How Do We Sustainably Address The U.S. Seafood Deficit?
Seafood plays a vital part of the American diet. It provides lean protein and essential omega-3 fatty acids that are beneficial to our brain, heart, and eyes. Currently, it's recommended that we eat seafood twice a week. As demand for seafood rises in concert with a growing population, many are concerned that the majority of seafood Americans consume—about 60%—is imported. Moreover, seafood caught by Americans is often sent overseas for processing.
At Capitol Hill Ocean Week earlier this month, government, industry and science groups met to discuss the seafood deficit at a conference open to the public. The panel was moderated by Linda Cornish, president of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, which is a non-profit organization aiming to increase seafood consumption for human health.
Dr. Martin Smith, professor of environmental economics at Duke University stated the seafood trade deficit masks other important issues:
Is the U.S. aquaculture industry underperforming for non-economic reasons? Are there ways of ensuring food safety in a world where we important a very large percentage of seafood Americans consume? Are seafood producers facing an unfair regulatory burden when competing against seafood imports? Are we taking food out of the mouths of some of the poorest people in the world?
Dr. Smith also warned that under climate change, we don't have a good understanding of the best ways to govern fisheries. He advocated that we need to "move quickly to figure out if our current governance works well.”
Bill Dimento, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability for High Liner Foods covered their priority to grow their business in a responsible way, including relying on responsible aquaculture rather than wild fisheries. One of their first steps is to change the perception of aquaculture in the U.S. by educating consumers, many of which have a poor perception of aquaculture. Many consumers wonder if seafood from aquaculture comes from polluted waters or if it's full of antibiotics, which are common misconceptions.
He explained that we lost many of our processing facilities in the 1990s, and that moving forward, collaboration across all stakeholders is necessary so that it makes sense for Americans. Dimento urged that "we have to come together, we have to work together, we have to build this on sound science."
Finally, Brett Veerhusen, spoke from the perspectives of fisherman. He comes from a family of Alaskan fisherman who have watched the price of their fish fluctuate dramatically over the past few decades. Veerhusen advocated that states should have the choice to opt out of aquaculture. Dr. Smith supported the use of aquaculture across coastal states since the demand for seafood is rising. Finally Dimento called for more representation of those involved with wild fisheries at the table in policymaking.
In a world with a burgeoning population, demand for seafood will only continue to increase. Seafood is a source of healthy protein. In order to provide seafood for current and future generations, government, industry (both those catching and selling seafood) and scientists must collaborate in a way where everyone's voice is heard and included.
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I cover the living world, from microbes to ecosystems.