By: John Connelly, President, National Fisheries Institute
"Destructive environmental practices, like aquaculture…." Afraid the United Nations might issue such a statement? Then read on.
Meeting the ever-growing demand for seafood around the world is an
opportunity for the global seafood community. As The Advocate readers
understand, aquaculture is central to our ability to feed the world's
hungry. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights "the
aquaculture gap" - the 80 million metric ton difference between our
global wild harvest and the world's demand for healthy seafood.
Responsible aquaculture allows more global citizens to enjoy healthy
fish meals. While we and others interested in feeding the hungry view
aquaculture as a frontier to be explored and expanded, others see fish
farming as a threat. Environmental organizations criticize the
aquaculture industry's practices and have attempted to dissuade
consumers from eating farmed seafood and forego an important part of a
balanced diet. These groups are now turning to multilateral meetings to
advance their agenda. At a recent meeting of the FAO Committee of
Fisheries, several activist groups challenged the notion that
aquaculture was a positive development and urged the nations attending
to take a "no go" or "go slow" approach.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance provides a cohesive voice for the
farming community in technical and marketplace discussions. The Global
Shrimp Outlook and new Global Fish Outlook are "must attend" events for
those serious about understanding trends in the production and demand
sides of aquaculture. The National Fisheries Institute prioritizes
aquaculture as one of four key issues we will work on for the next few
years. We are committed to promoting public policy where aquaculture is
a complement to wild capture fisheries, whether in the United States or
elsewhere.
However, our collective voices have been missing in the
government-to-government debates that often shape global views and
attitudes toward issues. Our messages can be heard more loudly and will
have greater impact if the aquaculture community approaches the FAO in
a strategic and organized manner. As a result, NFI will work over the
next several months to create a coalition of national aquaculture
associations to formally participate in the FAO and other
inter-governmental groups.
The model exists within the seafood community for a broad alliance
of aquaculture associations. NFI serves as Secretariat for the
International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA). ICFA meets
once per year to coordinate advocacy and communications strategies
among wild capture fishery organizations. Our focus is on impacting
those government-to-government meetings at the UN and around the globe
that set the stage for nations to act. Throughout the year, various
national associations staff act as ICFA representatives at meetings of
the FAO, UN General Assembly, and Regional Fishery Management
Organizations, to ensure that the commercial fishing industry's voice
is heard in these debates.
Does it matter? Yes, and let me explain why. There were more than 25
activist groups at the recent Committee of Fisheries meeting, each
trying to influence how nations voted on key fisheries issues before
the assembly. Many environmental organizations were encouraging nations
to ban the harvest method of bottom trawling. These groups previously
concentrated their efforts at the UN General Assembly and specifically
included language in declarations that include the phrase, "destructive
fishing practices, like bottom trawling." As a result, the media now
regularly cite the declaration's language when describing trawling.
Fortunately ICFA was able to dampen language like that at the recent UN
FAO meeting.
The concept of an International Coalition of Aquaculture
Associations would enable our collective voice to be heard at the UN
and prevent damaging declarations about aquaculture from getting in the
media and in the general public. This concept needs to be fully
developed, but we need to act now on this idea. NFI looks forward to
working with our peers from around the globe in exploring and refining
this concept, and promoting and defending aquaculture in global
governmental meetings. NFI's proposed coalition would allow our
community to speak to the FAO as a recognized and cohesive alliance,
with the ability to impact their decisions and declarations in a manner
that will help secure a healthy future for all.
The aquaculture community will gain a great deal by engaging in the
FAO and elsewhere. We must establish a unified voice and endorse a
consistent message about the economic and health benefits, and
environmentally sound practices, of the seafood industry and products.
The world's hungry will ultimately reap the benefits when our community
works with the UN to create and develop a pro-aquaculture agenda.
