-market-is-so-bad-and-costs-so-much/#gallery/shellfish/slide-1">surprisingly expensive</a>. Beyond taste, smell and appearance, price is an enduring priority for many Canadians. </p>
<p>Canned fish like tuna is a popular lower-priced option. Fillets of haddock, tilapia and farmed salmon are also affordable. Consumers seeking organic claims and eco-certification labels will pay a premium.</p>
<h2>No easy feat</h2>
<p>When it comes to fish, <a href="https://www.seachoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Seafood-Labelling-Report-Online.pdf">food labels have been unhelpful to consumers</a>. Producers are only required to show the common name of the fish (potentially lumping many different species into a common name like tuna, shrimp or rockfish) and the origin of the packaged or fresh fish product.</p>
<p>To complicate matters, the so-called origin of a fish is defined as the place where it was last “transformed” into a fillet or boxed. For example, a fish caught in Canadian waters but sent to China for packaging could say “Product of China.” The origin thus doesn’t necessarily indicate where the fish was caught or farmed. </p>
<p>Recent investigations into fish species and origins by the conservation group <a href="https://oceana.org">Oceana</a> have found that seafood products in Canadian grocery stores and restaurants are often mislabelled. For example, of the 472 seafood samples tested between 2017 and 2019, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fish-fraud-mislabelling-seafood-montreal-1.5321978">47 per cent were labelled as something else</a>. Red snapper was often substituted with tilapia and wild fish were replaced with farmed fish.</p>
<p>As Canadian consumers, we have a responsibility to demand more information about where and how fish reaches our tables and encouraging labelling requirements and responsible practices. </p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122357/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Weitzman receives funding from The Ocean Frontier Institute and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She is affiliated with the Aquaculture Association of Canada and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance. </span></em></p>Consumers are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of their fish.Jenny Weitzman, Interdisciplinary PhD Candidate, Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1225522019-09-17T16:49:07Z2019-09-17T16:49:07ZAquaponic farming: harnessing natural processes for an urban circular economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290284/original/file-20190830-165972-10e8421.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C4%2C1495%2C880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rendering of the ECF Farmsystems facility in Berlin, Germany.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article was co-written with <a href="https://www.scp-centre.org/team/alexis-figeac/">Alexis Figeac</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The term <em>waste</em> describes materials or products that are no longer of use. In a linear economy, it accumulates as an undesired by-product of economic activity. Waste and environmental hazards are commonplace throughout the current industrialized food system. Although some initiatives have been aiming to reduce waste toward the end stage – for example, by <a href="https://theconversation.com/powerful-supermarkets-push-the-cost-of-food-waste-onto-suppliers-charities-54654">changing consumer perceptions</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-phenix-giving-a-second-life-to-food-waste-97407">matching excess supply with demand</a> – significant progress needs to be made during food production. Where do we start?</p>
<h2>Redesigning production and consumption</h2>
<p>One idea that has been growing in both <a href="http://www.r2piproject.eu/">research and practice</a> is the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/tie.21924">circular economy</a>, which sees value in “waste” flows and re-routes them back into the economic process. A striking example of a circular-economy business model in action is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sustainable-vegetables-that-thrive-on-a-diet-of-fish-poo-50160">aquaponics</a>, which combines elements of <em>aquaculture</em> (fish farming) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-farmers-are-learning-to-grow-food-without-soil-or-natural-light-88720"><em>hydroponics</em></a> (plant farming with controlled systems). It allows a single producer to sustainably grow produce and raise fish within the local community. </p>
<p>While traditional aquaculture is performed in structures within a natural environment, aquaponics adopts the circular-symbiosis approach, where the biological waste of a fish farm is harmonised to be the biological food for the production of plants such as herbs, salads and tomatoes. Compared to traditional industrial farming operations, where circularity might be added at the end (for example, compost), aquaponics employs a circular production design by leveraging <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-circular-economy-building-an-economy-on-the-template-of-nature-115663">nature’s template</a>. This is a balancing act to technologically control two separate but dependent biological systems, which improves the productivity of the physical space – in this case an urban environment – while reducing environmental impacts.</p>
<p>Aquaponic firms leading the way include <a href="http://www.ecf-farmsystems.com/en/">ECF Farmsystems</a> and <a href="https://www.stadtfarm.de/">Stadtfarm</a> in Berlin, <a href="https://bigh.farm/">BIGH Farm</a> in Anderlecht, <a href="http://www.urbansmartfarm.be/en/">Urban Smart Farm</a> in Gent and <a href="http://bioaquafarm.co.uk">Bioaqua Farm</a> in Blackford, United Kingdom. They’re among a growing number of urban-farming pioneers that challenge the way we perceive, produce, and purchase our food. </p>
<h2>A better solution</h2>
<p>How these benefits are derived can best be understood by a comparison with traditional aquaculture systems. In these cases, fish produces high levels of nitrates and phosphorus, which must be purged from the system and replaced with fresh water to maintain healthy living conditions. However, by flushing this nutrient-rich fish wastewater into the environment, ecosystems may be damaged by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophication">eutrophication</a>. In urban environments, it imposes costs for treatment through municipal sewage systems. Furthermore, these same nutrients are required for plant cultivation – and in the case of nitrates – they are commonly derived in an industrial process that requires significant quantities of methane gas, must be shipped to the farm, and are often (over)applied to crops.</p>
<p>An aquaponics system takes the would-be waste output of highly nutrient water and delivers it directly to plants, cleaning it and reducing this dependence on added fertilizer. The water is maintained in the system, continuously circulates and is cleaned mechanically and biologically. It effectively reduces water needs – <a href="http://www.int-res.com/articles/aei2015/7/q007p179.pdf">advanced aquaponics systems</a> achieve up to 90% higher water efficiency than traditional field farming – as well as reducing the dependency on fossil fuel for transportation, because production is close to the markets for the final food products.</p>
<p>“Food miles” are not only a contributor to GHG-emissions but they are also part of a phenomenon of anonymization of food production, detaching the consumer from its source. <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-farms-wont-feed-our-cities-but-theyre-still-a-great-idea-heres-why-66107">Sustainable urban farming</a> through aquaponics thus brings food production closer to its consumers. While urban farming is primarily a source of plant-based fibre, vitamins and minerals, aquaponics is able to deliver the missing dietary link, animal protein. Indeed, aquaculture is far more efficient and practical in this respect than other forms of livestock breeding in urban environments. Furthermore, it has the added social benefit of bringing advanced farming jobs to urban areas.</p>
<h2>Challenges of aquaponics</h2>
<p>Thus far, aquaponics businesses operate in a vague policy environment that falls under both aquaculture and agriculture, resulting in a web of <a href="http://www.inapro-project.eu/article/discussion-about-the-future-of-eu-aquaculture-in-the-fisheries-committee-of-the-european-parliament_a75/">bureaucracy</a>. At the EU level, aquaponics is not regulated as a distinct sector, and <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2017/608761/EPRS_ATA(2017)608761_EN.pdf">regulations</a> are therefore less than ideal. This filters down to the local level, where major challenges faced by aquaponic operations concerning zoning, planning and permissioning. Surprisingly, ECF had struggled to have its greenhouses approved on what is currently an industrial sector – there are rigid definitions of what industry, agriculture and food production are, limiting the integration of such innovative concepts.</p>
<p>Furthermore, to assess the sustainability of any process, one must consider all inputs and outputs. For aquaponics, while there is potential for significant environmental benefits, a major challenge is obtaining sustainable fish feed. Most is derived from soy or animal products with significant environmental impacts themselves. Furthermore, some feed components aren’t ones that the fish species would find in its natural environment and thus aren’t needed. Developments in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.12.032">insect-based feedstock</a> might be a <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-for-thought-feeding-our-growing-population-with-flies-64374">solution to many environmental concerns</a>.</p>
<h2>Moving beyond a niche market</h2>
<p>Despite these challenges, ECF and other aquaponics advocates, believing in substantial benefits for society, continue to expand and seek out regulatory changes, signalling hope for the new market.</p>
<p>The concept of aquaponics provides insights into how circularity could be approached and ease the challenges of global population growth – with a need for sustainable food, free of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2018.02.001">herbicides, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and microplastics</a>, that considers urbanization, food transportation, clean water scarcity, and environmental hazards related to traditional farming, eutrophication and carbon emissions in particular. Beyond these benefits, urban farming may also help <a href="https://theconversation.com/circular-cities-of-the-world-what-can-green-infrastructure-do-119273">green our concrete jungles</a> and have further environmental and psychological benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Wolf is a member of the European consortium R2Pi (The Route to the Circular Economy) funded under the European programme H2020 (No. 730378), in which the case of ECF is studied. He is affiliated with the ESCP Europe Circular Economy Chair. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvie Geisendorf is a member of the European consortium R2Pi (The Route to the Circular Economy) funded under the European programme H2020 (No. 730378), in which the case of ECF is studied. She is affiliated with the ESCP Europe Circular Economy Chair.</span></em></p>Combining aquaculture and hydroponics, aquaponics unearths value in “waste” flows and re-routes them back into the economy. It’s an inspiring example of how a circular-economy business model can work.Paul Wolf, PhD Candidate - Chair of Environment and Economics ••• Member of Deloitte-Chair "Circular Economy", ESCP Business SchoolSylvie Geisendorf, Professor of Environment and Economics, Member of Deloitte-Chair "Circular Economy", ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1186682019-08-13T22:17:20Z2019-08-13T22:17:20ZThe demand for luxury shellfish is polluting the ocean with plastic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287411/original/file-20190808-144855-jh0m8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5155%2C3261&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Segments of PVC pipe washed up on shore in Denman Sound, B.C. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Nicklen/Sea Legacy</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government has taken action recently to reduce the amount of plastic waste found on land and in oceans, rivers and lakes. </p>
<p>In June, for example, it said it would <a href="https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2019/06/10/canada-ban-harmful-single-use-plastics-and-hold-companies-responsible-plastic-waste">ban single-use plastics by 2021</a>. “It is tough to explain to your children why <a href="https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/speeches/2019/06/14/prime-ministers-speaking-notes-plastics-announcement">dead whales are washing up on our beaches with their stomachs jammed packed with plastic bags</a>,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented at the time. </p>
<p>Despite this progress, one of the main plastic polluters — shellfish aquaculture — continues to threaten marine ecosystems. </p>
<p>Coastal British Columbia is rugged and jagged. Its drowned fjords are home to wild salmon and the ecosystems that depend on them. Tucked away between Vancouver and Denman islands is Baynes Sound, a serene inland sea, home to sea mammals, globally important duck and bird populations, and a <a href="https://www.crcpress.com/Stewarding-the-Sound-The-Challenge-of-Managing-Sensitive-Coastal-Ecosystems/Bendell-Gallaugher-Wood-McKeachie/p/book/9780367112035">biological diversity unmatched along our coast</a>. </p>
<p>So unique is this ecosystem that, 20 years ago, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) <a href="http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.807120/publication.html">recommended regions within this area be set aside as protected areas</a>.</p>
<p>Threats to the sound include increased tourism, urbanization and an-as-yet-unregulated seaweed harvest. The greatest threat, however, is an expanding shellfish industry that provides a continual source of plastics to the sound. </p>
<h2>Shellfish aquaculture</h2>
<p>For the past 14 years, community beach cleanups have measured the plastic in Baynes Sound. An astonishing four to six tonnes of plastic debris, including anti-predator netting, plastics trays, ropes and styrofoam, is collected from the beaches annually. Now polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping, used for the farming of geoducks is also being washed ashore. </p>
<p>In 2017, the DFO gave the West Coast shellfish industry a green light to expand its farming practices to include the lucrative geoduck, a luxury protein used in sashimi, to meet the demand from Hong Kong and the rest of China.</p>
<p>Geoducks (pronounced “gooey ducks”) are large salt-water clams, found naturally along the Pacific coast. Sales of farmed geoduck to this select market <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/agriculture-and-seafood/statistics/industry-and-sector-profiles/year-in-review/bcseafood_yearinreview_2017.pdf">netted close to $56 million in 2017</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281879/original/file-20190629-94688-h3c8x9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rows of PVC piping inserted into the beach shoreline for geoduck farming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Farming them involves placing juvenile geoducks into rows and rows of 18-inch long segments of PVC piping, planted vertically into the intertidal sediments, at a density of one pipe per square foot. Nets are secured with elastic bands over the pipe to protect the immature geoduck. </p>
<p>But <a href="http://coalitiontoprotectpugetsoundhabitat.org/?page_id=493">the pipes become loose within days, especially after storm events</a>, and the beach becomes littered with the plastic netting, elastics and pipes. Wave action and ultraviolet light from the sun degrade the pipes, creating fragments and then microplastics (items smaller than five millimetres in diametre) that further pollute the marine environment. </p>
<h2>Ecosystem and health impacts</h2>
<p>PVC is <a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/materials/polymer-profiles-a-guide-to-the-worlds-most-widely-used-plastics/">one of the most common plastic polymers</a> in use, and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02569">its breakdown can damage ecosystem and human health</a>. </p>
<p>The particles may <a href="http://www.gesamp.org/publications/reports-and-studies-no-90">harm invertebrates, fish, seabirds and other organisms that consume them</a>. The chemicals in the plastic debris, including plasticizers, phthalates, flame retardants and stabilizers, can <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-12/documents/plastics-aquatic-life-report.pdf">leach out of particles and have the potential to harm marine organisms</a>. Finally, the pipe fragments can also act as a substrate, providing <a href="http://www.gesamp.org/publications/reports-and-studies-no-90">pathogenic marine organisms and parasites in near-shore environments with a place to grow and multiply</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287416/original/file-20190808-144873-30344f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Live geoducks in a restaurant tank.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Canadians know first-hand the impacts of plastic pollution, and are tired of seeing their beaches, parks, streets and shorelines littered with plastic waste,” Trudeau said in a statement after he announced the single-use plastics ban. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We have a responsibility to work with our partners to reduce plastic pollution, protect the environment and create jobs and grow our economy. <a href="https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2019/06/10/canada-ban-harmful-single-use-plastics-and-hold-companies-responsible-plastic-waste">We owe it to our kids to keep the environment clean and safe for generations to come</a>.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, why the paradox? </p>
<p>The government says it’s <a href="https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/acts-lois/rules-reglements/rule-reglement04-eng.htmlink">intent on protecting at least 10 per cent of our coastal ecosystems</a> and reducing the threat of plastics to our marine environments. Yet the industry, which is managed by our federal government, has been given permission to introduce hazardous plastics into one of B.C.’s most sensitive ecosystems. </p>
<p>The ban on plastic holds consumers accountable. It targets their behaviour and will force change. But this is only part of the problem. </p>
<p>The other part of the problem is the industry practice of discharging dangerous plastics into sensitive ecosystems. Government is regulating a change in consumer behaviour. Why not do the same for industry? </p>
<p>If the government’s goal is to protect these sensitive marine ecosystems, it needs to stop the flow of plastics from industrial sources including the unregulated shellfish industry. The economic gain of farming sashimi for a select market is not worth the environmental cost.</p>
<p><em>Shelley McKeachie, a founding member, past chair and director of the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards, co-authored this article.</em></p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Bendell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Growing demand for large salt-water clams is leaving parts of the B.C. coast littered with plastic debris.Leah Bendell, Professor of Marine Conservation and Ecotoxicology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1176012019-08-09T11:43:53Z2019-08-09T11:43:53ZFeeding the world: archaeology can help us learn from history to build a sustainable future for food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287507/original/file-20190809-144843-4ls8ew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1917%2C1348&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/rice-cultivation-rice-fields-4165415/">HoangTuan_photography/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What we eat can harm not only our health, but the planet itself. About a quarter of all the <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-020411-130608">greenhouse gas emissions</a> that humans generate each year come from how we feed the world. Most of them are methane released by cattle, nitrogen oxides from chemical fertilisers and carbon dioxide from the destruction of forests to grow crops or raise livestock. </p>
<p>All of these gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. Extreme weather events like floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and severe in our warming world, destroying crops and disrupting growing seasons. As a result, climate change could wreak havoc on already precarious food supplies. The challenges for agriculture are vast, and they’ll only mount as the world’s population grows.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/08/4.-SPM_Approved_Microsite_FINAL.pdf">special report on climate and land</a> by the IPCC warns that without drastic changes in global land use, agriculture and human diets, efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will fall significantly short of targets to hold global temperature rise <a href="https://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf">below 1.5°C</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ipccs-land-report-shows-the-problem-with-farming-based-around-oil-not-soil-121643">IPCC's land report shows the problem with farming based around oil, not soil</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A food system that produces nutritious food without harming the environment or other aspects of our well-being is <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-food-system-is-at-risk-of-crossing-environmental-limits-heres-how-to-ease-the-pressure-104715">sorely needed</a>. But <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0114-0">can it produce enough food</a> to feed billions of people while reversing biodiversity loss and pollution? </p>
<p>This is where I believe archaeologists and anthropologists can help. Our recent paper in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00438243.2019.1610492">World Archaeology</a> explores past agricultural systems and how they could help make agriculture more sustainable today. </p>
<h2>Canals and corn in South America</h2>
<p>There’s a long history of societies around the world experimenting with the way they produce food. Through these past successes and failures comes perspective on how humans have <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/4128399">transformed local environments</a> through agriculture and affected soil properties over thousands of years.</p>
<p>Ancient agricultural practices weren’t always in balance with nature – there’s some evidence that early food growers <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/34cd/6f0dd9d2c8c46b41de06e894637ec5f3dfd3.pdf">damaged their environment</a> with overgrazing or mismanaging irrigation which made the soil saltier. But there are also many instances where past systems of growing food improved soil quality, increased crop yields and protected crops against flooding and drought.</p>
<p>One example originated in Pre-Incan South America, and was commonly used between 300 BC and 1400 AD. The system, known today as Waru Waru, consisted of raised soil beds up to two metres high and up to six metres wide, surrounded by water channels. First discovered by researchers in the 1960s around Lake Titicaca, these raised field systems were introduced into wetland and highland areas of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3060444">Bolivia and Peru</a> over the following decades. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C700%2C392&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C700%2C392&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287505/original/file-20190809-144851-dxuycj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The canals used in Waru Waru farming could make food production more resilient to climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://tuymihistoria.blogspot.com/?fbclid=IwAR0JGt7rCejaBOVvpT8TIFLpUazKuvpDtKh5zTJhsWN4DfigfzldHFPAxwE">Blog de Historia General del Perú</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although some projects failed, the majority have allowed local farmers to improve crop productivity and soil fertility without using chemicals. Compared to other local agricultural methods, the raised beds capture water during droughts and drain water when there’s too much rain. This irrigates the crops all year round. The canal water retains heat and raises the air temperature surrounding the soil beds by 1°C, protecting crops from frost. The fish that colonise the channels also provide an additional food source. </p>
<p>Research is still ongoing, but today these Waru Waru systems are regularly used by farmers throughout South America, including in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S034181621830331X">Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia</a> – one of the largest wetlands in the world. Waru Waru farming could prove more resilient to the increased flooding and drought that’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/droughts-and-flooding-rains-climate-change-models-predict-increases-in-both-5470">expected under climate change</a>. It could also grow food in degraded habitats once considered unsuitable for crops, helping ease pressure to clear rainforest.</p>
<h2>Fish as pest control in Asia</h2>
<p>Monocultures are a much more familiar method of agriculture to people today. These are the vast fields that contain one type of crop, grown on a huge scale to guarantee higher yields that are easier to manage. But this method can also degrade <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipccs-land-report-shows-the-problem-with-farming-based-around-oil-not-soil-121643">soil fertility</a> and damage natural habitats and <a href="https://theconversation.com/single-crop-farming-is-leaving-wildlife-with-no-room-to-turn-38991">decrease biodiversity</a>. Chemical fertilisers used on these farms leach into rivers and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ocean-dead-zones-are-spreading-and-that-spells-disaster-for-fish-39668">oceans</a> and their pesticides kill wildlife and create resistant pests.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fao.org/3/CA3129EN/CA3129EN.pdf">Growing multiple crops</a>, rearing different species of livestock and reserving different habitats for conservation could make food supplies more nutritious and resilient to future shocks in the weather, while also creating more livelihoods and regenerating biodiversity. </p>
<p>That may sound like a lot to consider, but many ancient practices managed to achieve this balance with rather simple means. Some of them are even used today. In southern China, farmers add fish to their rice paddy fields in a method that dates back to the later Han Dynasty (25–220 AD). </p>
<p>The fish are an additional protein source, so the system produces more food than rice farming alone. But another advantage over rice monocultures is that farmers save on costly chemical fertilisers and pesticides – the fish provide a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/108/50/E1381.short">natural pest control</a> by eating weeds and harmful pests such as the <a href="http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/training/fact-sheets/pest-management/insects/item/planthopper">rice planthopper</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287510/original/file-20190809-144868-15e9lpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rice-fish farms produce more food and need fewer chemical pesticides.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mina-padi-cultivation-rice-fields-combination-1090069508?src=GMIpY9ixwMjwQPDaWFZ0TA-1-14">Tirtaperwitasari/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research throughout Asia has shown that compared to fields that only grow rice, rice-fish farming increases <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12562-010-0299-2">rice yields</a> by up to 20%, allowing families to feed themselves and sell their surplus food at market. These rice-fish farms are vital to smallholder communities, but today they’re increasingly pushed out by larger commercial organisations wishing to expand monoculture rice or fish farms. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fao.org/giahs/giahsaroundtheworld/designated-sites/asia-and-the-pacific/rice-fish-culture/en/">Rice-fish farming</a> could feed more people than current monocultures while using less of the agricultural chemicals which pollute water and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipccs-land-report-shows-the-problem-with-farming-based-around-oil-not-soil-121643">generate greenhouse gas emissions</a>.</p>
<p>The enduring success of these ancient methods remind us that we could reimagine our entire food system to feed ten billion people while rejuvenating wildlife and locking carbon away. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we should look to what worked in the past and adapt it for the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117601/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Reed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new IPCC report has called for radical changes in food production to avoid catastrophic climate change. Rice-fish farming and mixed crops could help.Kelly Reed, Programme Manager and Researcher in Archaeobotany, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1189022019-07-11T14:08:55Z2019-07-11T14:08:55ZHow your diet contributes to nutrient pollution and dead zones in lakes and bays<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281826/original/file-20190628-94696-13spbr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Charter boat Capt. Dave Spangler holds a sample of algae from Maumee Bay in Lake Erie, Sept. 15, 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Lake-Erie-Algae/70ba55b23a5a4f189c20b383141cf323/2/0">AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year in early summer, scientists at universities, research institutions and federal agencies release forecasts for the formation of “dead zones” and harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico, the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie. This year <a href="http://scavia.seas.umich.edu/hypoxia-forecasts/">the outlook is not good</a>. </p>
<p>The dead zone that forms annually in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to approach, if not surpass, record size at roughly 7,250 square miles. Another dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay is projected to be within the top 20% recorded over the past 20 years – about 2.1 cubic miles, equivalent to over 3.5 million Olympic-size swimming pools. And Lake Erie is also projected to set records, with almost 50,000 tons of potentially toxic algae. </p>
<p>The key factor driving these forecasts is winter and spring rainfall considerably above normal across the central U.S. The winter of 2018-2019 was the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-records-wettest-winter-capped-by-cooler-wetter-february-2019">wettest on record</a> across the nation, and May was the <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-201905">second-wettest month on record</a>. </p>
<p>Predicting the results isn’t rocket science. More rain means more flooding and more runoff from farmlands. These waters carry heavy loads of nutrients, mainly from fertilizer, that fuel algal blooms. The end results include <a href="https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government-treading-water-dead-zone-hypoxia-agricultural-runoff-fish-kill-nonpoint-source-pollution-surface-runoff-iowa-farmers-dnr-cover-crops-improve-water-quality-12022018">fish kills, closed beaches, possible drinking water alerts and loss of coastal property value</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5LwbeK-QXNs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Water in the Gulf of Mexico dead zone can contain less than half of the oxygen levels needed to support fish.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Treading water</h2>
<p>Algal blooms occur when water bodies become overloaded with nitrogen and phosphorus from farms, water treatment plants and other sources. Warm water and nutrients promote rapid growth of algae. Some strains can be toxic or even fatal to aquatic life and humans.</p>
<p>Eventually algae settle to the bottom and decay. This process depletes dissolved oxygen in the water, creating “dead zones” where oxygen levels are low enough to kill fish.</p>
<p>Scientists and public officials have understood this problem for decades, but progress toward addressing it has been painfully slow. Nutrient loads, dead zones and harmful algal blooms in these systems dominated by agriculture have <a href="https://theconversation.com/forecasting-dead-zones-and-toxic-algae-in-us-waterways-a-bad-year-for-lake-erie-43747">increased or held grudgingly steady for decades</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281852/original/file-20190628-94712-x1bv35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dead zone and harmful algal bloom trends with 2019 forecasts in red.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from http://scavia.seas.umich.edu/hypoxia-forecasts/</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The main policy tool available now to combat nutrient losses from agricultural lands is the <a href="https://www.farmers.gov/farmbill">Farm Bill</a>, enacted about every five years, which provides <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-budget-would-undo-gains-from-conservation-programs-on-farms-and-ranches-82420">funds for voluntary conservation efforts</a>. Between 1995 and 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided almost <a href="https://conservation.ewg.org/?_ga=2.138171184.145269961.1561742445-1342849811.1561742445">US$32 billion</a> in conservation incentive payments. U.S. water quality would be much worse without these programs, but they simply have not been sufficient to reduce nutrient loads over time. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=667&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=667&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282125/original/file-20190702-105206-okzyf9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=667&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nutrient load trends; 2019 loads in red.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">From: http://scavia.seas.umich.edu/hypoxia-forecasts/</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Warmer and wetter</h2>
<p>Scientists predict that as the climate warms, this problem is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aan2409">likely to get worse</a>. </p>
<p>Most climate models forecast <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/">increased precipitation</a>, especially intense spring rains, for most of the Midwest, the Great Lakes basin and the mid-Atlantic. As air warms, it can hold increasing amounts of water vapor, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-driving-rapid-shifts-between-high-and-low-water-levels-on-the-great-lakes-118095">contributes to more precipitation</a> during extreme weather events. In turn, heavier rainfall will impact nutrient runoff and dead zone formation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281809/original/file-20190628-94716-aeezy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Under a worst-case climate change scenario, in which global temperatures rise nearly 5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2100, very heavy precipitation events in the Midwest, Great Plains and Southeast regions would increase sharply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/NCA4_heavy-precipitation-projected_large.jpg">NOAA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A dietary strategy</h2>
<p>Farm-based conservation programs are important, and some new practices could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.03.015">improve nutrient management</a>. For example, farmers can widen drainage ditches to create two-stage ditches, which allow water to flow onto vegetated side “benches” that capture nutrients during periods of heavy rainfall. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=154&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=154&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282106/original/file-20190701-105187-p5m6x5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A two-stage ditch has a low-flow channel and a vegetated side ‘benches’ that are flooded during higher flows. The grass slows water flow and allows nutrients to settle out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://agbmps.osu.edu/bmp/open-channeltwo-stage-ditch-nrcs-582">Ohio State University Extension</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But even these measures would have to be implemented at <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fee.1472">unprecedented scales</a> to be effective. The challenge is even more daunting when recognizing that, for example, while the annual total phosphorus load to Lake Erie is large, it is only 10% of the amount applied in fertilizer each year. In addition, as with the Chesapeake and Mississippi watersheds, soils around Lake Erie are already laden with nitrogen and phosphorus. </p>
<p>In my view, part of the solution could be using markets to <a href="https://theconversation.com/industrial-corn-farming-is-ruining-our-health-and-polluting-our-watersheds-39721">drive a shift away from industrial-scale corn production</a>, which is a major source of nutrient pollution. One major step would be eliminating the federal mandate requiring oil companies to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/renewable-fuel-standard-program/overview-renewable-fuel-standard">blend corn-based ethanol into gasoline</a>, which consumes <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-to-rethink-corn/">40% of U.S. corn production</a>. </p>
<p>This will be politically difficult as long as presidential primaries <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/05/2020-democrats-ethanol-225517">start in Iowa</a>. But other strategies may be more feasible, such as encouraging private-sector companies to demand <a href="https://fieldtomarket.org/">corn raised through more sustainable practices</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/creating-sustainable-food-future#main-content">Reducing meat consumption</a>, which consumes another <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-to-rethink-corn/">36% of U.S. corn production</a> for animal feed, could also have a significant impact. Studies have shown that reducing this demand for row crops <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.12.001">reduces nutrient pollution</a>. </p>
<p>This idea has gained momentum with the growth of the alternative meat industry. The success of startups like <a href="https://www.beyondmeat.com/">Beyond Meat</a> and <a href="https://impossiblefoods.com/">Impossible Foods</a> is luring giants like <a href="http://fortune.com/2019/06/13/tyson-plant-based-meat-pea-protein/">Tyson</a> and <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/chicken-producer-perdue-enters-crowded-plant-based-meat-market-11629576">Perdue</a> into the game. Some are even struggling to keep up with demand for plant-based meat alternatives, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/business/impossible-foods-burger-demand.html">particularly in China</a>. One recent market analysis suggests that plant-based “meat” will <a href="https://www.atkearney.com/retail/article/?/a/how-will-cultured-meat-and-meat-alternatives-disrupt-the-agricultural-and-food-industry">surpass animal sources globally by 2040</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281824/original/file-20190628-94716-1gts8g7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.atkearney.com/retail/article/?/a/how-will-cultured-meat-and-meat-alternatives-disrupt-the-agricultural-and-food-industry">AT Kearney</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shrinking agriculture’s footprint</h2>
<p>Scientists have understood for decades that excess nitrogen and phosphorus degrade Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient inputs from sewage treatment plants and other discreet, easily identifiable sources have declined because they are regulated under the Clean Water Act. </p>
<p>But the nutrients fouling these water bodies now come mostly from diffuse sources, particularly industrial-scale row crop agriculture. Those operations are not subject to the Clean Water Act, and voluntary conservation programs seem to have at best kept pace with the expansion of large-scale farming. </p>
<p>After analyzing these issues and providing policy advice on them for much of my 45-year career, it’s frustrating to see so little change. But I am hopeful that current work that addresses agricultural pollution in broader contexts may have an impact. </p>
<p>For example, recent reports connecting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4">reduced meat consumption</a> to both positive environmental effects and improved health should provide additional incentives for change. <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/creating-sustainable-food-future#main-content">Research institutes</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-102017-025957">scholars</a> are laying out comprehensive global pathways to more sustainable agriculture that are designed to feed the world and protect and restore natural ecosystems. </p>
<p>My hope lies in the combination of health- and market-driven movement toward plant-based meat substitutes and enlightened policies that support more sustainable practices in agriculture’s critical role of providing food and fiber to the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donald Scavia has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Erb Family Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the C.S. Mott Foundation.</span></em></p>Scientists are predicting major algae blooms in Lake Erie and large dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico this summer. Nutrient pollution from industrial corn farming is a major driver.Donald Scavia, Professor Emeritus, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/535462019-06-11T14:59:59Z2019-06-11T14:59:59ZFarmed salmon is now a staple in diets – but what they eat matters too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249331/original/file-20181206-128208-1lepxpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We're fish fanatics, with salmon in our sights. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/raw-salmon-fillets-pepper-salt-dill-566639671?src=A3PzR-ethcb0KJSd0JdPAQ-1-2">Marian Weyo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Salmon is not only tasty but is prized for being low fat and high in rich omega-3 oils. In recent times, salmon has been a staple of the national diet, so much so that wild salmon has given way to a huge global farmed industry, <a href="https://sjomatnorge.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ISFA-Report-2018-FINAL-FOR-WEB.pdf">worth US$15.4 billion</a>. Salmon are farmed in net pens suspended from floating collars in the sea. Like other types of farming, quality varies and the industry has sometimes come in for criticism <a href="https://theferret.scot/halt-salmon-farming-expansion/">over the health and welfare</a> of fish. </p>
<p>Given the size of the market, criticisms have included the amount of wild fish it takes to rear one salmon – if you’re eating farmed salmon for sustainability reasons, for example, you might worry that it takes 1.3kg of wild feed to produce one kilogramme of salmon. </p>
<p>Environmental campaigners have long made the case that the growth of cage farming salmon results in a net loss of fish because they are fed “marine ingredients”, which includes fishmeal (rendered down low-value fish) and increasingly, processing offcuts from the fishery industry – fish oil that is pressed out of the same fish and more specialised high-value protein ingredients.</p>
<p>But this aquaculture as a whole is <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/feeds-aquaculture">a net producer</a> of marine ingredients. Carps – which make up by far <a href="http://www.fao.org/fi/static-media/MeetingDocuments/WorkshopAMR17/presentations/28.pdf">the largest proportion</a> of global aquaculture – are fed diets with little or no marine ingredients. Sometimes they are even cultured using no feed at all, instead relying on the natural productivity of ponds, encouraged by fertilisation. Advances in nutrition, together with a rising price, has also led to a decline in the levels of marine ingredients fed to salmon, with protein and oils replaced by vegetable substitutes <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pbi.12608">such as soy</a> and rapeseed oil. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249334/original/file-20181206-128202-oa06fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A commercial fish farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cages-fish-farming-392723464?src=eIeQMGD-LmavBV4zMkd1jw-1-78">Ranko Maras/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Between the 1970s and 1990s there was a peak in production of “marine ingredients” – used in trans-fats for margarines, and meals for a wide range of livestock, especially pigs and chickens. But as aquaculture grew fast, more of the global supply of fishmeal and oil was directed to feeding farmed fish and shrimp – an increasingly lucrative market. In 2010, aquaculture was taking <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/i2727e/i2727e01.pdf">around 75% of the global supply</a>. </p>
<p>But the rapid growth in demand for marine ingredients coupled with fluctuating supplies led to price hikes that stimulated the development of alternatives. Comparatively little is now used for pig and chicken diets as companies have <a href="https://globalpets.community/article/fishmeal-and-fish-oil-in-pet-food">become more strategic</a> with their use. </p>
<p>But marine ingredients are still important in maintaining the health of fish in aquaculture, especially in early development. And in the case of salmon, they are important in maintaining the quality of the fish, which provide consumers with high levels of omega-3 fatty acid. Indeed, the fastest growth in marine ingredients sales are for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/25/fish-oil-hype-health-planet-supplements-study-no-benefit">high omega 3 oily capsules</a>, taken as dietary supplements.</p>
<h2>Finding alternatives</h2>
<p>As farmed fish gets relatively cheaper but the price of marine ingredients to feed them continues to climb, the pressure to find alternatives is likely to continue.</p>
<p>Various plant sources such as processed soy and wheat products have emerged as major substitutes for fishmeal but as much of this has to be imported, local alternatives <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/635209/Future_of_the_sea_-_trends_in_aquaculture_FINAL_NEW.pdf">such as field beans</a> are being researched and trialled in Europe. Outside of Europe, it is still very common to use byproducts from livestock production to feed farmed fish in aquaculture diets such as poultry byproducts, which are regarded as a highly nutritious and cheap protein resource. </p>
<p>Replacing marine oils – which are the only source of long chain omega-3 fatty acids – is a bigger challenge. Initiatives <a href="https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/sites/default/files/project-files/GM%20Camelina%20Q%26A.pdf">such as GM Camelina</a>, a “transgenic” vegetable oil crop created by transplanting marine plankton genes into oil-seed rape, and which could help cut use of marine ingredients as feed, is likely to remain an issue given public acceptance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). </p>
<p>Major fish stocks used to produce marine ingredients, however, are now subject to much more intense scrutiny, as are the fish farms that use the feeds, which <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10641262.2011.597890">is leading to</a> both better efficiency and practice.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249335/original/file-20181206-128196-7huhh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trout also farmed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trout-fish-farm-293313236?src=eIeQMGD-LmavBV4zMkd1jw-1-48">Kosin Sukhum/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="http://www.iffo.net/">Marine Ingredients Association</a> itself has introduced a certification system for fisheries that produce marine ingredients, and the eco and social certification of farms has created competing bodies such as the <a href="https://www.aquaculturealliance.org/">Global Aquaculture Alliance</a> and the WWF-inspired <a href="https://www.asc-aqua.org/">Aquaculture Stewardship Council</a>, whose own independent certification schemes have reducing marine ingredients as a central theme.</p>
<p>The use of byproducts from sustainable fisheries is also encouraged by all major certification schemes. It is estimated that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305784301_Aquaculture_a_rapidly_growing_and_significant_source_of_sustainable_food_Status_transitions_and_potential">over a third</a> of the global fishmeal and fish oil supply now comes from byproducts such as herring and other oily fish trimmings. </p>
<p>The potential for increasing the proportion of marine ingredients from these sources is substantial. More than half of a fish <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258632818_Perspectives_on_the_Utilization_of_Aquaculture_Coproduct_in_Europe_and_Asia_Prospects_for_Value_Addition_and_Improved_Resource_Efficiency">often becomes byproduct</a>, and much of this is often wasted. There is also an increased trend towards processed fish in regions, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6218/133.full">such as in Asia</a>, that have generally preferred to buy whole fish. As demand for farmed fish grows alongside the pressure to limit wild catches, these byproducts will increasingly be required.</p>
<p>A combination of market forces, self-regulation and engagement by environmental groups supports the evolution towards more sustainable aquaculture and better managed fisheries. And it is increasingly something consumers can look out for when they are buying fish. Technologies such as Blockchain, linked to QR codes, and databases accessible through apps, will increasingly allow consumers to dig down into ever more detail of how their food is produced.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Little is a member of the Standards Oversight Committe of the Global Aquaculture Alliance and the Aquacultue Technical and Governance Committees of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Programme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Newton receives funding from IFFO, Marine Ingredients Association</span></em></p>Fish farming has been criticised for a lack of sustainability – here’s what has been changing and what still remains a challenge.Dave Little, Professor of Aquatic Resources Development, University of StirlingRichard Newton, Research Fellow in Aquaculture, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1130522019-03-29T13:20:00Z2019-03-29T13:20:00ZFeeding farm animals seaweed could help fight antibiotic resistance and climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266530/original/file-20190329-70982-1czv13a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7337%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/forest-seaweed-1034470153">Divedog/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Demand for food is increasing rapidly – the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html">global population is expected to reach 11.2 billion</a> by 2100. To keep up with the additional mouths to feed, intensive farming practices have maximised production, but often at the expense of the environment and human health.</p>
<p>Livestock is reared to maximise economic returns, which often means animals are kept in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/17/uk-has-nearly-800-livestock-mega-farms-investigation-reveals">close confinement</a> with each other, increasing the risk of disease. As a result, antibiotics are often used to treat animals destined for human consumption, but relying on them can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/community/about/antibiotic-resistance-faqs.html">cause bacteria to develop resistance</a> in the long run. A recent review found 100 academic studies <a href="https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/Antimicrobials%20in%20agriculture%20and%20the%20environment%20-%20Reducing%20unnecessary%20use%20and%20waste.pdf">on antimicrobial resistance</a> had detected a link between antibiotic consumption in animals and antimicrobial resistance in humans. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266533/original/file-20190329-71006-u7w8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rearing livestock in crowded farms can help diseases spread.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cows-farm-dairy-560358073">Ewa Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This means that using antibiotics in animal rearing can cause resistant bacteria that may also affect humans down the food chain. <a href="http://www.fairr.org/news-item/eu-ban-antibiotics-hailed-victory-responsible-investors/">Antibiotics have been phased out of livestock rearing</a> in the EU and in their place zinc has been introduced into the diet of animals to help kill bacteria which cause Salmonella and E. coli.</p>
<p>High levels of zinc in the diets of pigs and cows can <a href="https://phys.org/news/2016-04-higher-zinc-cattle-efficiency.html">help them grow bigger</a> and kill E. coli, but it’s starting to become an environmental issue in its own right. Most of the zinc fed to the animals is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240565451730015X">excreted and washed into waterways and soils</a> where it can harm aquatic life and <a href="https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/zn.htm">acidify the soil</a>. As a result, European legislation will <a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/pigs/zinc-oxide-to-be-phased-out-in-pig-production-by-2022">phase out the use of zinc</a> by 2022.</p>
<p>This leaves the producers of livestock feed and farmers in a difficult position. New products are needed to prevent infection in livestock which don’t harm the environment or human health by contributing to antimicrobial resistance, but where could they come from?</p>
<h2>Let them eat seaweed</h2>
<p>Seaweed could be the answer. Brown seaweeds synthesise a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878535213003377">unique class of compound called phlorotannins</a> as they grow. These compounds can kill bacteria that emerge among farm animals. How effectively these compounds can kill bacteria depends on the species of seaweed being used, with different species producing more potent bactericides.</p>
<p>The flock of North Ronaldsay sheep in Scotland have <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/seaweed-sheep-north-ronaldsay-orkney-festival">grazed on nothing but seaweed</a> for generations. Animals raised on such diets which are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids <a href="https://www.seaweedandco.com/seaweed-in-beef/">produce healthier – and arguably tastier – meat</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266531/original/file-20190329-71003-6bwizl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sheep grazes on brown seaweed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seaweed-eating-sheep-654561931">Forge Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Seaweed can be grown in the ocean and harvested from natural stocks in a rotational manner, <a href="https://theconversation.com/putting-algae-and-seaweed-on-the-menu-could-help-save-our-seafood-88980">ensuring natural habitats don’t have to be plundered</a> to supply livestock farmers. Seaweed farming also doesn’t have to compete for land space like traditional feed crops and could reduce pressure on agricultural land – allowing space for habitat restoration and rewilding <a href="https://theconversation.com/rewilding-is-essential-to-the-uks-commitments-on-climate-change-107541">which helps fight climate change</a>.</p>
<p>Seaweed farms in the ocean <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-farming-giant-seaweed-can-feed-fish-and-fix-the-climate-81761">draw in a lot of carbon dioxide</a> – which <a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/seaweed-and-seagrass-buffer-the-acidity-of-the-nearby-ocean/">helps de-acidify the seawater</a> around them – and release oxygen. This improves the health of sea life nearby and helps organisms such as coral or sea snails to grow stronger exoskeletons of calcium carbonate.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266529/original/file-20190329-71016-1385hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rows of seaweed growing on a farm in Jambiani, Zanzibar island, Tanzania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rows-seaweed-on-farm-jambiani-zanzibar-794705638">Ventura/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Modern farming uses <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html">huge quantities of fertiliser</a> which run off the land and into rivers and the ocean. There, these nutrients stimulate algae which grow and multiply. When algal blooms die and decay, they’re decomposed by bacteria which absorb oxygen from the water, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coastal-dead-zones-on-the-rise-15496">creating vast dead zones</a> where fish and other aquatic life suffocate. Luckily, growing seaweed requires no fertiliser and only uses nutrients which already exist in seawater.</p>
<p>Global seaweed production rose from 10.5 to 28.4 million tonnes between 2000 and 2014, but <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546679/FC002I__Cefas_Seaweed_industry_report_2016_Capuzzo_and_McKie.pdf">95% of this was in Asia</a>. There’s therefore huge growth potential for seaweed agriculture in the rest of the world. The brown seaweeds which produce the helpful antibacterial compounds are <a href="https://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-to/identify-wildlife/how-to-identify-seaweed/">widespread on temperate shores</a>, and by converting them into supplements for livestock feed, a vibrant industry that’s good for humans and the environment could flourish.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1113052">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Ford receives funding from Agri Food Quest Competence Centre funded by Invest Northern Ireland to research Algal Animal Feeds INI Agri-Food QUEST - 11-01-17-003 - AFQCC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pamela Judith Walsh receives funding from Agri Food Quest Competence Centre funded by Invest Northern Ireland to research Algal Animal Feeds (INI Agri-Food QUEST - 11-01-17-003 - AFQCC). </span></em></p>Feeding pigs seaweed could make them, us and the planet healthier without contributing to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.Lauren Ford, Research Fellow, Queen's University BelfastPamela Judith Walsh, Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1126412019-03-10T09:24:42Z2019-03-10T09:24:42ZCage farming can protect Lake Victoria’s fish. But regulations need tightening<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261865/original/file-20190304-110123-zekigp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cage farming is when fish are raised and harvested in a netted enclosure.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ranko Maras/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lake Victoria’s fish stocks are <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/counties/Lake-Victoria-Nile-Perch-stocks-drop-over-pollution/4003142-4141910-qex4b6z/index.html">struggling</a> to keep up with demand.
For instance, stocks and catches of Nile perch <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-corruption-encourages-illegal-fishing-on-lake-victoria-97812">have reduced</a>, from 340,000 tons in 1990 to about 251,000 in 2014. Though there’s no official figure, from our discussions with fisheries stakeholders we know that the tonnage on the Kenyan side now stands at about 99,000.</p>
<p>Nestled between Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda, millions of people depend on the lake. In 2010 there were <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256096790_Using_New_Methods_and_Data_to_Assess_and_Address_Population_Fertility_and_Environment_links_in_the_Lake_Victoria_Basin">about</a> 42.4 million and it’s <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256096790_Using_New_Methods_and_Data_to_Assess_and_Address_Population_Fertility_and_Environment_links_in_the_Lake_Victoria_Basin">projected</a> that by 2030 there will be almost double – about 76.5 million. About 3 million people rely directly on fisheries for food, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1770.2007.00358.x">about</a> 30 million from the East African region rely on them for their livelihoods. </p>
<p>There’s also international demand for the Lake’s fish. Catches of leading commercial species – Nile perch and Nile tilapia – are now <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/03/lake-victoria-is-in-grave-danger-africas-largest-lake-is-threatened-by-pollution-and-overfishing.html">primarily</a> caught for export, mostly going to Europe and Asia. </p>
<p>These challenges to natural fish stocks <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12283">are</a> compounded by over-fishing and illegal and unregulated fishing activities.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12334">our research</a>, we argue that cage aquaculture or farming, where fish are raised and harvested in a netted enclosure in an existing water system, could provide an alternative to how fish are produced. This could increase fishery production without damaging wild stocks. </p>
<p>Cage farmers in Kenya – where most of Lake Victoria’s cage activity is based – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12334">currently produce</a> about 40,000 tons of fish per year. By comparison, 99,000 tons of wild fish were landed in Kenya in 2016. </p>
<p>Catching wild fish, with nets or lines, and cage farming are the only two ways fish are harvested from the lake. But for both production mechanisms to remain in harmony, there needs to be proper regulations on cage farming. These will improve coordination and collaboration between everyone involved, and ensure that the harvesting of fish is done without harming the environment. </p>
<h2>Cage farming</h2>
<p>Cage farming is when a netted enclosure is suspended in an aquatic environment – like a sea or lake. This enclosure houses fish or other aquatic products. </p>
<p>The practice <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230167317_Cage_culture_development_and_its_role_in_aquaculture_in_China">dates back</a> many centuries in China, though in <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5555e.pdf">most</a> African countries it’s a new technology. </p>
<p>In the case of Lake Victoria, it’s been there for about 13 years and involves private sector players, development agencies – like the EU funded cage farming <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/81317/reporting/en">project</a> – and small-scale fisheries. </p>
<p>Today cages are concentrated along the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria. And the industry is quickly <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12334">gaining ground</a>. Currently, there are about 4,000 cages of varying sizes, but mainly of 2 by 2 by 2 square metres in the lake under 60 different owners. Most of the cages are individually owned (62%), while groups (38%) own others.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12334">an alternative</a> to traditional pond culture systems on land, cage farming can overcome some of the conventional fish farming constraints. This has helped it to grow in popularity.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287293649_Tilapia_Culture">include</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>There’s very high production of fish per unit volume of water </p></li>
<li><p>Relatively less investment is needed per unit of production <a href="http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20180702.12.pdf">compared to</a> pond or land culture. The cost of starting up a cage industry – including cage material, feeds, fingerlings, security, a boat for accessing the cages, and labour – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12334">can range</a> between US$4,300 to US$590,000. There is a huge variation in cost because the cages, source of materials and size of the operations vary greatly. </p></li>
<li><p>Use of existing water bodies reduces water demands on land and also means the industry is less affected by drought.</p></li>
<li><p>Ease of relocation of cages from one site to another and there’s also ease of accessibility for operational practices, such as feeding and cleaning the nets.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Ultimately, the profitability of cage farming depends, among other things, on which species is cultured, management level, input costs, and market prices. </p>
<h2>Challenges</h2>
<p>But cage farming does have its challenges – and so it’s vital that proper policies are in place to address these. </p>
<p>In the long-run, cage farming may create new environmental challenges. These <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12334">include</a> the discharge of nutrients from the fish feed and excretions which could lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12283">changes</a> in the ecosystem. </p>
<p>Farmed fish may also escape and interact with other fish in the wild which can spread disease and parasites. </p>
<p>These impacts can, in turn, decrease local catch of wild fish, creating a conflict between cage culture and fishermen. This is already a delicate situation because of competition over lake space.</p>
<p>It’s important that proper regulation is put in so that cage culture reduces poverty, provides food and boosts the income of the fishers, while reducing pressure on capture fisheries. </p>
<p>Guidelines by the East African Community for cage farming <a href="http://www.lvfo.org/sites/default/files/Final%20FMP%20III%202016%20to%202020_0.pdf">already exist</a>, but these must be enforced and other regulations developed. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Moving the cages to deep waters (about 10 metres depth) where there’s more oxygen and the flow of water helps them to “self-clean”</p></li>
<li><p>Farmers must have access to mapping tools so they know the right place to install their cages. This will protect navigation of other boats, and natural fish breeding zones and fishing areas to avoid conflicts.</p></li>
<li><p>Cleaning cage netting regularly to avoid fouling and clogging.</p></li>
<li><p>Use of floating feeds to avoid excessive accumulation of uneaten feeds.</p></li>
<li><p>Develop business plans for cage enterprises to track their operations, monitor progress, and make adjustments for improved performance.</p></li>
<li><p>Involve a good number of vulnerable communities – like women – by giving them start-up capital</p></li>
<li><p>Insuring operations against risks and losses.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With this proper regulation, Lake Victoria’s fisheries stand a good chance of increased production without damaging wild stocks or the environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112641/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Njiru works for Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa, Kenya. He receives funding from Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Aura receives funding from Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute</span></em></p>With proper regulation, Lake Victoria’s fisheries could increase production without damaging wild stocks or the environment.James Njiru, Professor and Director of Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1089942019-01-17T02:49:37Z2019-01-17T02:49:37ZHow to feed a growing population healthy food without ruining the planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253485/original/file-20190112-43529-sfajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For many of us, a better diet means eating more fruit and vegetables.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">iStock</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If we’re serious about feeding the world’s growing population healthy food, and not ruining the planet, we need to get used to a new style of eating. This includes cutting our Western meat and sugar intakes by around 50%, and doubling the amount of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes we consume. </p>
<p>These are the findings our the <a href="https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission/">EAT-Lancet Commission</a>, released today. The Commission brought together 37 leading experts in nutrition, agriculture, ecology, political sciences and environmental sustainability, from 16 countries. </p>
<p>Over two years, we mapped the links between food, health and the environment and formulated global targets for healthy diets and sustainable food production. This includes five specific strategies to achieve them through global cooperation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-conserve-half-the-planet-without-going-hungry-100642">How to conserve half the planet without going hungry</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Right now, we produce, ship, eat and waste food in a way that is a lose-lose for both people and planet – but we can flip this trend. </p>
<h2>What’s going wrong with our food supply?</h2>
<p>Almost <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)33179-9/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page">one billion people</a> lack sufficient food, yet more than two billion suffer from obesity and food-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. </p>
<p>The foods causing these health epidemics – combined with the way we produce our food – are pushing our planet to the brink. </p>
<p>One-third of the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change come from food production. Our global food system leads to extensive deforestation and species extinction, while depleting our oceans, and fresh water resources. </p>
<p>To make matters worse, we lose or throw away around one-third of all food produced. That’s enough to feed the world’s hungry four times over, every year. </p>
<p>At the same time, our food systems are at risk due to environmental degradation and climate change. These food systems are essential to providing the diverse, high-quality foods we all consume every day.</p>
<h2>A radical new approach</h2>
<p>To improve the health of people and the planet, we’ve developed a “planetary health diet” which is globally applicable – irrespective of your geographic, economic or cultural background – and locally adaptable. </p>
<p>The diet is a “flexitarian” approach to eating. It’s largely composed of vegetables and fruits, wholegrains, legumes, nuts and unsaturated oils. It includes high-quality meat, dairy and sugar, but in quantities far lower than are consumed in many wealthier societies. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254251/original/file-20190117-24622-1kfgfu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many of us need to eat more veggies and less red meat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/66444844?src=DWsZglmLcVdyYvBkzI_fYw-2-53&size=huge_jpg">Joshua Resnick/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The planetary health diet consists of:</p>
<ul>
<li>vegetables and fruit (550g per day per day)</li>
<li>wholegrains (230 grams per day)</li>
<li>dairy products such as milk and cheese (250g per day)</li>
<li>protein sourced from plants, such as lentils, peas, nuts and soy foods (100 grams per day)</li>
<li>small quantities of fish (28 grams per day), chicken (25 grams per day) and red meat (14 grams per day)</li>
<li>eggs (1.5 per week)</li>
<li>small quantities of fats (50g per day) and sugar (30g per day).</li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, some populations don’t get nearly enough animal-source foods necessary for growth, cognitive development and optimal nutrition. Food systems in these regions need to improve access to healthy, high-quality diets for all.</p>
<p>The shift is radical but achievable – and is possible without any expansion in land use for agriculture. Such a shift will also see us reduce the amount of water used during production, while reducing nitrogen and phosphorous usage and runoff. This is critical to safeguarding land and ocean resources.</p>
<p>By 2040, our food systems should begin soaking up greenhouse emissions – rather than being a net emitter. Carbon dioxide emissions must be down to zero, while methane and nitrous oxide emissions be kept in close check. </p>
<h2>How to get there</h2>
<p>The commission outlines five implementable strategies for a food transformation:</p>
<p><strong>1. Make healthy diets the new normal – leaving no-one behind</strong></p>
<p>Shift the world to healthy, tasty and sustainable diets by investing in better public health information and implementing supportive policies. Start with kids – <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-for-australia-from-us-reversal-of-childhood-obesity-17895">much can happen by changing school meals</a> to form healthy and sustainable habits, early on. </p>
<p>Unhealthy food outlets and their <a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-untangle-the-murky-politics-around-kids-and-food-and-ditch-the-guilt-108328">marketing</a> must be restricted. Informal markets and street vendors should also be encouraged to sell healthier and more sustainable food.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-untangle-the-murky-politics-around-kids-and-food-and-ditch-the-guilt-108328">Let's untangle the murky politics around kids and food (and ditch the guilt)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>2. Grow what’s best for both people and planet</strong></p>
<p>Realign food system priorities for people and planet so agriculture becomes a leading contributor to sustainable development rather than the largest driver of environmental change. Examples include:</p>
<ul>
<li>incorporating organic farm waste into soils</li>
<li>drastically reducing tillage where soil is turned and churned to prepare for growing crops</li>
<li>investing more in <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/agroforestry-28625">agroforestry</a>, where trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland to increase biodiversity and reduce erosion</li>
<li>producing a more diverse range of foods in circular farming systems that protect and enhance biodiversity, rather than farming single crops or livestock. </li>
</ul>
<p>The measure of success in this area is that agriculture one day becomes a carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254252/original/file-20190117-24610-c2mry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Technology can help us make better use of our farmlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/444821332?src=8kjUOSQVrONtC72COeVR1w-1-27&size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><strong>3. Produce more of the right food, from less</strong></p>
<p>Move away from producing “more” food towards producing “better food”.</p>
<p>This means using sustainable “<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/agroecology-8461">agroecological</a>” practices and emerging technologies, such as applying micro doses of fertiliser via GPS-guided tractors, or improving drip irrigation and using drought-resistant food sources to get more “crop per drop” of water.</p>
<p>In animal production, reformulating feed to make it more nutritious would allow us to reduce the amount of grain and therefore land needed for food. Feed additives such as algae are also being developed. <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)33179-9/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page">Tests show</a> these can reduce methane emissions by up to 30%.</p>
<p>We also need to redirect subsidies and other incentives to currently under-produced crops that underpin healthy diets – notably, fruits, vegetables and nuts – rather than crops whose overconsumption drives poor health.</p>
<p><strong>4. Safeguard our land and oceans</strong></p>
<p>There is essentially no additional land to spare for further agricultural expansion. Degraded land must be restored or reforested. Specific strategies for curbing biodiversity loss include keeping half of the current global land area for nature, while sharing space on cultivated lands.</p>
<p>The same applies for our oceans. We need to protect the marine ecosystems fisheries depend on. Fish stocks must be kept at sustainable levels, while aquaculture – which <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)33179-9/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page">currently provides more than 40%</a> of all fish consumed – must incorporate “circular production”. This includes strategies such as sourcing protein-rich feeds from insects grown on food waste.</p>
<p><strong>5. Radically reduce food losses and waste</strong></p>
<p>We need to more than halve our food losses and waste.</p>
<p>Poor harvest scheduling, careless handling of produce and inadequate cooling and storage are some of the reasons why food is lost. Similarly, consumers must start throwing less food away. This means being more conscious about portions, better consumer understanding of “best before” and “use by” labels, and embracing the opportunities that lie in leftovers.</p>
<p>Circular food systems that innovate new ways to reduce or eliminate waste through reuse will also play a significant role and will additionally open new business opportunities.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-communities-are-fighting-food-waste-with-circular-economies-64424">Australian communities are fighting food waste with circular economies</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>For significant transformation to happen, all levels of society must be engaged, from individual consumers to policymakers and everybody along the food supply chain. These changes will not happen overnight, and they are not the responsibility of a handful of stakeholders. When it comes to food and sustainability, we are all at the decision dining table.</p>
<p><em>The EAT-Lancet Commission’s Australian launch is in Melbourne on February 1. Limited <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-launch-of-the-eat-lancet-commission-presented-by-eat-foundation-tickets-53798890931?aff=ebdssbdestsearch">free tickets are available</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Alessandro R Demaio is Chief Executive Officer of the EAT Foundation and an Honorary Fellow with the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at The University of Melbourne.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Fanzo receives funding from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Professor Jessica Fanzo and Dr Mario Herrero were Commissioners on the EAT-Lancet Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mario Herrero is Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Agriculture and Food. He receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Australian Department of Foreign Aid and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). </span></em></p>We need to change how we produce, ship, eat and waste food to improve our health and that of the planet.Sandro Demaio, Australian Medical Doctor; Fellow in Global Health & NCDs, University of CopenhagenJessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy and Ethics, Johns Hopkins UniversityMario Herrero, Chief Research Scientist, Food Systems and the Environment, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1080462018-12-04T06:18:46Z2018-12-04T06:18:46ZHere’s the seafood Australians eat (and what we should be eating)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248379/original/file-20181203-194953-147srh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Put down the salmon and pick up a sardine (or two).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Australians are concerned with the sustainability of their seafood. While definitions of sustainability vary, according to <a href="http://fish.gov.au/Summary/Key-results">government assessments</a>, over 85% of seafood caught in Australia is sustainable.</p>
<p>However, just because a fish is sustainably caught, it doesn’t make it the most nutritious and healty option – and vice versa. For the first time, research has investigated the seafood Australians eat in terms of what’s best for us <em>and</em> the planet.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-reduce-slavery-in-seafood-supply-chains-100512">How to reduce slavery in seafood supply chains</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Our study, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2018.00118/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Nutrition&id=418788">published today in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition</a>, found that Australians consume a lot of large oceanic fish, like shark and tuna, as well as farmed salmon and prawns, but there are other, healthier options available like mackerel, sardines and bream. </p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248665/original/file-20181204-126665-1hbbqw7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock, unless otherwise noted</span></span>
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<hr>
<h2>What Australians eat</h2>
<p>The word seafood is used to describe thousands of different species, both marine and freshwater, and from the wild or farmed. Because of these differences, the environmental footprint of “seafood” can vary greatly, as can their nutritional profile. </p>
<p>Our research used data from the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/australianhealthsurvey">Australian Health Survey</a> to investigate the nutritional quality and sustainability of seafood consumption in Australia.</p>
<p>We measured nutrition by the estimated contribution of 100g of a given seafood to the average requirement of protein, omega 3, calcium, iodine, selenium and zinc. Sustainability was assessed on the basis of stock status, resource use, habitat and ecosystem impacts, and health and disease management.</p>
<p>The majority of respondents (83%) did not consume any seafood on the day of the survey, and we found that there were large discrepancies in consumption patterns between different sociodemographic groups. </p>
<p>Of those who did consume seafood, the proportion was lowest among adults who were unemployed, had the least education and those who were most socio-economically disadvantaged. </p>
<p>Crustaceans and low-omega 3 fish, such as basa and tilapia, which were identified as some of the least nutritious and least sustainable types of seafood, constituted a substantial amount of total seafood intake for the lowest socio-economic consumers. </p>
<p>In contrast, consumers in the highest socio-demographic group consumed mainly high trophic level fish, such as tuna and shark, and farmed fish with high omega-3 content, such as salmon and trout, which were considered the more nutritious types of seafood with a moderate sustainability. Less than 1% of adults reported eating sardines and mackerel which were considered some of the most nutritious and sustainable varieties.</p>
<h2>What is sustainability?</h2>
<p>Sustainability in seafood is complex and difficult to quantify. Greenhouse gas emissions are not currently covered by the major assessment groups, despite the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0117-x">contribution</a> of the fishing industry to global emissions and the variation between different seafood types.</p>
<p>For example, growing demand for crustaceans like prawns or shrimp, is resulting in higher emissions from the global fishing fleet, as these fisheries are fuel intensive. In contrast, small pelagic fisheries, such as sardines, have very low emissions – although they are a lot less popular.</p>
<p>Farmed seafoods also vary considerably in their environmental footprint. In the past, large farmed species of fish have been fed with much smaller wild fish. This practice is in decline, with small feed fish replaced by crops and animal by-products.</p>
<p>However, it’s not clear this substitution is <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/37/13257">environmentally friendly</a>. At the same time, the nutritional value of farmed fish has <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/3/1063">decreased</a>. </p>
<h2>Making better choices</h2>
<p>Detailed nutrition information is not readily available at the point of purchase for fresh seafood. It can be tricky making an informed decision on the spot. </p>
<p>However, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand have created <a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/ausnut/foodnutrient/Pages/default.aspx">nutrient profiles</a> for a range of food, including seafood. The National Heart Foundation of Australia provides information on the amount of marine-sourced omega-3s in fish and seafood commonly available, with species such as Atlantic salmon and sardines listed as highest sources, while prawns and crabs are <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/images/uploads/main/Programs/Tips_to_include_marine_omega_3_in_your_diet.pdf">much lower</a>. </p>
<p>To check the sustainability of your seafood choice, you can consult the AMCS guide or look for certifications such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild capture fisheries or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) or Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) logos. WWF have also developed a canned tuna guide (changeyourtuna.org.au).</p>
<p>Eating new seafood species can be tricky if you are not familiar with them. There are many resources available to help you pick and prepare seafood, such as <a href="http://www.fishfiles.com.au">FRDC fish files</a>, Sydney Fish Market <a href="http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/seafood-school/recipes-cooking-info/recipes">recipes</a> and an SBS section on <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/collections/sustainable-seafood">sustainable seafood recipes</a>. </p>
<p>In WA, the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council have produced guides on local seafood, including information on underultised species, cooking and storage. South Australians can now pick up local fish from the new <a href="http://www.fairfishsa.com.au">Community Supported Fishery</a> each week, or have it delivered.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sustainable-vegetables-that-thrive-on-a-diet-of-fish-poo-50160">The sustainable vegetables that thrive on a diet of fish poo</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>All food production has an impact, but making an informed choice can be beneficial for health and the environment. So, get adventurous with your seafood selections by experimenting with choices that are both nutritious and meet your sustainability criteria. As you become more familiar with different species and ways to prepare them, you won’t have to juggle different guides at the fish counter and decide it’s all too hard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108046/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle O'Kane is affiliated with Coordinaire</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gilly Hendrie, as an employee of CSIRO's Nutrition and Health program, has worked on research funded by a variety of industry bodies, public organisations and private companies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Farmery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For the most nutritious and sustainable seafood option, try small ocean fish.Anna Farmery, Research Fellow, University of WollongongGabrielle O'Kane, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of CanberraGilly Hendrie, Research scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067042018-11-27T22:58:19Z2018-11-27T22:58:19ZWe can eat our fish and fight climate change too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245347/original/file-20181113-194519-1u2kv5x.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A fisherman on Kwan Phayo.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philip A. Loring</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kwan Phayao, a large, crescent moon of a lake in Northern Thailand, is home to about 50 fish species, several hundred small-scale farmers and fishers, and the city of Phayao, where 18,000 people live. </p>
<p>The lake has always been important to local people for fishing, but today, the lake’s fisheries are at the centre of the local economy and food system. </p>
<p>Fish are a highly nutritious and, in many cases, a very sustainable source of protein. Following the release of the latest <a href="http://ipcc.ch/report/sr15/">climate change report</a> by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), many are talking about reducing their meat — and therefore protein — consumption. For some reason, fish and other seafood are repeatedly left out of conversations about how to build more sustainable and climate-friendly food systems. </p>
<h2>Closing the loop</h2>
<p>We are both part of <a href="http://toobigtoignore.net/">Too Big To Ignore</a>, a global partnership dedicated to raising awareness of small-scale fisheries around the world. During a recent conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we visited a small farm in the northern region of the country that successfully connects production of rice, vegetable crops and fish in a near-closed loop. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-eat-fish-thats-truly-good-for-you-here-are-some-guidelines-to-reeling-one-in-72933">Want to eat fish that's truly good for you? Here are some guidelines to reeling one in</a>
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</p>
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<p>The farm is run by a local known as Uncle Plien. He follows Thailand’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufficiency_economy">“sufficiency economy philosophy,”</a> a system of sustainable development conceived by the late Thai King, Bhumibol Adulyadej. The philosophy emphasizes long-term benefits over short-term gains, and puts values such as moderation, prudence, honesty and the application of local knowledge at the fore.</p>
<p>Facing a difficult drought in the early 2000s, Plien decided to diversify from fishing. He built a farm that grows rice and vegetables and uses locally grown aquatic plants and rice to feed his fish and frogs. Much of what he raises is for home consumption, and the excess is sold to local markets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245354/original/file-20181113-194506-1pt4pou.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fishing gear hangs in front of a rice field on Uncle Plien’s farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philip A. Loring</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s a modest farm, roughly four acres in size, but Plien reports earning roughly US$10/day year-round from his land, which he harvests daily with his wife, who is in charge of the marketing. He also operates the farm completely debt-free and provides the basic food he needs for his family. Both of these outcomes are virtually unheard of in North America.</p>
<h2>Climate-friendly fish</h2>
<p>Kwan Phayao is just one example of many that illustrate how small-scale fisheries and aquaculture can be key to our collective future. Globally, fish is among the <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-fisheries-aquaculture">most consumed and traded foods</a> in the world. It represents about 17 per cent of the animal protein consumed globally. For people in small island nations and the Arctic, <a href="http://www.conservationofchange.org/s/Loring-et-al-TBTI-in-press-version.pdf">fish can account for as much as 80 per cent</a> of the protein being consumed. </p>
<p>Fish are also a crucial and accessible source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, especially for the world’s poorest people. Sardines, for example, are highly nutritious and hugely important to food and nutritional security <a href="https://agricultureandfoodsecurity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40066-016-0073-5">for millions of people in Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Fish, in general, have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X15002892">a much lower carbon footprint</a> than agricultural protein, making them a viable alternative for people looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Sardines and other small pelagic fish could therefore be key to developing more sustainable and climate-friendly food systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245355/original/file-20181113-194497-wca2ga.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Uncle Plien mixes fish feed with locally harvested ingredients.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philip A. Loring</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Currently, sardines are mainly used for animal feed and fish oil products. While start-ups and agribusiness giants are clamouring to develop insect- and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/cultured-lab-grown-meat-bill-aimutis-lecture-1.4877401">lab-based proteins</a>, sardines offer an existing alternative that, if developed in a way that empowers local fishing communities and redirected for human consumption in Europe and North America, could help reduce emissions and <a href="https://agricultureandfoodsecurity.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s40066-016-0073-5">lift people out of poverty</a>.</p>
<h2>Toward sustainable fisheries</h2>
<p>Globally, we have made great strides in making fisheries more sustainable. In 2014, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)‘s 194 member-states <a href="http://www.fao.org/voluntary-guidelines-small-scale-fisheries/en/">endorsed guidelines</a> for the protection of small-scale fisheries that emphasize human rights, social justice and environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://www.msc.org/what-you-can-do/eat-sustainable-seafood/fish-to-eat">more than 25,000 seafood products</a> are labelled by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as sourced from sustainable fisheries. (The transparency, accuracy and social impacts of the MSC process is debated, and much work remains to be done.) But there is momentum: if we invest in small-scale fisheries, and commit to reforming currently overfished stocks, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/03/29/1520420113">we can increase wild harvests and food security, improve conservation outcomes</a> and <a href="https://fish.cgiar.org/stories/hearing-counting-and-empowering-women-gaf7-conference-showcases-gender-equality-progress-and">empower small-scale fisherfolk, including women</a>.</p>
<p>There are multiple dimensions of environmental and human health that need to be considered when looking at the sustainability of food production, from carbon to biodiversity, dietary preference to social justice. </p>
<p>Leaving fisheries and fisherfolk out of the discussion limits the discussion of viable solutions. These issues are not uniform and cannot be solved by <a href="https://ensia.com/voices/climate-change-social-fix/">fix-all, high-tech solutions</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip A Loring receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ratana Chuenpagdee receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p>Many people focus just on agriculture and new technologies for feeding the world’s growing population. Yet, fisheries are the centerpiece of billions of people’s diets.Philip A Loring, Associate Professor and Arrell Chair in Food, Policy, and Society, University of GuelphRatana Chuenpagdee, University Research Professor, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1051422018-11-06T13:29:43Z2018-11-06T13:29:43ZFish farming at industrial scale: a Turkish case study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242729/original/file-20181029-76390-ccz3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bird's eye view of an open sea fish farm in, Aegean, Turkey.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the world’s fastest-growing food production industries, aquaculture, is harming the marine environment and people’s lives with intensive fish farms. Fish farming was promoted to contribute to meeting the rising demand for food. But it has brought its own problems. </p>
<p>It has increased the competition for marine space in some cases by <a href="https://ejatlas.org/conflict/aquaculture-conflict-in-golfo-de-fonseca-honduras-nicaragua">displacing local fisher people</a>, contributed to <a href="https://ejatlas.org/conflict/kolleru-wildlife-sanctuary-pollution-through-aqua-culture">aquatic pollution</a>, and added to the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joac.12283">over-exploitation of wild fish stocks</a> which are needed to make the feed used by fish farms. This in turn has worsened social and economic inequality and threatened the quality of and access to marine areas and resources through ongoing expansion in different regions. </p>
<p>The global demand for seafood has steadily risen in the last decades. In 1960s, annual seafood consumption per capita was about 9.9 kilograms per year. <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf">In 2016</a> this rose to 20.3 kg per year. </p>
<p>Industrial capture fisheries have expanded and fish are being caught further from shore, from deeper levels and earlier in the food chain. In addition, fish farming has taken on industrial proportions, with a range of negative knock-on consequences.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joac.12283">our research</a>, we explored how the growth of fish farming off Turkish waters transformed the way in which seafood production moved from capture to intensive farming. We also show how this led to intensive marine aquaculture becoming more dependent on capture fisheries because fish farms needed fish oil and meals. And lastly, the research highlighted the strategies companies used to further extend and intensify their dominance in marine areas. </p>
<p>Our data illustrated that instead of providing a solution to depleting fish stocks, the intensive marine aquaculture of carnivorous species creates another source of pressure for fisheries, where exploitation leads to further expansion and intensification. </p>
<p>We argue that this continuous expansion is leading to social and ecological crises related to declining stocks and capture fisheries.</p>
<p>We’re calling for a fundamental shift in how the aquaculture industry functions to mitigate its impact on the environment and on communities.</p>
<h2>Fish farming expands</h2>
<p>Farmed fish production has risen by <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5444">8.6% per year</a> in the last three decades and now provides around half the amount of fish that people eat. The share of global aquaculture production in total seafood production, including capture fisheries, increased from 13.4% in 1990 to 46.8% in 2016. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.eumofa.eu/documents/20178/108446/The+EU+fish+market+2017.pdf">Europe</a> and the US are the largest importers of seafood products, consuming seafood worth <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/us-imported-more-seafood-in-2017.html">billions</a>. The main suppliers are countries in Africa and Asia.</p>
<p>Fish farms were once promoted as a solution for over-fishing. But shrimp and salmon farms in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20072506?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">Asia</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.04.025">Latin America</a> have already given rise to ecological, social and political problems. </p>
<p>In the eastern Mediterranean, in Turkey, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joac.12283">farmed fish production</a> volume quadrupled between 2000 and 2016. Three quarters of this is exported to the EU to meet urban, middle-class demand. </p>
<p>The farmed fish <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004484860800567X">need to eat</a> too – and what sea bass, sea bream and salmon eat mostly consists of smaller, wild fish.</p>
<p>For these supplies, fishing companies are moving to West African waters, especially <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joac.12283">Mauritania</a> where they capture small fish to be turned into fish meal and fish oil and eventually fish feed in factories. </p>
<p>The social and ecological costs of this are massive.</p>
<p>Instead of providing a solution to the depletion of fish stocks, the intensive farming of carnivorous fish species thus creates more pressure. The main aim of seafood companies is usually not overcoming social or ecological crises, but <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joac.12283">protecting their profits</a>. Fish farms are turning marine resources into commodities to be bought and sold.</p>
<h2>Where to move from here</h2>
<p>Under the current system the biggest seafood companies gain while marine species and small-scale fishers continue to be threatened. There is an urgent need to understand these dynamics and construct an alternative model that will protect the ocean, the rights of small-scale fisher people and ensure the survival of fish species.</p>
<p>The solution lies in the transition to a just and sustainable model of food production, distribution and consumption, which is not controlled by agrobusiness companies but by small-scale producers themselves. </p>
<p>This is also the goal of the social practitioners striving for <a href="http://worldfishers.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WFFP.Food_.Sov_.web_.pdf">food sovereignty</a>. In contrast to food security, food sovereignty puts the emphasis on the rights of small-scale food producers and a healthy and ecologically sustainable production. It considers food as a human right rather than a tradable commodity and encourages localised food systems where food producers themselves have control on their production and consumers have the right to know by whom and how the food is produced. </p>
<p>Central to this is building alliances for <a href="https://www.uab.cat/web/news-detail/is-there-a-global-environmental-justice-movement-1345680342044.html?noticiaid=1345705920614">environmental justice</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436597.2017.1416288">fisheries justice</a> as realised by the members of the <a href="http://worldfishers.org/">World Forum of Fisher Peoples</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Irmak Ertör is a postdoctoral researcher working in the ERC (European Research Council) funded ENVJUSTICE project in the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Foundation ENT, Barcelona. Previously she has been a Marie Curie early stage researcher in the ENTITLE (European Network of Political Ecology) project funded by the EU 7th Framework program.</span></em></p>Aquaculture is endangering the marine environment, threatening the livelihood of small-scale fishers and food security.Irmak Ertör, Postdoctoral researcher, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1030502018-09-19T22:40:42Z2018-09-19T22:40:42ZThe future of food is ready for harvest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236803/original/file-20180918-158234-1n2s02e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In this July 2011 photo, an Inuit fisherman pulls in a fish on a sea filled with floating ice.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For more than 20 years, a movement has been building that recognizes the vital role that small-scale farmers, fishers and harvesters, women, traditional knowledge and appropriate technologies will play in transforming our unsustainable and inequitable food system.</p>
<p>While the chemical- and carbon-intensive practices of industrial agriculture play a role in feeding people across the globe, they are a major contributor to the degradation of <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrial-agriculture/hidden-costs-of-industrial.html#.W5Vkg34nacI">land, water and ecosystems</a>, <a href="https://www.grain.org/bulletin_board/entries/5196-food-farming-and-climate-change-it-s-bigger-than-everything-else">climate change</a>, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_538710.pdf">labour inequality</a> and the <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/images/Reports/Health_FullReport.pdf">diminishing health of the Earth and its population</a>. </p>
<p>Agribusiness corporations that increasingly <a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/content/too-big-feed-short-report">control food and seeds</a> are getting bigger and more powerful, while the small-scale farmers that <a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/whowillfeedus">produce 70 per cent of the world’s food</a> are increasingly impoverished. </p>
<p>These were the concerns on the minds of more than 150 people who gathered in Ottawa in late August for the <a href="https://fledgeresearch.ca/agroecologyfieldschool2018/">Canadian Agroecology Field School and Research Summit</a> hosted by the <a href="https://fledgeresearch.ca/">FLEdGE research network</a>, <a href="http://justfood.ca/">Just Food</a>, <a href="https://www.usc-canada.org/">USC Canada</a> and a number of other partners. </p>
<p>Participants included small-scale family farmers, civil society organizations, researchers and Indigenous leaders who came together to share knowledge and experiences, and to map out a direction for healthier, more equitable and sustainable food systems in Canada and beyond.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-developing-countries-should-boost-the-ways-of-small-scale-farming-100097">Why developing countries should boost the ways of small-scale farming</a>
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<p>From the three days of farm visits, demonstrations and discussions, it was clear that listening carefully to researchers and practitioners involved with <a href="https://theconversation.com/break-agricultures-chemical-monopolies-to-free-our-food-16497">agroecology</a> offers promise and possibility for feeding global populations with <a href="https://theconversation.com/feeding-the-world-with-a-mix-of-science-and-tradition-15693">a mix of science</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/feeding-the-world-with-a-mix-of-science-and-tradition-15693">time-tested knowledge</a>. </p>
<h2>Easy, cheap to implement</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/images/Reports/UniformityToDiversity_FullReport.pdf">Evidence from around the world</a> shows these opportunities can be implemented fairly easily and at a low cost.</p>
<p>While the term agroecology has no fixed definition, it is best described as a <a href="http://www.foodsovereignty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/NYELENI-2015-ENGLISH-FINAL-WEB.pdf.">science, practice and movement</a>. As a movement, agroecology is a call to action for a food system driven by the world’s food providers — small-scale farmers, fishers, livestock keepers, Indigenous peoples and other movements like the global peasant movement <a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/tag/agroecology/">La Via Campesina</a>, whose members include 200 million small-scale food producers and harvesters from around the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.socla.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/socla-contribution-to-FAO.pdf">As a science</a>, agroecology encompasses knowledge that uses time-tested scientific principles, natural processes and materials to replace synthetic fertilizers and herbicides that destroy our soils, waters, biodiversity and pollinators. </p>
<p>Through farmer-led research and innovation, agroecology aims for resilient, biodiverse ecosystems. As a practice, agroecology has been developed through experience and field observation by farmers, Indigenous peoples and food providers, and spread out around the world. <a href="https://foodfirst.org/the-campesino-a-campesino-movement/">Farmer-to-farmer</a> learning and knowledge sharing are at the heart of agroecology.</p>
<h2>Local seeds</h2>
<p>Over the first two days of the Agroecology Summit on farms in Ottawa and Gatineau, the group observed and discussed many agroecological practices. </p>
<p>They included rotational livestock grazing, farmer-led participatory research and breeding of vegetables, the selection of hardy, locally adapted seed varieties, agroforestry, the practice of adding value to crops through on-farm processing, establishing cooperatives to lease otherwise unaffordable farmland and selling food directly to consumers.</p>
<p>On the third day, a keynote presentation from Peter Rosset, a researcher from the Center of Studies for Rural Change in Oaxaca, Mexico, <a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/05/EN-12.pdf">on the evolution of agroecology through La Via Campasina</a> kicked off two keynote panels. The first focused on Indigenous perspectives on agroecology, and the second on the future of agroecology in Canada. Both included researchers, farmers and Indigenous leaders from across the country.</p>
<p>From the three days of farm tours, demonstrations and discussions, one thing was clear: Agroecology is a growing movement around the world. </p>
<p>Fuelled by a rising public appetite for more ecologically and socially sustainable approaches to food production and the push to do things differently, <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/webinars-podcasts/webinar-agroecology-integrating-science-practice-and-social-justice">agroecology offers practical solutions</a> for a new generation of farmers who can learn from more experienced growers while connecting to a global social movement. </p>
<h2>Building a different food system</h2>
<p>With the rejection of an outmoded and unfair model of agriculture, the Agroecology Summit highlighted a mission that’s about more than just changing our agricultural methods. It’s also about being part of a global movement that is actively building a food system based on a <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/who-we-are/what-food-sovereignty">different set of values</a> — working with nature, valuing food producers and the spiritual nature of food.</p>
<p>The benefits of agroecology are already being appreciated in other places. </p>
<p>For example, those benefits meet most of the United Nation’s <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">Sustainable Development Goals</a>: Reduced hunger and poverty, enhanced biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, the empowerment of women and youth and climate resilience. The combination of innovation, scalable practices and system-wide benefits has attracted governments, international organizations and donor agencies alike.</p>
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<span class="caption">A farmer uses a buffalo to plow a rice field in rural Thailand.</span>
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<p><a href="http://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/Agroecology-Update-French-National-Agroecology-Programme-Sep-16.pdf">France</a>, the champion of climate-friendly agriculture and host to the 2015 Paris Climate Summit, has shown leadership that can inspire other countries. For example, France has a <a href="https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/">Minister for Ecological Transition</a>, something sure to be on the agenda as the French take over from the Canadians as the next G7 president. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.agroecologyfund.org/">Agroecology Fund</a>, a U.S.-based philanthropic foundation, provides funding to civil society organizations for agroecology. What’s more, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has become a leading proponent of agroecology. At the <a href="http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/second-international-agroecology-symposium/en/">International Agroecology Symposium</a> in April 2018, FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva called for a transformation in the way we produce and consume food, and towards a new future of agriculture.</p>
<h2>Women’s rights</h2>
<p>Canada’s new <a href="http://international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/priorities-priorites/policy-politique.aspx?lang=eng">Feminist International Assistance Policy</a> has taken a cue from the international agroecology movement that puts women’s rights and smallholder farmers’ rights at the centre of development strategies. </p>
<p>A strategic investment in agroecology is a highly effective way to advance Canada’s objectives of women’s empowerment, environment and climate action, human dignity and economic growth that works for everyone. </p>
<p>The challenge ahead for the Canadian government, and society as a whole, is to actively support this groundswell of research, energy and innovation through funding and policy support, and to move faster towards more equitable and sustainable food futures. The transition to agroecology will make for a harvest that is both bountiful and sweet.</p>
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<p><em>Faris Ahmed, Policy Director at USC Canada and member of the FLEdGE network, is the coauthor of this piece.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Z. Levkoe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A recent summit in Ottawa on what’s known as agroecology has shown that more equitable and sustainable methods of producing food are not only possible, they’re beginning to spread around the world.Charles Z. Levkoe, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Food Systems, Lakehead UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006192018-07-31T13:38:36Z2018-07-31T13:38:36ZHow changing the world’s food systems can help to protect the planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229791/original/file-20180730-106496-1k0jgcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology can be used to help farmers produce good crops.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leo Sebastian (IRRI-CCAFS)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Going into debt with nature is a dangerous thing. When our stocks of water, land and clean air are spent – we don’t have a second planet to borrow from. But that’s exactly the way that Earth is heading. 1 August 2018 marks an annual event, “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/earths-resources-consumed-in-ever-greater-destructive-volumes">Earth Overshoot Day</a>”: the day on which the natural resources the planet can regenerate within one year are exhausted. This is <a href="https://www.footprintnetwork.org/">the earliest date</a> on which Earth Overshoot Day has ever been reached.</p>
<p>One of the greatest pressure points pushing the planet to its limits is <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/blog/agriculture-destabilizing-earth-system-according-recent-study#.W0yeSdhKh0u">our food system</a>. This is the way that humans grow, produce, transport and consume food. As these systems currently operate, they’re contributing negatively to climate change and deforestration; they’re compromising freshwater stocks and rapidly reducing biodiversity.</p>
<p>Food systems must be transformed to produce more nutritious food with a lower environmental footprint. There are a number of initiatives around the world working towards this end. Here are just five that use different kinds of science – from smart approaches to breeding livestock and crops to recycling wastewater – that could help humans settle their growing debt to the planet.</p>
<h2>Smart solutions</h2>
<p><strong><em>Tackling animal emissions</em>:</strong> After the energy and transport sector, the food system is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases; it accounts for around <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/bigfacts/#theme=food-emissions">a quarter</a> of total emissions. </p>
<p>Raising livestock for meat and dairy products accounts for <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/bigfacts/#theme=food-emissions">14.5 %</a>, mostly because of the methane gas released by animals. <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/the-pursuit-of-a-low-emissions-cow-90955">Research</a> supported by the <a href="https://www.ilri.org/">International Livestock Research Institute</a> is already in the pipeline to identify cows that produce lower methane emissions. </p>
<p>These animals can then be naturally bred into the population. This is expected to lower the emissions associated with cattle by between 5 and 20%.</p>
<p><strong><em>Reviving forgotten foods:</em></strong> Just twelve crops and five animal species provide <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/user_upload/online_library/Mainstreaming_Agrobiodiversity/Mainstreaming_Agrobiodiversity_Sustainable_Food_Systems_WEB.pdf">75%</a> of the world’s food. An estimated <a href="https://farmingfirst.org/infographic-sdg2-5-protecting-genetic-diversity/">940 species</a> of cultivated plants are at risk of disappearing.</p>
<p>Yet there are many forgotten foods that can be sustainably produced, which are resilient to our changing climate, and packed with nutrition. The orange-red <a href="https://avrdc.org/african-eggplant-solanum-aethiopicum/">African eggplant</a>, for example, has leaves that are extremely high in calcium, iron and beta-carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A). </p>
<p>It makes sense to look to these neglected and nutritional gems to address the world’s food needs. At the <a href="http://foreststreesagroforestry.org/orphan-crops-for-improving-diets/">African Orphan Crop Consortium</a>, hosted by the <a href="http://www.worldagroforestry.org/">World Agroforestry Centre</a>, scientists are using breeding techniques to improve the resilience and nutritional quality of underutilised crops.</p>
<p><strong><em>Farming with precision:</em></strong> Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are essential nutrients for helping food crops flourish. But excess runoff of these fertilisers is crossing the boundary of chemicals that can safely flow into the environment. <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/research-highlight/farmers-and-climate-profit-more-precise-fertilizer-management#.W1GhidhKh0u">A study</a> conducted for the <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/">CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security</a> in a wheat growing region of Mexico has shown that more precise application of nitrogen significantly lowers associated emissions and runoff. It does this without affecting yield. </p>
<p>Researchers have been studying and promoting management practices to help farmers use fertiliser more efficiently and take into account available soil nitrogen and weather. Handheld sensing devices that assess plant nitrogen needs were tested for their ability to advise farmers on optimal rates of fertiliser use. In 2017 and 2018, Mexican farmers in the Yaqui Valley have used similar sensing devices but mounted on drones to provide recommendations for wheat crops grown on more than 1,000 acres.</p>
<p><strong><em>Tracking deforestation from the sky</em>:</strong> Between 2000 and 2010, agriculture is estimated to have been behind <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/blog/agriculture-destabilizing-earth-system-according-recent-study#.W1GfathKh0v">80%</a> of deforestation worldwide. </p>
<p>The production of palm oil, which is found in everything from bread to ice cream, is a major driver of deforestation particularly in equatorial countries. Farmers in these countries routinely clear land to plant oil palms.</p>
<p>But a brand new <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palmoil-forests-borneo-data/borneo-atlas-to-help-palm-oil-buyers-check-on-forest-damage-idUSKBN1DO0ZJ">map</a> from the <a href="https://www.cifor.org/">Centre for International Forestry Research</a> is now able to track unsustainable practices. A tool linked to the map, which is known as the “Borneo Atlas”, uses regularly updated satellite imagery to show the impact that island’s 467 palm oil mills have on nearby forested areas, and any expansion of existing plantations. </p>
<p>The idea is that this improved transparency will help traders eventually eliminate unsustainable practices from their supply chains.</p>
<p><strong><em>Recycling wastewater:</em></strong> <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/blog/agriculture-destabilizing-earth-system-according-recent-study#.W1GfathKh0v">About 84%</a> of the globe’s freshwater resources are used in agriculture. By 2030 it’s expected that agricultural demand for water alone will <a href="https://farmingfirst.org/Post2015-Food#Slide4">outstrip available supply</a>, even before domestic water needs are met. </p>
<p>Yet, <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002475/247553e.pdf">over half</a> of global freshwater becomes unusable wastewater. The <a href="http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/">International Water Management Institute</a> has analysed 24 possibilities for putting that wasted water to work – and generating income at the same time.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Resource-Recovery-from-Waste-Business-Models-for-Energy-Nutrient-and/Otoo-Drechsel/p/book/9781138016552">In Bangladesh</a>, for example, wastewater from a hospital complex that would have otherwise flowed into a nearby river, has been used to create protein-rich feed for cultivating fish. The sale of the fish easily recovered the cost of the system, making this a double win for the business and food security in the area.</p>
<h2>Settling our debt</h2>
<p>Debt collectors are frightening, and nature is no different. But as these projects – and hundreds of others being conducted around the world by scientists – reveal, humans aren’t helpless. There’s a great deal that can be done to make food systems more sustainable and to settle our planetary debt.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elwyn Grainger-Jones is the Executive Director of the CGIAR System Organization, which receives funding from a wide range of donors (for all donors, please visit <a href="https://www.cgiar.org/">https://www.cgiar.org/</a>).</span></em></p>Food systems must be transformed to produce more nutritious food with a lower environmental footprint.Elwyn Grainger-Jones, Executive Director, CGIAR System Organization, CGIAR System OrganizationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1005122018-07-25T20:08:26Z2018-07-25T20:08:26ZHow to reduce slavery in seafood supply chains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229216/original/file-20180725-194140-a8azjf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Portside tuna unloading from a refrigerated cargo and trading vessel (reefer) in Thailand, 2013.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trevor Ward</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Seafood is one of the most-traded foods in the world. The sector employs at least <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00450.x">260 million workers globally</a>, and some 3 billion people rely on seafood as a <a href="http://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/ssi-blue-economy-2016.pdf">primary source of protein</a>.</p>
<p>The US <a href="https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/245365.pdf">State Department</a> and other <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/01/23/hidden-chains/rights-abuses-and-forced-labor-thailands-fishing-industry">credible sources</a> have consistently identified the seafood sector as a significant contributor to the global incidence of modern slavery. Widespread forced labour has been reported in the seafood industry in 47 countries.</p>
<p>Part of the problem is that global seafood supply chains are long and complex. That’s why my colleagues and I have developed a five-stage framework, published today in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/7/e1701833">Science Advances</a>, that identifies the risk for specific products, all the way from ocean or farm to the supermarket shelf.</p>
<h2>What slavery might look like</h2>
<p>Companies can’t always be sure they’re buying and selling products that have been produced without forced labour. A single catch of fish may be caught in one country, processed in another and repackaged in a third before being shipped somewhere else for sale. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00450.x">65-70%</a> of exported seafood is produced in developing countries where labour costs are relatively low. Work in distant water fleets, aquaculture areas and processing hubs can be highly appealing to the rural poor, who may have limited local job opportunities. </p>
<p>Getting to these jobs, however, often requires migration and using labour brokers. </p>
<p>In fishing, labour brokers supply a mix of professional crew from seafaring nations as well as less-skilled and lower-cost crew. Vessels are physically isolated, with working hours determined by ocean conditions and the round-the-clock duties needed to keep a ship operating safely. Payment for work is often a share of the catch value, based on seniority. </p>
<p>The less-skilled crew, who may not speak their colleagues’ language or have any legal standing in the vessel’s flag state, are vulnerable to involuntary and unpaid work. This is particularly the case where the direct employer is a distant labour agent, rather than the vessel’s owner. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, vulnerable conditions alone do not dictate forced labour. Fishing wages provide dignified livelihoods and an escape from poverty for millions of fishers and crew operating in many remote fisheries.</p>
<h2>Five steps to reducing slavery</h2>
<p>How can we unravel these complex strands to identify slavery? Given the complex international nature of the trade, private companies have an important role to play alongside national regulations. </p>
<p>This is why we developed the five-point Labour Safe Screen. Four of these components are designed to identify the risk of slavery: </p>
<ul>
<li>product screening for country-level origins and standing on forced labour in seafood</li>
<li>a template for mapping the supply chain</li>
<li>an algorithm for estimating risk in fishing operations</li>
<li>surveys for collecting proof of protective conditions in the workplace.</li>
</ul>
<p>The fifth component is a set of principles for minimum protective conditions in the workplace. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229220/original/file-20180725-194131-1rdusyq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Field-tested principles for minimum conditions to protect workers from forced labour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Eighteen companies participated in our study and most carry hundreds of seafood products. We developed a tiered approach for screening a large number of their products, with quantitative scoring for persistent risks moving upstream into the supply chain and the workplace.</p>
<p>The majority of human rights data on forced labour in seafood production is available at the country level. While this provides a starting point for risk assessment, extrapolation to a particular product can be misleading. </p>
<p>We found that by triangulating industry and human rights data (from proprietary and public data sources), our framework allowed traders to identify the “pinch” points in their supply lines. They could then pinpoint labour risks where corrective actions could be most efficiently focused.</p>
<p>This approach captures data for each workplace as a product moves through the supply chain, transcending national domains and trans-shipping issues. </p>
<p>The results give traders the tools to identify areas where working conditions are either acceptable, unknown or inadequate. </p>
<p>Although risk-based due diligence does not guarantee that a product is free from forced labour, it does allow screening of large numbers of products. It can also focus attention on the most urgent points for remedial steps. </p>
<p>Ultimately, regulatory oversight is the main ingredient for low risk and makes it easier to focus on minimum protective work conditions. So in situations where the regulatory systems are strict and enforced (as in Australia), then minimum standards are likely to prevail and forced labour is likely to be a low risk.</p>
<p>Ideally, robust risk assessment should be part of a multi-pronged strategy for sustainable and socially responsible seafood. As part of this, we should always include ways to hear directly from workers and their organisations at the front line.</p>
<p><br></p>
<hr>
<p><em>The work described here was jointly undertaken by the authors of the Science Advances paper, including <a href="http://www.seafoodchampions.org/news/seaweb-announces-2018-seafood-champion-awards/">prizewinning front-line workers</a> active in the rescue of seafood workers.</em></p>
<p><em>Katrina Nakamura (lead author for the Science Advances paper) assisted with the development of this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100512/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trevor J Ward has received funding from Humanity United. </span></em></p>The seafood industry is a major contributor to modern slavery.Trevor J Ward, Adjunct professor, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/905832018-04-12T21:25:45Z2018-04-12T21:25:45ZHow to make global food systems more sustainable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214528/original/file-20180412-543-1960lki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plant-based milks made from nuts, seeds and peas are becoming big business. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last October, movie director James Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis Cameron <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/james-cameron-among-investors-hoping-the-humble-pea-will-become-the-food-of-thefuture/article37467585/">launched an organic pea protein operation in Saskatchewan</a>. Once it is up and running, this facility will be <a href="http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/james-cameron-bets-on-pea-protein/">the top producer of organic pea protein</a> in North America. </p>
<p>At a news conference, Cameron said he was “not unsympathetic” to the cattle industry, but that he was <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/james-cameron-vanscoy-pea-processing-plant-1.4295182">concerned with the environmental impacts of animal agriculture</a>, and wanted to help reduce meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and improve health. </p>
<p>This is a critical time for our planet. What we eat and how we get our food will shape its future. </p>
<p>Climate change, destructive weather, volatility in food production and the rise of non-communicable diseases (diabetes and elevated blood pressure, for example) that have become the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/">leading causes of premature death worldwide</a> demand that we think hard about what we eat and call for more sustainability in our global food systems. </p>
<h2>Powered by plants</h2>
<p>Last year set the stage for plant-based eating with the release of the <a href="https://www.impossiblefoods.com/">Impossible Burger</a> and other plant-based proteins that resemble beef. People can live well <a href="https://theconversation.com/vegetarian-diets-and-health-the-voice-of-science-needs-to-be-heard-87222">eating plant-based diets</a> and the appetite for them is growing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214143/original/file-20180410-587-1pi44dl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Impossible Burger is a plant-based burger made from wheat, coconut oil, potatoes and heme.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Impossible Foods</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/9571-a-broader-market-for-plant-protein">A 2016 survey</a> found that 17 per cent of Americans adhere to a plant-based diet exclusively or predominantly, while another 60 per cent are cutting back on meat-based products. Similar trends are <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2117326/inside-hong-kongs-growing-appetite-veganism">taking hold in Europe and Asia</a>. </p>
<p>A decrease in meat-eating could help governments save billions in health care costs. <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6531/27accb7a4d1632739d1d4f7ac663351e8673.pdf">High levels of meat and saturated fat consumption</a> are linked to a growing burden of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some cancers. </p>
<p>In Canada, a recent report found that <a href="https://www.cdhowe.org/sites/default/files/attachments/research_papers/mixed/Commentary_327.pdf">provincial health-care spending could rise to 80 per cent of budgets by 2030</a> if diets and lifestyles remained unchanged. These escalating costs are mostly driven by an increase in the use of drugs, medical technology and human resources to treat these diseases.</p>
<h2>Planting ahead</h2>
<p>Global food systems are increasingly generating severe human, social, environmental and economic costs. In an effort to boost efficiency, productivity and profits, we have intensified and mechanized agricultural processes, including plant and animal breeding. </p>
<p>As a result, our food production and consumption habits have become <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-consumers-need-help-to-shift-to-sustainable-diets-75934">major drivers of climate change, water stress, land grabs, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, deforestation and the depletion of fish stocks</a>. </p>
<p>We need smarter, healthier and kinder approaches.</p>
<p>For example, it is grossly inefficient to grow grains and feed them to livestock. It would be <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-2004-cbc-massey-lectures-a-short-history-of-progress-1.2946872">10 times more efficient</a> if humans ate these grains and seeds instead. </p>
<p>It would also be more equitable. The price of grains increases when feedstocks are channelled to industrial animal agriculture, and <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6583e.pdf">puts them out of reach of marginalized populations</a>. </p>
<h2>A food makeover</h2>
<p>Both the <a href="https://academicimpact.un.org/content/shifting-sustainable-diets">United Nations</a> and the <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3004e/i3004e.pdf">Food and Agriculture Organization</a> have called for reforms in food and farming systems. The evidence gathered reveals the need for limits on chemical-intensive agriculture, intensive livestock production, the mass production and mass marketing of ultra-processed foods and for sustainability practices to drive needed improvements to long and deregulated global commodity supply chains. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214145/original/file-20180410-549-z25x4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cattle ranching is a leading cause of deforestation in Brazil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In short, they are advocating for more sustainable diets across the planet. Sustainable diets seek to achieve positive outcomes for people, animals and the planet by taking into account health, environment and equity in diet, as well as lifestyle.</p>
<p>Independent research groups, such as <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/about-us">IPES-Food</a>, are also collaborating with citizens and social movements to shape policies and encourage the transition to more sustainable food systems. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://futureoffood.org/unravelling-the-food-health-nexus/#">recent report</a>, IPES-Food and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food highlighted the many ways food is connected to our lives. They urge governments, industry and citizen-consumers to build more integrity into food systems by applying reliable approaches that are holistic, publicly supported and that replace poor outcomes with inspiring and sustainable results.</p>
<h2>Succulent opportunities</h2>
<p>Innovation with greens and plant-based foods is <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canadian-farmers-companies-invest-in-plant-based-protein-amid-growing-demand/article38105245/">already worth billions and is only expected to keep growing</a>. With plant-based businesses growing exponentially, traditional food companies are seizing opportunities to invest in plant-based brands. </p>
<p>Maple Leaf Foods, Canada’s largest meat distributor, <a href="http://www.mapleleaffoods.com/news/maple-leaf-foods-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-field-roast-grain-meat-co/">extended its product line</a> to include plant-based protein foods by acquiring Lightlife Foods and Field Roast, which offer grain-based “meat” and vegan cheese products. These are not lightweight businesses: Field Roast had approximately US$38 million in sales in 2016. </p>
<p>Tyson Foods, a prominent U.S. meat producer, has also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpellmanrowland/2017/12/10/tyson-foods-plant-based-meat/#2ea7e21d7efa">enlarged its stake in the plant-based company Beyond Meat</a>, and the multinational food company <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/danone-buys-whitewave-foods-in-us10-billion-takeover-adding-soy-milk-kale-to-menu">Danone acquired WhiteWave</a>, a plant-milk company. </p>
<p>Many more business opportunities await those with imagination. More succulent foods are anticipated in the market and some will include pea protein from the facility launched by James Cameron and team. </p>
<p>The future could mean cleaner air, water and fortified soils, along with healthier and more equitable lifestyles — all powered by delicious plant foods.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90583/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Kevany does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This is a critical time for our planet. What we eat and how we get our food will shape its future.Kathleen Kevany, Associate Professor Sustainable Food Systems, Director of Rural Research Centre, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/945382018-04-11T12:39:33Z2018-04-11T12:39:33ZSalmon farms are in crisis – here’s how scientists are trying to save them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214311/original/file-20180411-549-16zvuxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Salmon farming is facing a huge challenge in the form of a tiny pest. The parasitic sea louse is infecting salmon stocks worldwide, causing <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/salmon-sea-lice-plague-outbreak-fish-farms-global-stocks-depleted-acquaculture-industry-a7955326.html">devastating losses</a> for salmon farmers and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/13/price-of-salmon-leaps-50-as-sea-lice-epidemic-worsens">increased prices</a> for shoppers. But scientists are working hard to tackle this global problem, with a combination of new ways to biologically and mechanically remove the lice and to make the salmon more resilient to infection. </p>
<p>Sea lice are small parasites about the size of a finger nail, which attach to the <a href="http://www.biomar.com/en/uk/articles/products/cleaner-fish/what-are-salmon-lice/">head and body of the salmon</a>. The lice feed off the salmon, eventually killing them or at least making them unsuitable for human consumption. Sea lice infections have been recorded in salmon farms for decades. But in the last few years infection rates have rocketed due to more <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/02/07/rspb.2012.0084">intensive farming</a> practices, with more fish being kept in smaller areas. </p>
<p>The economic cost of sea lice infection has hit salmon farmers hard, with an estimated <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38966188">7% drop</a> in production from 2016 to 2017. This has directly impacted consumers as the wholesale price of salmon increased by <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38966188">50% in the same time period</a>, with many shops passing on the cost to shoppers. If this pattern continues, the cost of salmon will keep increasing and demand for salmon will exceed supply.</p>
<p>The crisis has prompted researchers from universities and the fish farming industry to develop new ways to prevent and treat sea lice infection. One natural solution is to add “cleaner fish” to fish farms, which live alongside the salmon and eat the sea lice straight off their bodies. The species commonly used are Wrasse and Lumpfish, as they naturally graze on the sea lice. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214284/original/file-20180411-587-1xg6wpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Salmon farms are infested.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The industry expects to need <a href="https://www.mcsuk.org/media/cleaner-fish-policy-2018.pdf">50m cleaner fish annually</a> by 2020, 10m in the UK alone, to cope with increasing sea lice numbers. To satisfy this demand, a healthy supply of farmed cleaner fish is needed to reduce the pressure on wild fish stocks. The largest salmon producer in Scotland, Marine Harvest, has restored a redundant bass hatchery to create a cleaner fish rearing facility and has <a href="https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/planners-give-green-light-for-wrasse-hatchery/">plans to build another unit</a>. This will go a long way towards meeting demands, but further research is needed to optimise the breeding and rearing of farmed cleaner fish. </p>
<p>Researchers are trying to produce healthier cleaner fish, to maximise their lifespan and minimise their chances of spreading infection to the salmon. For example, scientists at the University of Stirling are <a href="http://scottishaquaculture.com/scottish_aquaculture_projects/co-funded-projects/pia-1/improving-cleaner-fish-vaccination/">working on vaccines</a> to provide protection from common fish diseases <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/aquaculture/diseases/notifiableDisease/Furunculosis">such as furunculosis</a>, which causes lesions, internal haemorrhaging and eventually death. </p>
<p>Another effective approach is to manually remove sea lice from the bodies of the salmon by passing them through a machine known as <a href="https://www.steinsvik.no/en/products/e/seaculture/fish-health/thermolicer">a thermolicer</a>, which exposes them to warm water to kill the lice. But there is concern that mechanical thermolicers can cause undue <a href="https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/vet-warns-of-head-injury-risk-to-fish-during-delousing/">stress and damage</a> to fish. In 2016, <a href="http://norwaytoday.info/finance/salmon-die-huge-numbers-alternative-lice-treatment/">95,000 salmon</a> were killed after being treated in this way. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214287/original/file-20180411-570-aj6nsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sea louse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recently, a Norwegian company called Flatsetsund Engineering produced a <a href="http://salmonbusiness.com/full-containment-of-salmon-lice/">new delicer</a>, capable of removing up to 95% of sea lice. This delicer performs better than other models as once the lice are removed from the salmon they are captured and contained. This prevents the sea lice from returning to the water and infecting more fish. But the delicer itself may still pose a risk to the salmon.</p>
<p>The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre is investing in the development of <a href="http://www.worldfishing.net/news101/fish-farming/new-project-explores-using-ultrasound-to-delouse-farmed-salmon">ultrasound systems</a> that can be used underwater to remove the sea lice. Sound waves would travel through the water detaching the lice from the body of the salmon without harming the fish or the environment.</p>
<h2>Sea-lice vaccines</h2>
<p>Other routes researchers are investigating involve stopping salmon becoming infected with sea lice in the first place. There is the potential for a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11242567_Development_of_vaccines_against_sea_lice">sea lice vaccine</a> that, in theory, would expose the fish to a safe formulation of sea lice material so they could develop an immune response.</p>
<p>This approach has worked for other animal parasites, such as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6147724_A_ten-year_review_of_commercial_vaccine_performance_for_control_of_tick_infestations_on_cattle">cattle ticks</a>. In this case, the vaccine causes the cow to produce protective antibodies in its blood that disrupts the tick’s functions when it tries to feed. Unfortunately, this method is proving difficult to replicate in salmon and no such sea lice vaccines are yet available.</p>
<p>There is also ongoing research into anti-sea lice medication that can be mixed with the salmon food. It is absorbed by the body and then reaches the sites of sea lice infection. This can be effective but because a lot of food is not eaten the medicine can persist in the environment having a negative <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-01-anti-sea-lice-drugs-pose-hazard.html">impact on other species</a>. There is also a risk that the lice will become used to the treatment and develop ways of overcoming its harmful effects, leading to resistance. </p>
<p>Hopefully a combination of these approaches will enable the salmon industry to tackle the sea lice problem and reverse the decline in fish production. This will mean increased investment and hard work to stay one step ahead. New advances in this area are crucial if we want to maintain a sustainable supply of healthy farmed salmon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndsay Christie receives funding from BBSRC.</span></em></p>Salmon prices are soaring because of sea lice infestations – but new medicine and technology could help.Lyndsay Christie, PhD Student in Microbial Genomics, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/904212018-03-08T11:43:59Z2018-03-08T11:43:59ZLet them eat carp: Fish farms are helping to fight hunger<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205503/original/file-20180208-180844-1db2u8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farmed fish like these carp now make an important contribution to global food security.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ben Belton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past three decades, the global aquaculture industry has risen from obscurity to become a critical source of food for millions of people. In 1990, only 13 percent of world seafood consumption was farmed; by 2014, aquaculture was providing <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e.pdf">more than half</a> of the fish consumed directly by human beings. </p>
<p>The boom has made farmed fish like shrimp, tilapia and pangasius catfish – imported from countries such as Thailand, China and Vietnam – an increasingly common sight in European and North American supermarkets. As a result, much research on aquaculture has emphasized production for export. </p>
<p>This focus has led scholars to question whether aquaculture contributes to the <a href="https://www.wfp.org/node/359289">food security</a> of poorer people in producing countries. Many have concluded <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2006.06.001">it does not</a>. Meanwhile, the industry’s advocates often emphasize the potential for small-scale farms, mainly growing fish for home consumption, to <a href="http://www.aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.org/">feed the poor</a>. Farms of this kind are sometimes claimed to account for <a href="http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/hlpe/hlpe_documents/HLPE_S_and_R/HLPE_2014_Sustainable_Fisheries_and_Aquaculture_Summary_EN.pdf">70 to 80 percent</a>
of global aquaculture production. </p>
<p>Our research shows that both of these perspectives are wildly out of sync with current developments. In fact, the vast majority of farmed fish is consumed in the same developing countries where it is produced, and is widely accessible to poorer consumers in these markets. Most of it comes from a dynamic new class of small- and medium-scale commercial farms, the existence of which is rarely recognized. To understand the potential of aquaculture to feed the world, researchers and consumers need to appreciate how dynamic this industry is.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205506/original/file-20180208-180805-1x8ipy5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farming pangasius catfish for export in Vietnam.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ben Belton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Farmed fish is a critical food source</h2>
<p>Fish is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and high-quality protein. It plays a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-015-0427-z">particularly important role</a> in the diets of billions of consumers in low- and middle-income countries. Many of these people are poor, malnourished and unable to afford alternative nutrient-rich foods such as fruit, eggs and meat. </p>
<p>Throughout human history most of the fish people eat has been captured from oceans, rivers and lakes. But the total quantity of fish harvested from these sources <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10244">peaked in the mid-1990s</a> due to overfishing and environmental degradation. Demand for seafood has continued to increase since this time, as urbanization and average incomes have risen globally. Aquaculture is filling the gap. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206664/original/file-20180215-131038-7vnqvp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Global total of wild fish capture and aquaculture production (million metric tons).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_fisheries_production#/media/File:Global_total_fish_harvest.svg">Construct, data from FAO</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Overemphasis on exports</h2>
<p>Academic research on aquaculture has focused predominantly on internationally traded species such as shrimp, salmon, and Vietnamese pangasius. These three fish account for less than 10 percent of global farmed fish production, but are the focus of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12035">the majority of social science publications</a> on aquaculture. This bias reflects the priorities and concerns of developed countries that fund research, as well as civil society organizations that work to promote sustainable aquaculture production through international trade.</p>
<p>Because they assume that this small group of internationally traded species is representative of global aquaculture, many scholars believe that fish farmed in developing nations is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/534317a">mainly exported to wealthy countries</a>. The literature also suggests that fish farmers find it most profitable to grow species with a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12187">high market value</a>, generating little benefit for poorer consumers.</p>
<h2>Fact-checking the numbers</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2017.10.005">recent analysis</a> of fish production and trade, we used <a href="http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstatj/en">data</a> published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to show that the importance of global trade in farmed seafood has been vastly overstated. We analyzed farmed fish production and exports for 2011 – the most recent year both sets of data were available – for the 10 most important aquaculture producing developing countries, which together account for 87 percent of global aquaculture production and half of the world’s human population. </p>
<p>Our analysis shows that export trade from these countries is relatively insignificant. In fact, we found 89 percent of the fish farmed in these countries remain in their domestic markets. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205507/original/file-20180208-180821-crornh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mobile vendor selling affordable fish in Bangladesh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ben Belton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Aquaculture is pro-poor</h2>
<p>But is this fish reaching the poor? To answer this question, we pieced together multiple sources of information on fish prices and fish consumption in these same 10 countries. A consistent pattern emerged: Where the quantity of farmed fish has grown substantially, the real price of farmed fish, adjusted for inflation, has fallen significantly, and the quantity of fish consumed by poorer consumers has grown. </p>
<p>For example, in Bangladesh – one of Asia’s poorest countries – the farmed fish market grew <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.06.006">by a factor of 25</a> in three decades to exceed two million tons in 2015. This growth caused the real price of farmed fish to drop by nine percent from 2000 to 2010, at the same time that wild fish were becoming scarcer and more expensive. Consumption of farmed fish by poorer households – who are particularly sensitive to changes in food prices – increased rapidly over this period, more than offsetting a decline in the quantity of wild fish eaten. </p>
<p>These trends imply that the expansion of fish farming has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.06.035">good for the poor</a>. Low-income households in the countries that we studied would eat less fish of any kind today, wild or farmed, were it not for the growth of aquaculture. </p>
<h2>A quiet revolution</h2>
<p>So who is producing this fish, and how? The “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.06.006">quiet revolution</a>” in farmed fish supply has been driven neither by corporate agribusiness nor by tiny backyard farms. Rather, most of aquaculture’s growth over the past three decades has come from a dynamic and increasingly sophisticated segment of small- and medium-sized commercial farms and the myriad businesses that support them by supplying inputs such as feed, logistics and other services.</p>
<p>Rather than focusing on producing expensive species for export markets or wealthy domestic customers, these unsung heroes have focused on growing affordable fish such as carp. Where these species are produced in large quantities, they have become affordable for huge numbers of low- and middle-income consumers close to home. </p>
<p>This transformation has not yet taken hold in many developing countries, particularly in Africa, where access to inexpensive fish could greatly improve food security. By learning from the example of nations where farmed fish supply has boomed, governments and aid organizations can make better targeted investments in infrastructure, institutions, policies and technologies to expand the impact of aquaculture’s quiet revolution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Belton receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development, and the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Little receives funding from Progammes funded by the Department for International Development, UK, and the European Union </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Bush receives funding from the Dutch Scientific Organisation (NWO), Addessium Foundation and Monterrey Bay Seafood Watch Programme.</span></em></p>Many critics say that fish farms mainly sell their output to wealthy countries and don’t provide much benefit to poor people in producing countries. Three aquaculture experts show why this view is wrong.Ben Belton, Assistant Professor of International Development, Michigan State UniversityDave Little, Professor of Aquatic Resources Development, University of StirlingSimon Bush, Professor and Chair of Environmental Policy, Wageningen UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/887202018-02-13T11:42:43Z2018-02-13T11:42:43ZHow urban farmers are learning to grow food without soil or natural light<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206186/original/file-20180213-44657-1wwhmro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mandy Zammit/Grow Up</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Growing food in cities became popular in Europe and North America during and immediately after World War II. Urban farming provided citizens with food, at a time when resources were desperately scarce. In the decades that followed, parcels of land which had been given over to allotments and city farms were gradually taken up for urban development. But recently, there has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-farms-wont-feed-our-cities-but-theyre-still-a-great-idea-heres-why-66107">a renewed interest</a> in urban farming – albeit for very different reasons than before. </p>
<p>As part of a <a href="http://www.urbanallotments.eu/">recent research project</a> investigating how urban farming is evolving across Europe, I found that in countries where growing food was embedded in the national culture, many people have started new food production projects. There was less uptake in countries such as Greece and Slovenia, where there was no tradition of urban farming. Yet a few <a href="http://www.fupress.net/index.php/ri-vista/article/view/17588/16480">community projects</a> had recently been started in those places too.</p>
<p>Today’s urban farmers don’t just grow food to eat; they also see urban agriculture as a way of increasing the diversity of plants and animals in the city, bringing people from different backgrounds and age groups together, improving mental and physical health and regenerating derelict neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>Many new urban farming projects still struggle to find suitable green spaces. But people are finding inventive solutions; growing food in <a href="https://www.kingscross.co.uk/skip-garden">skips</a> or on rooftops, on sites that are only temporarily free, or on raised beds in <a href="http://www.edibleeastside.net/">abandoned industrial yards</a>. Growers are even using technologies such as hydroponics, aquaculture and aquaponics to make the most of unoccupied spaces. </p>
<h2>Something fishy</h2>
<p>Hydroponic systems were engineered as a highly space and resource efficient form of farming. Today, they represent a considerable source of industrially grown produce; <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hydroponic-vegetables-market-to-reach-us121065-mn-by-2025-growing-concerns-about-food-security-ups-demand-for-hydroponics-says-tmr-626494961.html">one estimate</a> suggests that, in 2016, the hydroponic vegetable market was worth about US$6.9 billion worldwide. </p>
<p>Hydroponics enable people to grow food without soil and natural light, using blocks of porous material where the plants’ roots grow, and artificial lighting such as low-energy LED. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483736/">study on lettuce production</a> found that although hydroponic crops require significantly more energy than conventionally grown food, they also use less water and have considerably higher yields. </p>
<p>Growing hydroponic crops usually requires sophisticated technology, specialist skills and expensive equipment. But simplified versions can be affordable and easy to use. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">They grow up so fast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mandy Zammit/Grow Up</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.hemmaodlat.se/">Hemmaodlat</a> is an organisation based in Malmö, in a neighbourhood primarily occupied by low-income groups and immigrants. The area is densely built, and there’s no green space available to grow food locally. Plus, the Swedish summer is short and not always ideal for growing crops. Instead, the organisation aims to promote hydroponic systems among local communities, as a way to grow fresh food using low-cost equipment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://bristolfish.org/">Bristol Fish Project</a> is a community-supported aquaponics farm, which breeds fish and uses the organic waste they produce to fertilise plants grown hydroponically. <a href="http://growup.org.uk/">GrowUp</a> is another aquaponics venture located in an East London warehouse – they grow food and farm fish using only artificial light. Similarly, <a href="http://growing-underground.com/">Growing Underground</a> is an enterprise that produces crops in tunnels, which were originally built as air raid shelters during World War II in London. </p>
<h2>The next big thing?</h2>
<p>The potential to grow food in small spaces, under any environmental conditions, are certainly big advantages in an urban context. But these technologies also mean that the time spent outdoors, weathering the natural cycles of the seasons, is lost. Also, hydroponic systems require nutrients that are often synthesised chemically – although organic nutrients are now becoming available. Many urban farmers grow their food following organic principles, partly because the excessive use of chemical fertilisers is <a href="http://www.fao.org/tc/exact/sustainable-agriculture-platform-pilot-website/nutrients-and-soil-fertility-management/organic-fertilizers-including-manure-and-compost/en/">damaging soil fertility</a> and <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/w2598e/w2598e06.htm">polluting groundwater</a>.</p>
<p>To see whether these drawbacks would put urban growers off using hydroponic systems, my colleagues and I conducted a pilot study <a href="http://portsmoutharchitecture.tumblr.com/post/166777033590/nature-or-nurturing-an-investigation-into-the">in Portsmouth</a>. We installed small hydroponic units in two local community gardens, and interviewed volunteers and visitors to the gardens. Many of the people we spoke to were well informed about hydroponic technology, and knew that some of the vegetables sold in supermarkets today are produced with this system. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A simplified hydroponic frame in Portsmouth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Silvio Caputo/University of Portsmouth</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many were fascinated by the idea of growing food without soil within their community projects, but at the same time reluctant to consume the produce because of the chemical nutrients used. A few interviewees were also uncomfortable with the idea that the food was not grown naturally. We intend to repeat this experiment in the near future, to see how public opinion changes over time. </p>
<p>And while we don’t think hydroponic systems can replace the enjoyment that growing food in soil can offer, they can save water and produce safe food, either indoors or outdoors, in a world with increasingly scarce resources. Learning to use these new technologies, and integrating them into existing projects, can only help to grow even more sustainable food. </p>
<p>As with many technological advancements, it could be that a period of slow acceptance will be followed by rapid, widespread uptake. Perhaps the fact that IKEA is selling portable <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/indoor-gardening/">hydroponic units</a>, while hydroponic cabinets are on the market as <a href="http://www.urbancultivator.net/">components of kitchen systems</a>, is a sign that this technology is primed to enter mainstream use.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silvio Caputo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hydroponics and aquaponics are already being used by the agriculture industry – is it time urban farmers got on board?Silvio Caputo, Senior Lecturer, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/899652018-01-21T19:15:31Z2018-01-21T19:15:31ZHow blockchain is strengthening tuna traceability to combat illegal fishing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202372/original/file-20180117-53314-1jh79k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For the global tuna industry, which has historically struggled with illegal and environmentally dubious fishing practices, the use of blockchain could be a turning point.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">WWF</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a significant development for global fisheries, blockchain technology is now being used to improve tuna traceability to help stop illegal and unsustainable fishing practices in the Pacific Islands tuna industry.</p>
<p>The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, in partnership with US-based tech innovator <a href="https://consensys.net/">ConsenSys</a>, tech implementer <a href="https://traseable.com/">TraSeable</a> and tuna fishing and processing company <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8orivCxcH6E">Sea Quest Fiji Ltd</a>, has just launched a <a href="http://www.wwf.org.au/news/news/2018/how-blockchain-and-a-smartphone-can-stamp-out-illegal-fishing-and-slavery-in-the-tuna-industry#gs.jZMlFTw">pilot project</a> in the Pacific Islands tuna industry that will use blockchain technology to track the journey of tuna from “bait to plate”. </p>
<p>The aim is to help stop <a href="http://www.fao.org/fishery/iuu-fishing/en">illegal, unreported and unregulated</a> fishing and human rights abuses in the tuna industry. These have included <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/25/slavery-trafficking-thai-fishing-industry-environmental-justice-foundation">reports</a> of <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X08001437">corruption</a>, illegal trafficking and human slavery on tuna fishing boats. </p>
<p>It is hoped the use of blockchain technology will strengthen transparency and enable full traceability, thereby countering significant threats to licensing <a href="http://www.ffa.int/files/FFA%20Quantifying%20IUU%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf">revenue</a> and <a href="https://www.fishwise.org/images/pdfs/fishwise_human_rights_seafood_white_paper_nov_2013.pdf">crew working conditions and safety</a>, <a href="http://www.mrag.co.uk/experience/review-impacts-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-iuu-fishing-developing-countries">and broader impacts on the environment</a>.</p>
<h2>Blockchain is evolving beyond Bitcoin</h2>
<p>Blockchain technology is rapidly evolving <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/05/the-impact-of-the-blockchain-goes-beyond-financial-services">beyond Bitcoin</a>. Emerging applications are geared to improve business in <a href="https://execed.economist.com/blog/industry-trends/5-applications-blockchain-your-business">many ways</a> – including supply-chain transparency for all kinds of products. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/demystifying-the-blockchain-a-basic-user-guide-60226">Demystifying the blockchain: a basic user guide</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A blockchain is a digital ledger that is distributed, decentralised, verifiable and irreversible. It can be used to record transactions of almost anything of value. </p>
<p>Essentially, it is a shared (not copied) database that everyone in the network can see and update. This system provides multiple benefits for supply chains, including high levels of transparency. This is because everyone in the network can see and verify the ledger, and no individual can alter or delete the history of transactions.</p>
<p>For consumers, this means you will be able to scan a code on an item you want to buy and find out exactly where it has been before landing in your hands. It will be easy to answer those tricky questions about whether or not an item – such as a fish – is sustainable, ethical or legal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202373/original/file-20180117-53289-mw5uwu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As seen here, once the tuna is caught, a reusable tag is attached, from which information is then automatically uploaded to blockchain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WWF</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Using blockchain to trace tuna</h2>
<p>The WWF pilot project will use a combination of <a href="http://futureoffish.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/T101-Seafood%20Traceability%20Glossary%20WEB_0.pdf">radio-frequency identification</a> (RFID) tags, <a href="http://futureoffish.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/T101-Seafood%20Traceability%20Glossary%20WEB_0.pdf">quick response</a> (QR) code tags and scanning devices to collect information about the journey of a tuna at various points along the supply chain. While this use of technology is <a href="http://cdn.intechweb.org/pdfs/8493.pdf">not new</a> for supply-chain tracking, the exciting part is that the collected information will then be recorded using blockchain technology. </p>
<p>Tracking will start as soon as the tuna is caught. Once a fish is landed, it will be attached with a reusable RFID tag on the vessel. Devices fitted on the vessel, at the dock and in the processing factory will then detect the tags and automatically upload information to the blockchain. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/blockchain-is-useful-for-a-lot-more-than-just-bitcoin-58921">Blockchain is useful for a lot more than just Bitcoin</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Once the fish has been processed, the reusable RFID tag will be switched for a cheaper QR code tag, which will be attached to the product packaging. The unique QR code will be linked to the blockchain record associated with the particular fish and its original RFID tag. The QR code tag will be used to trace the rest of the journey of the fish to the consumer.</p>
<p>At the moment, linking tags is not difficult because the project is focusing on whole round exports – that is, the whole fresh fish minus head, gills and guts. It gets a little more complicated when the fish is cut up into loins, steaks, cubes and cans, but the project team is now able to link the QR code tags on the packages of the processed fish with the record of the original fish on the blockchain.</p>
<p>While it may be possible to use RFID tags throughout the whole process, the expense of these tags could prohibit smaller operators in the fishing industry from participating in the scheme if it expands. There is also potential to use <a href="https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/near-field-communication.htm">near field communicator</a> (NFC) devices to track the fish all the way to the consumer in the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202374/original/file-20180117-53328-1issrdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marine Stewardship Council-certified yellowfin tuna processed at SeaQuest processing plant at Walu Bay, Suva, Fiji, December 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WWF</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bringing much-needed transparency to the industry</h2>
<p>While this use of the blockchain is the first of its kind for the Pacific Islands region, it is not a world first. A company called Provenence and the International Pole and Line Association (IPLA) has already completed a <a href="https://www.provenance.org/tracking-tuna-on-the-blockchain">successful pilot project</a> tracing products from Indonesian tuna fisheries to consumers in the UK.</p>
<p>Provenance is also working on using blockchain to track a range of other physical things – including cotton, fashion, coffee and organically farmed food products. However, the potential of blockchain goes further. For example, Kodak recently <a href="https://www.kodak.com/kodakone/default.htm">launched its own cryptocurrency</a> to help photographers track and protect their digital intellectual property. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kodakone-could-be-the-start-of-a-new-kind-of-intellectual-property-89966">KodakOne could be the start of a new kind of intellectual property</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Blockchain technology is just starting to change the way business is done. If it delivers on its promise of supply-chain transparency, it will be a great tool to help ensure that industries – including the tuna industry – are doing the right thing. </p>
<p>This will give consumers more information on which to base their purchasing decisions. For the global tuna industry, which has historically struggled with illegal and environmentally dubious fishing practices, this could be a turning point as visionary fishing companies demonstrate true stewardship and begin to open up the industry to full transparency.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Quentin Hanich receives funding from various international foundations, development organisations and research bodies, and is a Principal Investigator with the Nereus Program. Any analysis or opinion presented in this article is solely that of the author. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Candice Visser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Blockchain is now helping to bring much-needed transparency to the global tuna industry, which has been prone to corruption, human slavery and unsustainable fishing practices.Candice Visser, PhD Candidate, University of WollongongQuentin Hanich, Associate Professor, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/892622017-12-21T14:20:18Z2017-12-21T14:20:18ZCreating a sustainable future: 5 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199482/original/file-20171215-17863-17ib8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even pocket parks in cities (Duane Park in Lower Manhattan, pictured here) can shelter wildlife. Read below for ideas about urban biodiversity and other green innovations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Tribeca_duane_park.jpg">Aude</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Much news about the environment in 2017 focused on controversies over Trump administration actions, such as proposals to promote more use of coal and budget cuts at relevant federal agencies. At the same time, however, many scholars across the United States are pursuing innovations that could help create a more sustainable world. Here we spotlight five examples from our 2017 archives.</p>
<h2>1. Restoring the Rio Grande</h2>
<p>Although many Americans may not realize it, the United States and Mexico work together on many environmental issues along their joint border, including drinking water, sanitation and flood control. Gabriel Diaz Montemayor, assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-a-better-vision-for-the-us-mexico-border-make-the-rio-grande-grand-again-73111">proposes a bolder vision</a>: greening the entire Rio Grande Valley, which forms more than half of the border. </p>
<p>Restoring vegetation along the river and creating more green space along both sides would help improve river flow and water quality, Montemayor writes. And it could make the border region an attraction that brings Mexicans and Americans together: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“As the Rio Grande advances to the Gulf of Mexico, it cuts through incredibly valuable, beautiful and remote landscapes, including Big Bend National Park in Texas and the Cañon de Santa Elena, Ocampo, and Maderas del Carmen reserves in Mexico. Traveling its length could become a trip comparable to hiking the Appalachian Trail, with opportunities to see recovering natural areas and wildlife and learn from two of the world’s richest cultures.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199488/original/file-20171215-17842-11454hj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View of Tule Canyon and the Rio Grande from Burro Bluff, Big Bend National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nps.gov/rigr/planyourvisit/lower_cyns.htm">National Park Service</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Making jet fuel from sugarcane</h2>
<p>Jet airplane travel is one of the world’s fastest-growing greenhouse gas emissions sources. For this and other reasons, including concerns about oil price spikes, there is growing interest in producing jet fuel from nonpetroleum sources. </p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Illinois are working on making <a href="https://theconversation.com/jet-fuel-from-sugarcane-its-not-a-flight-of-fancy-84493">jet fuel from sugarcane</a>, an abundant and low-cost source. But they are doing it with a twist. Instead of fermenting cane juice into an alcohol-based fuel, as Brazil already does for motor vehicles, they have engineered the cane to produce oil that can be used to make biodiesel. </p>
<p>This engineered version, which they call lipidcane, could become a lucrative crop. “We calculate that growing lipidcane containing 20 percent oil would be five times more profitable per acre than soybeans, the main feedstock currently used to make biodiesel in the United States, and twice as profitable per acre as corn,” the authors write. They also are engineering it to be more cold tolerant so that it can be grown on marginal land in the southeastern United States. </p>
<h1>3. A legal right to a clean environment</h1>
<p>Are all humans <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-a-healthy-environment-a-human-right-testing-the-idea-in-appalachia-80372">entitled to live in a clean and healthy environment</a>? West Virginia University legal researcher Nicholas Stump and his colleagues are exploring this proposal in a challenging setting: Appalachia, where mining and logging have severely damaged the environment and polluted the air, water and soil. Appalachia is well-suited for a bottom-up, critically informed approach that focuses on human rights at the grassroots level, he writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Discussing rights at the local level will give people opportunity to describe specific harms they have experienced from activities such as mountaintop removal and fracking. It also will help to promote participatory democracy for citizens who have long been denied real self-determination.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This work is part of West Virginia University’s new <a href="https://aji.law.wvu.edu/home">Appalachian Justice Initiative</a>, which will include research, advocacy and direct legal services and outreach to Appalachian communities. “Our goal is to help people in our region call for laws and actions that actually guarantee the right to a healthy Appalachian environment,” Stump explains.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/66179035" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Appalachia residents protest mountaintop removal coal mining in Washington DC, May 8, 2013.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h1>4. Stemming world hunger with marine microalgae</h1>
<p>Feeding a growing world population sustainably in the coming decades will be a major environmental challenge. Large-scale farm production pollutes air and water, generates greenhouse gas emissions and degrades soil. </p>
<p>William Moomaw, professor of international environmental policy at Tufts University, and Asaf Tzachor, a Ph.D. candidate at University College London, see marine microalgae as <a href="https://theconversation.com/micro-solutions-for-a-macro-problem-how-marine-algae-could-help-feed-the-world-85702">a key untapped resource</a>. These tiny organisms live in fresh and salt water, and form the base of marine food chains. They are the sources of the omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids that humans get by eating fish. Moomaw and Tzachor call for “cutting out the middle fish” and developing foods based directly on microalgae.</p>
<p>“Most algae-based products are marketed in the United States as dietary supplements, but we believe the time has arrived to introduce algae-based foods to the dining table,” they write.</p>
<p>Microalgae can be grown in open ponds or sealed tubes in a laboratory. Moomaw and Tzachor calculate that producing one kilogram of beef-sourced essential amino acids would require 148,000 liters of freshwater and 125 square meters of fertile land. In contrast, producing the same amount from an omega-3 rich microalgae called <em>Nannochloropsis oculata</em>, raised in an open pond with brackish water, would require only 20 liters of freshwater and 1.6 square meters of nonfertile land.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199490/original/file-20171215-17848-g7ghjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Growing algae indoors in photobioreactors conserves land and water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Photobioreactor_PBR_4000_G_IGV_Biotech.jpg">IGV Biotech</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h1>5. Understanding biodiversity in cities</h1>
<p>Sustainable strategies for the future don’t have to be technically complex or sweeping. Geographer Christopher Swan of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, studies biodiversity in parks, backyards and other natural areas around the city of Baltimore. Swan wants to see <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-nature-what-kinds-of-plants-and-wildlife-flourish-in-cities-71680">what species thrive in cities</a> and how human activities affect them.</p>
<p>As urban dwellers build and remodel houses and develop neighborhoods, they divide urban space into small units with many edges, Swan has found: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This benefits species that thrive at edges, like white-tailed deer and nuisance vines, but harms others that require larger interior habitats, such as certain birds. As human activities create a more fragmented environment, it becomes increasingly important to create linkages between natural areas, such as preserved forests, to maintain populations and their biodiversity.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Humans also move species around: They bring plants into their yard, and trap and remove nuisance animals such as squirrels.</p>
<p>Swan is working with his students to identify native plant species that can thrive in poor urban soils, and to identify species traits – such as offering habitat for pollinating insects – that can make species valuable in urban settings. With information like this, city managers can restore and support urban wildlife, making cities more inviting places to live.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Trump administration rollbacks dominated news about the environment in 2017 – but beyond Washington D.C., many researchers are developing innovative visions for a greener future.Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/817612017-07-31T04:38:43Z2017-07-31T04:38:43ZHow farming giant seaweed can feed fish and fix the climate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180301/original/file-20170731-19115-wrfvv1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Giant kelp can grow up to 60cm a day, given the right conditions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Belanger/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is an edited extract from <a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/sunlight-and-seaweed-an-argument-for-how-to-feed-power-and-clean-up-the-world">Sunlight and Seaweed: An Argument for How to Feed, Power and Clean Up the World</a> by Tim Flannery, published by Text Publishing.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Bren Smith, an ex-industrial trawler man, operates a farm in Long Island Sound, near New Haven, Connecticut. Fish are not the focus of his new enterprise, but rather kelp and high-value shellfish. The seaweed and mussels grow on floating ropes, from which hang baskets filled with scallops and oysters. The technology allows for the production of about <a href="http://greenwave.org/3d-ocean-farming">40 tonnes of kelp and a million bivalves per hectare per year</a>.</p>
<p>The kelp draw in so much carbon dioxide that they help de-acidify the water, providing an ideal environment for shell growth. The CO₂ is taken out of the water in much the same way that a land plant takes CO₂ out of the air. But because CO₂ has an acidifying effect on seawater, as the kelp absorb the CO₂ the water becomes less acid. And the kelp itself has some value as a feedstock in agriculture and various industrial purposes.</p>
<p>After starting his farm in 2011, Smith lost 90% of his crop twice – when the region was hit by hurricanes Irene and Sandy – but he persisted, and
now <a href="http://climateheroes.org/portfolio-item/bren-smith-making-kelp-ocean-farming-our-new-hope">runs a profitable business</a>.</p>
<p>His team at 3D Ocean Farming believe so strongly in the environmental and economic benefits of their model that, in order to help others establish similar operations, they have established a not-for-profit called <a href="https://www.greenwave.org/">Green Wave</a>. Green Wave’s vision is to create clusters of kelp-and-shellfish farms utilising the entire water column, which are strategically located near seafood transporting or consumption hubs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/seaweed-could-hold-the-key-to-cutting-methane-emissions-from-cow-burps-66498">Seaweed could hold the key to cutting methane emissions from cow burps</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The general concepts embodied by 3D Ocean Farming have long been practised in China, where over 500 square kilometres of seaweed farms exist in the Yellow Sea. The seaweed farms buffer the ocean’s growing acidity and provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of a variety of shellfish. Despite the huge expansion in aquaculture, and the experiences gained in the United States and China of integrating kelp into sustainable marine farms, this farming methodology is still at an early stage of development.</p>
<p>Yet it seems inevitable that a new generation of ocean farming will build on the experiences gained in these enterprises to develop a method of aquaculture with the potential not only to feed humanity, but to play a large role in solving one of our most dire issues – climate change.</p>
<p>Globally, around 12 million tonnes of seaweed is grown and harvested annually, about three-quarters of which comes from China. The current market value of the global crop is <a href="http://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/Benemann%20Feb10%20FINAL.pdf">between US$5 billion and US$5.6 billion</a>, of which US$5 billion comes from sale for human consumption. Production, however, is expanding very rapidly.</p>
<p>Seaweeds can grow very fast – at rates more than 30 times those of land-based plants. Because they de-acidify seawater, making it easier for anything with a shell to grow, they are also the key to shellfish production. And by drawing CO₂
out of the ocean waters (thereby allowing the oceans to absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere) they help fight climate change. </p>
<p>The stupendous potential of seaweed farming as a tool to combat climate change was <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259892834_Negative_Carbon_Via_Ocean_Afforestation">outlined in 2012</a> by the University of the South Pacific’s Dr Antoine De Ramon N’Yeurt and his team. Their analysis reveals that if 9% of the ocean were to be covered in seaweed farms, the farmed seaweed could produce 12 gigatonnes per year of biodigested methane which could be burned as a substitute for natural gas. The seaweed growth involved would capture 19 gigatonnes of CO₂. A further 34 gigatonnes per year of CO₂ could be taken from the atmosphere if the methane is burned to generate electricity and the CO₂ generated captured and stored. This, they say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…could produce sufficient biomethane to replace all of today’s needs in fossil-fuel energy, while removing 53 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year from
the atmosphere… This amount of biomass could also increase sustainable fish production to potentially provide 200 kilograms per year, per person, for 10 billion people. Additional benefits are reduction in ocean acidification and increased ocean primary productivity and biodiversity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Nine per cent of the world’s oceans is not a small area. It is equivalent to about four and a half times the area of Australia. But even at smaller scales,
kelp farming has the potential to substantially lower atmospheric CO₂, and this realisation has had an energising impact on the research and commercial
development of sustainable aquaculture. But kelp farming is not solely about reducing CO₂. In fact, it is being driven, from a commercial perspective, by sustainable production of high-quality protein.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180307/original/file-20170731-1689-38z9qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A haven for fish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Poloha/shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What might a kelp farming facility of the future look like? Dr Brian von Hertzen of the Climate Foundation has outlined one vision: a frame structure, most likely composed of a carbon polymer, up to a square kilometre in extent and sunk far enough below the surface (about 25 metres) to avoid being a shipping hazard. Planted with kelp, the frame would be interspersed with containers for shellfish and other kinds of fish as well. There would be no netting, but a kind of free-range aquaculture based on providing habitat to keep fish on location. Robotic removal of encrusting organisms would probably also be part of the facility. The marine permaculture would be designed to clip the bottom of the waves during heavy seas. Below it, a pipe reaching down to 200–500 metres would bring cool, nutrient-rich water to the frame, where it would be reticulated over the growing kelp. </p>
<p>Von Herzen’s objective is to create what he calls “permaculture arrays” – marine permaculture at a scale that will have an impact on the climate by growing kelp and bringing cooler ocean water to the surface. His vision also entails providing habitat for fish, generating food, feedstocks for animals, fertiliser and biofuels. He also hopes to help exploited fish populations rebound and to create jobs. “Given the transformative effect that marine permaculture can have on the ocean, there is much reason for hope that permaculture arrays can play a major part in globally balancing carbon,” he says.</p>
<p>The addition of a floating platform supporting solar panels, facilities such as accommodation (if the farms are not fully automated), refrigeration and processing equipment tethered to the floating framework would enhance the efficiency and viability of the permaculture arrays, as well as a dock for ships
carrying produce to market.</p>
<p>Given its phenomenal growth rate, the kelp could be cut on a 90-day rotation basis. It’s possible that the only processing required would be the cutting of the kelp from the buoyancy devices and the disposal of the fronds overboard to sink. Once in the ocean depths, the carbon the kelp contains is essentially out of circulation and cannot return to the atmosphere.</p>
<p>The deep waters of the central Pacific are exceptionally still. A friend who explores mid-ocean ridges in a submersible once told me about filleting a fish for dinner, then discovering the filleted remains the next morning, four kilometres down and directly below his ship. So it’s likely that the seaweed fronds would sink, at least initially, though gases from decomposition may later cause some to rise if they are not consumed quickly. Alternatively, the seaweed
could be converted to <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-biochar-save-the-planet-1099">biochar</a> to produce energy and the char pelletised and discarded overboard. Char, having a mineralised carbon structure, is likely to last well on the seafloor. Likewise, shells and any encrusting organisms could be sunk as a carbon store.</p>
<p>Once at the bottom of the sea three or more kilometres below, it’s likely that raw kelp, and possibly even to some extent biochar, would be utilised as a food source by bottom-dwelling bacteria and larger organisms such as sea cucumbers. Provided that the decomposing material did not float, this would not matter, because once sunk below about one kilometre from the surface, the carbon in these materials would effectively be removed from the atmosphere for at least 1,000 years. If present in large volumes, however, decomposing matter may reduce oxygen levels in the surrounding seawater.</p>
<p>Large volumes of kelp already reach the ocean floor. Storms in the North Atlantic may deliver enormous volumes of kelp – by some estimates as much as 7 gigatonnes at a time – to the 1.8km-deep ocean floor off the Bahamian Shelf.</p>
<p>Submarine canyons may also convey large volumes at a more regular rate to the deep ocean floor. The Carmel Canyon, off California, for example, exports large volumes of giant kelp to the ocean depths, and 660 major submarine canyons have been documented worldwide, suggesting that canyons <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v9/n10/ngeo2790/metrics/news">play a significant role in marine carbon transport</a>.</p>
<p>These natural instances of large-scale sequestration of kelp in the deep ocean offer splendid opportunities to investigate the fate of kelp, and the carbon it contains, in the ocean. They should prepare us well in anticipating any negative or indeed positive impacts on the ocean deep of offshore kelp farming.</p>
<p>Only entrepreneurs with vision and deep pockets could make such mid-ocean kelp farming a reality. But of course where there are great rewards, there are also considerable risks. One obstacle potential entrepreneurs need not fear, however, is bureaucratic red tape, for much of the mid-oceans remain a global commons. If a global carbon price is ever introduced, the exercise of disposing of the carbon captured by the kelp would transform that part of the business from a small cost to a profit generator. Even without a carbon price, the opportunity to supply huge volumes of high-quality seafood at the same time as making a substantial impact on the climate crisis are considerable incentives for investment in seaweed farming.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81761/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Flannery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In an extract from his new book, Tim Flannery explains how giant kelp farms could suck carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the ocean’s depths, while encouraging species like fish and oysters.Tim Flannery, Professorial fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.