Citizen 3 – Chief Kei, village chief and retired fisher
Our marine resources are now managed to create sustainable fisheries
through our traditional management systems, which have been combined
with modern approaches within Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA). Our
village uses a spatial and temporal tabu (no-take) system. I have
worked with the community to set up tabu areas for the next few
years and we expect to be rewarded for our commitment to conserving our
fisheries resources through a feast once the tabu is transferred
to another area. Tonight, we are bringing everyone in the village
together to celebrate the end of a tabu of one of the reefs, we
even caught some big snapper that I have been eyeing off over the last
few months.
Pathway 3 - Reduced impacts from production and consumption
Mariculture production has become more sustainable, through increased
production of highly nutritious, high quality products over shorter
timeframes, and a reduced environmental impact, through improved feed
inputs and farming practices (Gephart et al. 2020; Stentiford et al.
2020). Efficiencies in mariculture have improved through intensifying
strategic research and identification of more efficient culture species.
The increased availability and variety of sustainable mari-feed
(aquaculture feed specifically for mariculture) sources, for example
from farmed insects and microalgae, has ended conflicts between
mariculture and terrestrial production systems (Hua et al. 2019) without
increasing pressure on wild capture fisheries as feed sources. A variety
of commercially viable production systems, including IMTA (Buck et al.
2018), are operational, improving the quality of the products through
filtering by bivalves and macroalgae around the pens (Chen et al. 2017)
(Box 3). Work is ongoing to minimise production impacts and further
expand sustainable production, including research into understanding the
ecological consequences of using mariculture technology to restore
heavily overfished stocks (Taylor et al. 2017).
Greater recognition of links between wild capture fisheries and
mariculture have resulted in improved management of diseases and
parasites (Godwin et al. 2020; Hayward et al. 2011). Seafood waste and
loss of quality and nutritional value have been markedly reduced as a
result of both improved fishing practices and consumer education (Bogard
et al. 2019b). There is a more diverse range of species available on the
market and a more stable supply of seafood products as a result of
improved fisheries management and the more effective use of species that
might have been underutilised or discarded in the past (van Putten et
al. 2019). Management improvements have included enhanced access to
marine forecasting and operational technologies that support flexibility
in targeting, better gear-selectivity on boats, and greater utilisation
of catch (including materials once considered waste, such as frames).
Fishing pressure is applied across more of the system, although more
lightly than in the past, meaning both production and sustainability
have benefited. Supply chain technology has improved transport times to
consumers and supply chain management and technology has improved,
including improved shelf-life of products where cold chains do not
function efficiently (Global Panel 2020; HLPE 2014a). Waste has been
reduced through education of consumers to eat a broader range of
products and waste less through more appropriate purchasing and portion
size (Papargyropoulou et al. 2014). This broad-scale change in consumer
demand has created feedbacks with a wider range of species and products
including marine algae and bacteria, and a broader range of lower
trophic level species now considered edible and acceptable as both human
food and mariculture feeds.
Technology is readily available to link consumers with buyers through
connected supply chains and consumers have broader access to
sustainability information for products from increased traceability.
Consumer pressure on companies has helped to transform food production,
distribution, processing and consumption to be more environmentally and
socially sustainable, with the incorporation of waste reduction into
sustainability platforms of large corporations and certification groups.
Established corporate programs, such as WaSeaBi (waseabi.eu) and SeaBOS
(seabos.org) have been expanded and investment guidelines are now
developed with stricter requirements for reinvestment that considers
nutrition and sustainability issues in line with the SDGs.