| Roy Palmer, executive director of Aquaculture without Frontiers |
Read part two below.
Written by Roy Palmer, executive director of Aquaculture without Frontiers, for the Aquaculturists.
Day two at SEAFEX was focused on how to make money from our oceans/water responsibly.
First speaker of the day was Dr. Jed Brown, MASDAR Institute who gave us an insight into ‘Integrated Seawater Aquaculture/Agriculture Project for Bioenergy Production in UAE’. The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi is beginning the development of an integrated seawater aquaculture/agriculture demonstration project to produce biofuels on coastal land in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The goals of the project are to produce marine fish or shrimp, shrubby oilseed-producing halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) and mangroves. Oil from oilseeds produced by the halophytes will be processed into fuel that can be used a drop-in substitute for conventional (fossil) jet fuel for the aviation industry. A theoretical life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted to gauge the greenhouse gas emissions of the biofuel production system from planting to combustion indicated that the jet fuel produced from this system emits only 5 to 45 percent of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions released from the production of conventional fossil Jet-A fuel, even without considering the long-term subsurface carbon sequestration potential from cultivating desert land.
From the GILLS perspective I gave a presentation on the importance of seafood as it relates to individuals health. The catch cry is that everyone knows the importance of seafood and health but if that was true then surely we would not be getting anti-seafood activities and surely every country would address their food security needs as far as seafood is concerned. Importantly we would not have eating disorders as we have with both hunger and obesity around the world and seafood would be given priority in areas relating to space/access. We know that is not the case so we need to continue to find new ways to spread the message globally.
Roger Gilbert, International Aquafeed, just returning from an important Chinese Nutrition Conference which focused on aquaculture feeds, etc., gave an excellent presentation on the challenges we face on how to feed a growing population in the future. He stressed that Aquatic organisms like fish, have an advantage in efficiency (very effective feed converters) compared to land animals which is due to their advantage of having ambient body temperature, and requiring less energy for keeping body in balance, as they live in water. As feed resources become scarce and more expensive this advantage will become stronger and stronger he believed.
Despite these facts, there is a perception, mainly outside the aquaculture society, that feed is a major sustainability issue for aquaculture. Most concern is related to the use of fish as feed for fish but he believed that as long as there is good management of fisheries ensuring that fish harvest is sustainable, due to the efficiency benefits of fish, aqua-feed is the best allocation for fishmeal and oil. However, he pointed out that the industry has invested in substantial knowledge allowing use to reduce fish meal input in diets with many feed companies reducing the inclusion of marine ingredients by 50 percent over the last 10 years, and clearly had more gains to make.
‘Marketing and Lessons in Fishing & Aquaculture’ was presented by Professor Jose Fernandez Polanco, Universidad de Cantabria who has a wealth of experience in these areas stressed that marketing is an imperative in driving the industry from being commodity driven to consumer driven. Through various case studies which he has completed over the years he highlighted that marketing was still an important issue to be overcome.
Dr. Farshad Shishehchian from Blue Aqua spoke about ‘Making Profit in Aquaculture’ and attracted a good audience. He asked “How many people in the Fisheries and Aquaculture industry have actually been trained to make profit? How many people have started an aquaculture business and then realized that they were going to have to sell their fish to make money but had no Marketing Plan? How many people have made a decision to get involved in aquaculture without knowing some of the basic principles?”
He highlighted that aquaculture is the world’s fastest growing primary industry but like any business it needs a plan which ideally is looking at a sustainable and profitable outcome yet it is amazing how many businesses fail to plan. Farshad, like all the speakers, was generous with his answers to the myriad of questions that came following his presentation.
In an essentially new area of growth for aquaculture capability and capacity building is essential and both Professor Jean-Yves Mevel, UAE University and I shared the podium on this subject.
Professor Jean-Yves Mevel discussed what is happening in Aquaculture education based on his vast experiences around the globe and then focused on the work he has been engaged in Middle East area highlighting the challenges and opportunities. He stressed ‘If this area is to grow it must be built on solid education foundation” and outlined the great opportunities that are available at the UAE University in Al Ain.
I mentioned the importance of engaging in associations and societies as networking globally was essential to get a rounded view. I explained that the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) holds many events and gave a run down on the latest activities. With my activity at WAS I am aiming to create a global platform on seafood education, ‘AquaEd’, essentially an umbrella/portal where people should be able to share information and resources and creating a one stop activity to make it easier for people to see what opportunities there are out there.
Additionally a new organisation, Association of International Seafood Professionals, launched its website (http://seafoodprofessionals.org/) highlighting that its aims were to create a Professional Association representing all individuals from all sectors of the global seafood industry community enabling interaction, understanding and collaboration; disseminating knowledge about fish, seafood and associated products; lifting values by promoting advancement in seafood research, development, extension, education and standards that will lead to a professional accredited industry.
The event closed with the International Premiere showing of “Drawing the Line”, an 80 minute movie, a concept of Bruce Davey, a Northern Territorian Spanish Mackerel fisherman who was keen to get some factual issues on record about the previous Australian Governments push for Marine Parks and with the added value of explaining the ‘Super trawler’ issue as it unfolded in Australia.
This is a well put together documentary which impressively explains complex issues in a way with graphics that assists the viewer in making their own decisions on these issues.
Conservation groups had formed an unprecedented alliance for their successful campaign for Australia to proclaim the world's largest network of marine reserves. The commercial fishing industry was no match for the impressive and expensive public relations campaign which pushed for the need to create zones where fishing was banned.
At the end of the thought provoking movie we discussed various aspects of the issues raised with the audience. Most of the people being from the industry were sympathetic towards the fishermen but questions were also raised as to why there was no industry peak body who should have been working on behalf of the fishermen. Comments on this aspect suggested that without a well-funded peak body it opened the ‘divide and conquer’ opportunity for those against fishing.
To me the movie shows the good, the bad and the ugly of the issues faced by fishermen today. Clearly it is a great lifestyle for those that desire open air, albeit one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, but because of the failure of the industry to invest in itself it has left a massive gap for its enemies to attack. Couple this with a naïve Government reliant on the Green vote and seemingly more interested in social media campaigns and cuddling with Pew, etc., than science and confidence in their own management regimes created this perfect storm.
The various scientists who speak out in the movie raise many valid points which were sadly overlooked by the Government of the day. Fishermen are a proud and passionate group but their desire of simply being fishermen is seemingly no longer an option in a country which seems to have forgotten that it has a massive food security issue on seafood and is keener on getting its name in the Guinness Book of Records.
If you get the chance you should see the movie “Drawing the Line”.
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