Just as the
'climate change' debate has taken some time to be recognised by
scientific predictions, so scientists previously warned that the
great, now collapsed (cod)
fisheries in the North
Sea and Newfoundland
would decline.
Aquaculture
has been growing at an average rate of 8.9% since 1970, whilst
the latest forecast suggests that worldwide fisheries will collapse
by 2048 if no action is taken.
Aquaculture
takes pressure off wild fisheries stocks, and if sustainably
managed:
1. Less chemicals and reliance on antibiotics and more emphasis
on sustainable methodology
2. Wastewater utilisation (i.e. growing seafood products in
organic waste streams)
3. Reducing
reliance on sea caught trash fish for
fish feed - (i.e. culturing herbivores in inland aquaculture system
to form the base for aquafeeds)
- then aquaculture could be seen as a clean, green industry!
World
fisheries production was 132.2 million
tonnes in 2003 (latest figures show -1% decrease compared to 2002)
including 51.4 million tonnes produced by aquaculture with a net
worth of US$60 billion.
Again, just like 'climate change' there is no easy solution.
