Aquaculture in the Pacific
Abstract:
Aquaculture is currently of little significance when compared to fishing in the Pacific. There is an exception, black pearl farming in eastern Polynesia. Aquaculture needs considerable development in most places before it can be deemed economical and sustainable. Some farming that takes place are shrimp, tilapia and seaweed (future commercial export prospect). But, all these are still in the experimental stage. The only way aquaculture can expand is when the Pacific will be provided with better production methods for current species, new techniques and more new species. These new methods that can help expansion should be simple yet flexible for easy adapted to the environment and market constraints. They should have low operating costs and approach integrated fisheries bodies with favorably low investment cost. It also needs associations with commercial scale operations to demonstrate economic viability.
Pacific Islands have many factors that favor aquaculture and stock enhancement development in the coastal areas. These factors are; abundant diversity of coral reef species (high demand), the location is close to Asia seafood markets, habitats are pristine therefore there is availability of
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• Pharmaceutical trade such as algae, sponges, soft corals, pipes fishes etc.
• The proximity to major markets of Asia; flight times are short enough that species are shipped alive
• Pristine habitats available for growth sites for high value species also gives a green label to shipped
The Atlantic and Pacific Coasts fish stocks overall show little improvement, despite the management strategies that have been implemented to try to increase fish population. This is primarily due to overexploitation
This essay will focus on the bluefin tuna industry in Japan, a country which consumes the majority of the global catch. The industry is one driven by the sudden increase in demand for sushi, a Japanese haute food which is now consumed globally. It will also illustrate the uniqueness and important role which the bluefin tuna plays in aquatic ecosystems throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Lastly, the issues of globalization and lack of market regulation will be examined as a cause for the collapse in Atlantic bluefin fisheries. The tuna industry in Japan is having negative environmental impacts on the oceanic ecosystem.
The aim of this investigation is to consider commercial fishing in a particular country in two different environments, that is from the sea and a fish farm (aquaculture).
NOAA defined aquaculture as the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all types of water environments. These environments includes natural and artificial. The natural entails bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, marshland, sea and even ocean. The artificial environment includes man-made tanks, rubber containers, cages, etc
~The aquaculture industry generates over $1 billion in GDP and 14,000 job opportunities in direct and indirect
Currently, there is no management body that implements policies for billfish conservation in the Pacific, but it has been suggested that the creation of an overseeing commission might a good conservation measure without having to soak up funding (Jensen 185). In his work featured inside the California Western International Law Journal, William J. Nielander proposes that since ICCAT only manages billfish stocks in the Atlantic Ocean, there needs to be a similar commission for the Pacific Ocean. Currently the Pacific Ocean lacks any kind of international regulations regarding billfish fisheries, considering most of the world’s harvested billfish species come from that area. He states that the proposed Pacific body
The definition of aquaculture is simply the farming of fish, plants and shellfish as well as many more aquatic organisms. Aquaculture refers to the cultivation of freshwater and marine species, and includes land based and opens ocean production. Aquaculture can be compared with commercial fishing, aquaculture involves cultivating of fresh and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, while commercial fishing is the harvesting of wild aquatic creatures and can be seen more as a form of “hunting and gathering”.
Delgado, C. L., Wada, N., Rosegrant, M. W., Meijer, S., & Ahmed, M. (2003). Fish to 2020: supply and demand in changing global markets. Retrieved from http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/books/fish2020/oc44.pdf
The illegal fishing is a major issue as the fisheries have been plagued by lack of enforcement and control. The illegal fishing and overfishing links to another reason for endangerment, which is high demand for consumers in high end sushi markets. With the Blue fin Tuna being a highly sought after fish in Asia and a single Bluefin Tuna selling for over $1.75 million, the money drives the fisherman or illegal fisherman to continue to make catches with more refined techniques and as a result the number of Bluefin Tuna’s are decreasing
The Bluefin tuna, which has been endangered for several years and has the misfortune to be prized by the Japanese sushi lovers, has suffered a catastrophic decline in stocks in the Northern Pacific Ocean, of more than 96% (“Overfishing causes Pacific Bluefin tuna numbers to drop 96%”, 2013). For a long time, Bluefin tuna have been a worldwide problem. It seems that nobody really wants to stop it, it seems that people put little effort into a major problem. One Bluefin tuna sold in Japan for more than £1m, reflecting the rarity of the Bluefin tuna and the continued demand for its fatty flesh (“Overfishing causes Pacific Bluefin tuna numbers to drop 96%”, 2013). An interesting fact from this newspaper was that “more than nine out of 10 of the species recently caught were too young to have reproduced, meaning they may have been the last generation of the Bluefin tuna” (“Overfishing causes Pacific Bluefin tuna numbers to drop 96%”, 2013). Amanda Nickson, of the Pew Environment Group said “There is no logical way a fishery can have such a
The Interrelationship between consumers and fisheries is a very complex issue. Overfishing and exploitation of Cod remain one of the major
The population of Bluefin Tuna has been dramatically declining over the past few decades with no expectation of slowing down. Bluefin Tuna are a very important species of fish because they are one of the top predators in the ocean and if they become extinct the balance of the ocean’s ecosystem would be off. The classification of Bluefin Tuna includes a few different types, all of which are endangered and it is estimated that they will soon become extinct. The categorization of each type of Bluefin Tuna species is based on geographical location although the exact number varies from 3-8. Although there are still significant number of Bluefin tuna in the ocean, the demand for the fish has increased dramatically with no sign of decreasing. This demand has caused new and harmful fishing methods to be created. They have become incredibly popular in sushi as well as other food and for this reason the population has declined; however, there are methods that could be used in order to prevent the species from becoming extinct.
Vietnam has many advantages in fishing industry because it lies right next to the ocean. With abundant resources came from many rivers and lakes system. Vietnam’s fishing can moderate growth generally. According to the website factanddetails.com, in 2003, the total catch reached about 2.6 millions tons. Seafood exports from 1900 to 2002 was more than $2 billion. Vietnam has a lot of shrimp farms in southern area which store
In today’s global economy sustainability is very important; from the biological aspect to the industries they all play a role on the marine environment. As world population increases the demand of fish rises causing overfishing. Certain laws have been placed to limit the amount of wild fishing to reduce the risk of endangerment. To meet the demand of the population, fish farms are introduced. Pollution and health related issues are part of the challenges of fish farming. Sustainability also affects social areas such as beaches.
Going further to Aquaponics, it has many benefits and advantages. One major benefit of Aquaponics is that it produces two agricultural products, plants and fishes, from a fish feed. And with that, it is a great solution to our constantly increasing population. The balanced system of aquaponics can save massive amounts of water due to it being reused over and over again, but because of evaporation and transpiration, adding water is required to replace the water that evaporated.