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Thursday, October 3, 2013

03/10/13: Fish farm in a shipping container; ocean acidification in the rise; MSC worker wins student prize

A fish farm in a shipping container has been nominated the first 'empowering people award', organised by Siemens.

Alan Fleming, director of The Business Place, South Africa, who designed the farms, describes it as "profitable, affordable, repeatable, transportable, lockable and stackable".

The idea behind the farm is to meet the food needs of poorer urban families or farming collectives where space comes at a premium. The farm can also be powered by solar energy, which will also keep operating costs down.

The farm comprises six, 1,500-litre tanks plus a solids filter, bio filter, pump and aerator. Waste water  can be supplied to vegetable farmers as an additional source of income.

The winner will be announced on October 30, 2013.

Ocean acidification from carbon emissions is at its highest point for 300 million years according to a findings by the International Programme on the State of the Oceans (IPSO).

Ocean acidification happens when the absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. The IPSO reports that a third of the carbon produced by humans has been dissolved in this way.

In terms of farmed species, increased ocean acidification poses greatest threat to shellfish because a rise in water acidity can weaken shells.

Dr Nicolas Gutierrez, senior research and policy development manager, MSC has won the W.F. Thompson Best Student Paper Award at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Annual Science Conference in Iceland.

The annual award recognises excellence in research as well as to encourage student professionalism in fisheries and aquatic sciences and publication of research results.

Gutierrez's winning paper, Leadership, Incentives and Social Capital Promote Successful Fisheries," which was published in Nature as part of his PhD at the School of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Washington, USA.

After graduating in 2011, Gutierrez began working at the MSC.

shellfish in Bohol, Philippines
shellfish in Bohol, Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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1 comment:

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