Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
19). These documents are often summarised on wallet-sized cards that list common
seafood species and allocates each to one of three, colour-coded (green, amber and
red) categories - 'eat', 'eat with caution' and 'don't eat'. The criteria used by the
groups for allocating species to a category are generally quite variable and the level
of consultation and transparency involved in the preparation of such documents
is generally low. Furthermore, the standards used by such schemes are variable
between them. The New Zealand Best Fish Guide (see Chapter 18) is based on
a well-defined set of criteria, but allocated no fish to the 'eat' category because
of the high standard set by the criteria - despite New Zealand's global reputation
for good fisheries management. Such approaches tend to undermine what could
otherwise be useful contributions by establishing competing systems for assessment
and providing competing recommendations to consumers.
9.9
Threats and opportunities
A group of respected authors (Worm
et al
. 2006) recently made a sensational
claim that, if there is no major change to existing fishing policies and practices,
all the world's fish stocks will have collapsed by 2048. The claim precipitated a
wide variety of responses including the important observation that this was only
a potential result if nothing at all was done to remedy overfishing and habitat
destruction. These authors reiterated various calls in both the scientific literature
and the popular media for a 'regime shift' away from the traditional approaches to
fisheries management that are the backbone of the current quest for sustainability.
In questioning the value of demand-side initiatives such as ecolabelling, Jacquet
and Pauly (2007) suggest a return to traditional advocacy and regulation. Whilst
such approaches remain crucial to facilitating moves towards sustainable use it
seems unwise to not encourage additional sources of pressure towards sustainability,
especially where the private sector may be able to take actions in areas where
governments cannot. The view that only governments can and should be involved
in ensuring sustainability disempowers a large number of individuals and entities
who may not have the time, skills or inclination to become lobbyists.
The rise of the private and non-government sector involvement in seafood demand
issues parallels both the increase in trade and the rising concern over the state of
world fisheries. The scale of production and trade has clearly overwhelmed the
capacities of the majority of nations to exercise sufficient control and as a result a
variety of responses have evolved to try and address some of the many gaps.
The private sector is perceiving value in diversifying its involvement in the
seafood trade beyond its more traditional activities such as production, processing,
distribution and service delivery. Private NGOs have moved well beyond tradi-
tional advocacy and are actively engaged in campaigns to manipulate the seafood
market (e.g. the Seafood Choice campaigns operating in the US and Europe; Chap-
ter 7). Opportunities created by new markets (such as the developing interest in
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