Sustainability
By 2050, the world will need to feed approximately 9.8 billion people. How can we do that without overwhelming the planet?
Most people recognize that as a community the public needs to move towards more sustainable practices in their every day life, whether that be the car they drive, the sources of their food, or an increase in reusable materials. One major concern world wide is the availability of nutritious, sustainable, affordable food.
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World Population Growth: According to projections of the United Nations, the current world population, which is roughly 7.8 billion people, is expected to reach 8.6 billion people by 2030, 9.8 billion people by 2050, and anywhere between 10.9 -11.2 billion people by 2100. Approximately 81 million people are being added to the world population each year.
Keeping these population projections in mind, by 2050 we will need to feed roughly 2 billion more people. The consensus is that global agriculture production has to be increased by about 60%-70% from the current levels to meet the increased food demand in 2050. Research by the World Resource Institute (WRI), suggests the world will have to close a gap of 56% between the amount of food available today and that required by 2050. Today, more than 25% of the world’s population is malnourished and over 1 billion people are chronically hungry. This must change.
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You may want to ask, what about fish? In its 2018 report, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indicated 33.1% of the world’s marine fisheries fish stocks were classified as overfished in 2015. We should not be surprised as we have been depleting wild fish stocks for generations, and as wild fish catches decline, aquaculture production must more than double to meet a projected 58 percent increase in fish consumption between 2010 and 2050. The FAO’s report also stated it is very unlikely these exploited fisheries can rebuild their stocks quickly because of time restraints. Rebuilding those fish populations require time, perhaps two to three times that of a species’ life span. Our wild fish stocks are too depleted to meet the future demand for food. Enter aquaculture, and welcome to the future.
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FAO. 2018. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 - Meeting the sustainable development goals. Rome.
So, what makes aquaculture a sustainable alternative?
Aquaculture production is both resource efficient and constantly evolving. Compared to land-based species, aquaculture uses water, space, and feed more efficiently (more here). Specific species do vary in their sustainability measure. For example, extractive species are those that take nutrients out of their environment, helping to clean the waters around them. These species are filter feeders such as oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels, as well as primary producers such as seaweed and algae. The pairing of these species with species that need supplemental feed, such as fin fish, helps to eliminate any excess nutrients that may remain in the water column. This practice of producing seafood is called integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA).
Not all aquaculture companies focus solely on seafood production for human consumption. Many take part in conservation efforts, raising juveniles of selected species to then be returned to the wild as stock enhancement (for endangered or threatened species) or habitat rehabilitation and water quality improvement (oyster reef projects).