A 19-year-old ocean activist says World Ocean Day, celebrated today, is not merely a celebration of the ocean’s role in food production, energy, oxygen and biodiversity. It is a stark reminder of the many issues and threats currently faced by the sea.
Speaking at a sustainable aquaculture webinar, Mhairi McCann, the founder of Youth STEM 2030, said, “Those threats are coming from a lot of different directions, whether it is the climate crisis or resource extraction. Our oceans are in trouble and that is what World Ocean Day is really about.”
World Ocean Day, organised by the United Nations, is observed every year on 8 June. It raises awareness of the ocean’s role in human lives. The ocean covers approximately 71% of the earth’s surface.
Aquaculture in Mzansi
At the webinar hosted by IBM global managing director for consumer industries, Luq Niazi, panellists focused on aquaculture, which is still in its infancy in South Africa.
In this country, freshwater species are predominantly farmed in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Speaking about coastal economies’ greater role in ocean health, Jon Grant, a Canadian professor in oceanography, called for the global implementation of a “special planning concept”.
“The ocean provides us with what we call ecosystem services, so that is the provision of seafood, oxygen, water and appropriate climate forcing. Those are all things that we get from the ocean.
“We will continue to receive them if we don’t abuse it, but when the ocean is too stressed these services are not delivered and we really suffer and our whole economy suffers,” said Grant.
“So, these special planning’s seek to undertake a kind of conflict resolution among different users in the ocean so that everyone is able to sustainably use the ocean but also be certain that their interactions are not negative, and this is really a challenge.”
Should we eat less fish?
Donna Lanzetta, CEO and founder of a New York-based fish farm, said although some believe the oceans can benefit from a fish-intake reduction, a sustainable solution was needed.
“We need to think about the 10 billion people on earth that look to protein production, people that are feeding the world and implementing the United Nations’ sustainable goals at the same time. You know, beyond protein, seafood provides a source of vitamin D, vitamin A, selenium, zinc, iron and so much more.
“We have hundreds of millions of people around the world who rely on the ocean and ocean production. To stop eating seafood is not the solution.”
“What the solution is to have responsible actors in the ocean that are committed to transparency so that we can base our decisions on scientific facts and not inflammatory projections or past operations.”
These sentiments were echoed by Steinar Sønsteby, chief executive of Atea in Norway, the world’s second largest fish exporter.
“The whole seafood industry has been extremely important, and we believe that it will be extremely important going forward. But it is a privilege that you can’t take for granted.
“I believe that we can, and we will utilise the resources that the sea gives us. It is possible using advanced technology to improve the environmental aspect and develop the sea food industry in a sustainable and transparent way.”
