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Promoting renewable energies
International waters and responsible environmental governance
Exclusive Interview with Ph.D Niels Alsted, Executive Vice President of BioMar Group, a leading world class fish feed company.
(http://www.biomar.com/en/BioMar-Denmark/About-BioMar/News/Niels-Alsted-celebrates-25-years-with-the-BioMar-Group/
1) Do farmed and wild fishing follow the same sustainability laws?
Not possible to answer yes or no, but very general YES. Farmed fish are far more efficient in using resources. Wild fish will have to eat 10 kg of wild fish to grow 1 kg while farmed fish only need 1 kg of wild fish to grow 1 kg. This is of course only relevant for carnivorous fish but they are the one we tend to eat (salmon, hake, cod, merluza etc and it also demand that we use other resources from land like soy, land animal byproduct. But in general farmed fish are more efficient to produce edible material for human. This is not the case for small pelagic's like anchoveta which can feed on zoo and plan plankton. On the other hand farmed fish concentrate discharge (since they are close together in big quantities), and water pollution and eutrophication can in some places be a problem.
2) Is the impact on the environment equal from farmed fish and wild fish?
I try to answer the question in 1. But this can be elaborated.
3) Why not have all fished farmed?
We are on the way. More than 50 % of fish consumed in the world are farmed. It make sense to harvest a surplus from the sea which can be used for feed people all around the world. This has to be done in sustainable way
4) What have been the major conflicts of maritime territorial disputes for the fishing industry?
Conflicts between countries are regarding the distribution of the qouta based on a shared stock of fish. In some places countries cannot agree about the management of a shared stock ( like Peru south and Chile North) which lead to an unsustainable utilization of the stock other places countries agree about the size of a shared stock but not the distribution which normally is based on historical landings but when the fish change the migration pattern conflict occur. We have a lot of experience (bad) about this issue in Europe.
5) In cases where the sea/ocean can't be equally distributed, what is done to ensure territorial and economic equality?
Negotiation, arbitration.
6) How is it ensured that the fishing quota isn't violated?
Control system but they have to be transparent and efficient. Rader system on the boats, independent control in the ports, control of the factories.
3rd party certification and auditing. This is where organizations like MSC (Marin Stewardship Council) place a role. We need transparency and openness and 3rd party control. This works well some places but not all place where you have bribing, illegal fishing etc.
7) Given several countries' fishing territory, and fish schools not being static, how can it be ensured that a country's fishing doesn't affect that of the neighbor country also dependent on the same fishing school?
See point 4. Shared administration of the stock, agree on a total quota and a distribution of it between countries (not easy but the only way forward).
(http://www.biomar.com/en/BioMar-Denmark/About-BioMar/News/Niels-Alsted-celebrates-25-years-with-the-BioMar-Group/
1) Do farmed and wild fishing follow the same sustainability laws?
Not possible to answer yes or no, but very general YES. Farmed fish are far more efficient in using resources. Wild fish will have to eat 10 kg of wild fish to grow 1 kg while farmed fish only need 1 kg of wild fish to grow 1 kg. This is of course only relevant for carnivorous fish but they are the one we tend to eat (salmon, hake, cod, merluza etc and it also demand that we use other resources from land like soy, land animal byproduct. But in general farmed fish are more efficient to produce edible material for human. This is not the case for small pelagic's like anchoveta which can feed on zoo and plan plankton. On the other hand farmed fish concentrate discharge (since they are close together in big quantities), and water pollution and eutrophication can in some places be a problem.
2) Is the impact on the environment equal from farmed fish and wild fish?
I try to answer the question in 1. But this can be elaborated.
3) Why not have all fished farmed?
We are on the way. More than 50 % of fish consumed in the world are farmed. It make sense to harvest a surplus from the sea which can be used for feed people all around the world. This has to be done in sustainable way
4) What have been the major conflicts of maritime territorial disputes for the fishing industry?
Conflicts between countries are regarding the distribution of the qouta based on a shared stock of fish. In some places countries cannot agree about the management of a shared stock ( like Peru south and Chile North) which lead to an unsustainable utilization of the stock other places countries agree about the size of a shared stock but not the distribution which normally is based on historical landings but when the fish change the migration pattern conflict occur. We have a lot of experience (bad) about this issue in Europe.
5) In cases where the sea/ocean can't be equally distributed, what is done to ensure territorial and economic equality?
Negotiation, arbitration.
6) How is it ensured that the fishing quota isn't violated?
Control system but they have to be transparent and efficient. Rader system on the boats, independent control in the ports, control of the factories.
3rd party certification and auditing. This is where organizations like MSC (Marin Stewardship Council) place a role. We need transparency and openness and 3rd party control. This works well some places but not all place where you have bribing, illegal fishing etc.
7) Given several countries' fishing territory, and fish schools not being static, how can it be ensured that a country's fishing doesn't affect that of the neighbor country also dependent on the same fishing school?
See point 4. Shared administration of the stock, agree on a total quota and a distribution of it between countries (not easy but the only way forward).