Both aquaculture and fisheries have environmental and climate impacts.
An aerial view taken on February 5, 2024 shows the Oksebasen fish farm which is operated by the world's largest producer company of Atlantic salmon Mowi, in Giske, Norway.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily morning newsletter, How To LA.
Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news.A new report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, has found that more fish were farmed worldwide in 2022 than harvested from the wild, an apparent first.— which refers to the farming of both seafood and aquatic plants — and fisheries around the world. The organization found that global production from both aquaculture and fisheries reached a new high — 223.3 million metric tons of animals and plants — in 2022. Of that, 185.4 million metric tons were aquatic animals, and 37.8 million metric tons were algae. Aquaculture was responsible for 51 percent of aquatic animal production in 2022, or 94.4 metric tons. The milestone was in many ways an expected one, given the world’s insatiable appetite for seafood. Since 1961, consumption of seafood has grown at twice the annual rate of the global population, according to the FAO. Because production levels from fisheries are not expected to change significantly in the future, meeting the growing global demand for seafood almost certainly necessitates an increase in aquaculture.Though fishery production levels fluctuate from year to year, “it’s not like there’s new fisheries out there waiting to be discovered,” said Dave Martin, program director for Sustainable Fisheries Partnerships, an international organization that works to reduce the environmental impact of seafood supply chains. “So any growth in consumption of seafood is going to come from aquaculture.” But the rise of aquaculture underscores the need to transform seafood systems to minimize their impact on the planet. Both aquaculture and fisheries — sometimes referred to as capture fisheries, as they involve the capture of wild seafood — come with significant environmental and climate considerations. What’s more, the two systems often depend on each other, making it difficult to isolate their climate impacts. “There’s a lot of overlap between fisheries and aquaculture that the average consumer may not see,” said Dave Love, a research professor at the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University. than other forms of protein from land-based animals. And given many people’s unwillingness or inability to go vegan, the FAO recommends transforming, adapting, and expanding sustainable seafood production to feed the world’s growing population and improve food security. But “there’s a lot of ways to do aquaculture well, and there’s a lot of ways to do it poorly,” said Martin. Aquaculture can result inbeing released into the natural environment, damaging aquatic ecosystems. Farmed fish can also spread disease to wild populations, or escape from their confines and breed with other species, resulting in genetic pollution that can disrupt the fitness of a wild population. Martin points to the diesel fuel used to power equipment on certain fish farms as a major source of aquaculture’s environmental impact. According to an analysis from the climate solutions nonprofit Project Drawdown, swapping out fossil fuel-based generators on fish farms for renewable-powered hybrids wouldOther areas for improvement will vary depending on the specific species being farmed. In 2012, a U.N. study found that mangrove forests — a major carbon sink —due to the development of shrimp and fish farming. Today, industry stakeholders have been exploring how new approaches and techniques from shrimp farmers Meanwhile, wild fishing operations present their own environmental problems. For example, poorly managed fisheries can harvest fish more quickly than wild populations can breed, a phenomenon known asBut the line between aquaculture and fish harvested from the wild isn’t as clear as it may seem. For example, pink salmon that are raised in hatcheries and then released into the wild to feed, mature, and ultimately be caught again areto help them put on weight. “It’s a wild fishery,” said Love — but the lobster fishermen’s practice of fattening up their catch shows how human intervention is present even in wild-caught operations., farmers provide their fish with feed. That feed sometimes includes fish meal, says Love, a powder that comes from two sources: seafood processing waste and wild-caught fish. All of this can result in a confusing landscape for climate- or environmentally-conscientious consumers who eat fish. But Love recommends a few ways in which consumers can navigate choice when shopping for seafood. Buying fresh fish locally helps shorten supply chains, which can lower the carbon impact of eating aquatic animals. “In our work, we’ve found that the big impact from transport is shipping fresh seafood internationally by air,” he said. Most farmed salmon, for example, sold in the U.S. From both a climate and a nutritional standpoint, smaller fish and sea vegetables are also both good options. “Mussels, clams, oysters, seaweed — they’re all loaded with macronutrients and minerals in different ways” compared to fin fish, said Love.With land moving 1 foot each week, Rancho Palos Verdes takes big step to try to slow dangerous landslideThis nearly extinct fish lives in a small, deep hole in Death Valley — and it's making a comebackSandhill cranes are returning to the Lake Tahoe basin after a century long hiatus in what many say is a conservation success story.Jackie, Big Bear’s Famous Bald Eagle, Has Given Up On Her Failed Nest But Her Partner Isn’t Ready To Move OnUnder pressure to account for millions from taxpayers, OC nonprofit announced it was shutting downCalifornia universities are required to offer students abortion pills. A lot just don't mention it
Seafood Fish Farms United Nations FAO Aquaculture Aquatic Plants Fisheries Hatcheries Supply Chain Sustainable Greenhouse Gas Emissions Protein Ecosystem Overfishing
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
This is the best restaurant in the world, according to the World's 50 Best RestaurantsThe World's 50 Best Restaurants are named at an awards show in Las Vegas. For the first time in more than a decade, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants recognized a Los Angeles restaurant with an award.
Read more »
World Ocean Day: Saving Indonesia’s Cool Corals In A Warming WorldI'm an Australian science journalist based in Cali, Colombia covering STEM in The Global South. I'm the current Vice-President of the Colombian Association of Science Journalism (ACPC) and helped organize the 12th World Conference of Science Journalists, with 600+ attendees in Medellin, Colombia.
Read more »
World's Tallest Living Dog Is Kevin, A Great Dane, According To Guinness World RecordsAlex Portée is a senior trending reporter at TODAY Digital and is based in Los Angeles.
Read more »
The Catch: How Willie Mays explained his signature World Series play“I was very cocky. When I say that, I mean that everything that went in the air, I thought I could catch. I was very aware of what was going on,” Mays said of his signature moment from the 19…
Read more »
The Best Beauty Looks At Vogue World: New York And Vogue World: LondonVogue World is back for a third year, this time in Paris. But before you hop on the live stream this Sunday, let's revisit some of the best beauty looks from years past.
Read more »
India wins cricket Twenty20 World Cup in exciting final against South AfricaIndia won its second T20 World Cup but its first world title in 12 years.
Read more »