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Scoop.it!
Pollution, development and overharvesting have greatly diminished America’s natural oyster habitat. Aquaculture and adaptable farmers have changed the game. 
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LSU's Sea Grant oyster farm in Grand Isle uses cutting edge technology to breed genetically perfect oysters.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
This is something of a marketing piece, but still a good first introduction to the increasingly struggling (but yet incredibly politically powerful) oyster industry in coastal Louisiana.
As with so many of our fisheries, the future of oyster farming is going to be a hybrid of mariculture (usually on the side of boosting propagules/babies) and wild capture (on the adult/final product side), well illustrated by current and future oyster production along all of our coastlines. See an overview of our videos on oysters from the west coast here: https://youtu.be/7yx9AGKp-pI?list=PLvKr3ZQE4i37i2TQ_T6rmKTggLQK7Msh-
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Aquarium trade observers have growing concerns about the coming film, Finding Dory, and demand for an electric-blue reef fish
PIRatE Lab's insight:
With the go-to movie for kids now out, there is something of a divided mindset burbling about. You have to love the artistry and creativity of the visual and story artists at Pixar and their skills in weaving together tales that both entertain and make you think. But (yes, I fear I have become THAT guy) there is also a somewhat darker side that can come along with such popularization of little fish housed in aquaria; overexploitation of reef fish populations to populate the aquaria of recreational enthusiasts. And if you REALLY "have" to get a Dory-like fish, consider these captive bred alternatives from the breeding powerhouse that is ORA in Florida: And if you have yet to fill up your monthly snark quotient, you could always listen to Milton riff on the problems with both Finding Nemo and Finding Dory:
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From
www
A Environment Canada study looking at the environmental impacts on organisms near Nova Scotia hatcheries has found some negative effects on downstream ecosystems.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Interesting, this is the first such study I have heard of. These farms must not be closed-loop production systems.
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Federal regulators cleared the way for a genetically engineered salmon to be farmed for human consumption in the first-ever such approval for an animal whose DNA has been scientifically modified.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
I suspect that this is but the next step in the ongoing fight and PR battle between the local food/no-GMO crowd and the biotech/pro-GMO everywhere industry.
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The once-bustling oyster farm and sales shack at the end of the dirt road had the look of sudden abandonment.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
After more than a decade of legal fights and negotiations, Drake's Estero is finally going oyster-free. While I normally should be happy about such a decision (eliminating non-natives that are a constant source of other invasive species, etc.), I can't help feeling that we've lost something here. The cows are allowed on the surrounding hillsides, even though they impact the watersheds flowing into the bay, roads cling to the edges of the shoreline, etc., etc. This doesn't ring of capital "w" Wilderness to me. Something here instead smacks of Marin County and of "wouldn't it be nice if..." policies.
See also:
http://www.marinij.com/ci_21777864/invasive-species-known-marine-vomit-found-at-drakes
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_27253482/marin-bids-adieu-drakes-bay-oyster-co-cajun?source=pkg
http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Clock-ticks-down-for-Drakes-Bay-Oyster-Co-5722456.php
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Within the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish and embedded within a project on aquaculture development funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), IEIDEAS — 'Improvi... Via Konstantinos KOKOSIS
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This circular contains a selection of current and recent climate change adaptation activities and measures in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. These examples provide an overview of the types of adaptation activities and programmes rather than a comprehensive review of adaptation activities addressing fisheries and/or aquaculture. Some of the highlighted activities are specifically targeted at addressing climate change impacts in fisheries or aquaculture, and others address related areas (e.g. coastal management and capacity building activities) that also have benefits for fisheries or aquaculture. In addition to specific examples, the publication provides an overview of climate change impacts on global fisheries and aquaculture and potential adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Descriptions for 26 current or recent activities and programmes focused specifically on or benefiting fisheries and/or aquaculture (and other sectors if relevant), primarily in developing countries, highlight the diversity of potential adaptation actions at the local to regional scales. This circular is intended to provide a starting point for planners, policy-makers and practitioners who are involved in sectors related to fisheries and aquaculture around the globe.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
FAO: Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular – No. 1088 – 2014 – View Full Study: http://www.fao.org/docrep/019/i3569e/i3569e.pdf
Bridget Harrington's curator insight,
July 21, 2014 10:33 PM
How fisheries are adapting to climate change
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Companies as diverse as Tiffany, Brilliant Earth and Kamoka Pearl are working to satisfy consumer demand for eco-friendly jewelry. Via Acquisti & Sostenibilità not-for-profit
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Nice example of some relatively simple steps being taken to reduce the environmental impact from pearl farming.
PIRatE Lab's curator insight,
February 14, 2014 5:48 PM
Nice examples from the mariculture side of things and from the synthetic diamond side of things.
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The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday approved the state’s first aquaculture farm to be located in federal waters about eight miles offshore of Long Beach.Known as Catalina Sea Ranch,
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Our first mariculture facility in federal waters off of the California coast. Cool beans!
While the cltivation of non-native species is normally a red flag, in this case the cat is long, long out of the bag across the entire west coast. As such, this was a non-issue.
While California has lots of good intentions with our strong environmental laws, they have in many instances acted to quash innovation and coastal-dependent industries (this is why, for example, we have no offshore alternative energy production...even though we design and create systems that get installed in Oregon, Mexico, etc.).
PIRatE Lab's curator insight,
January 11, 2014 11:30 AM
This effort offers the opoprtunity to supply shellfish to local So Cal markets with markedly reduced carbon footprints.
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Arab region's aquaculture development seen as promising Via Global Aqua Link
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Record flooding, human-made channels and environmental disasters have exacerbated the already harsh effects of climate change in Louisiana's Mississippi Delta, impacting the region's coastal wildlife and seafood supplies. Special correspondent Joshua Landis reports on how local oyster farmers are coping as part of our series, "Peril and Promise" in partnership with Nexis Media News.
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Near-shore fish farms have created a host of environmental problems. Now, U.S. aquaculture advocates – backed by mainstream conservation groups – are saying that locating well-run operations out in the ocean could produce sustainable food and protect wild stocks from overfishing.
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Twyla Roscovich will be remembered as a powerful storyteller, filmmaker and defender of B.C.’s wild coast as well as a loving person, say her family and friends. Roscovich died last week at . . .
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Sad loss of a coastal activist.
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The world’s biggest Atlantic salmon producer wants to start farming fish inside a ship – and the idea has merit | By Aiswarya
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Interesting idea. If we can do microfilming inside apartments, why not extend the idea to ships. While this is clearly theoretically possible, the end users are unclear to me. One possible use might be to rig up mobile fish farms and deploy these to disaster-impacted areas as a sustainable source of protein that remains mobile.
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A new report looking at the positive benefits of wild caught fish has been launched by the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
This report looks at where fish are caught across the world, how they travel to the market and the regulations that govern each part of that journey. It also examines the alternative livelihoods that might be open to fisher communities if they could no longer provide live fish for the aquarium trade.
It draws on information contained in a specially commissioned literature review by the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) as well as other information compiled by the trade association. OATA asked the Institute to investigate the positive benefits of wild caught ornamental fish last year. DICE also presents two case studies to illustrate the human story behind the trade in Indonesia and Peru. "We believe it's vital people start to understand the human story behind the issue of wild caught fish," said OATA Chief Executive Keith Davenport. "Animal welfare and sustainability are important, and where poor practice is found we need to address this. But we should also acknowledge that the people involved in catching these fish are also important and we mustn't lose sight of that. What would the alternative livelihoods be for those remote communities and are we so sure the alternatives are 'better'?
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Tens of thousands of cobia that escaped from an aquaculture farm off the coast of Ecuador may be Southern California bound Via clare wormald, Donald Rodriguez
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Certifying seafood as USDA organic is complicated
PIRatE Lab's insight:
And see this piece from 2007.
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A US firm has started work on huge floating cages that will hold 1,000 tonnes of fish in the deep sea off Hawaii’s coast.
Hawaii Oceanic Technology Inc. (HOTI) has received permits to build 12 cages, which it calls “Oceanospheres“, in a 247-acre area off the coast of Hawaii, which it has leased out.
The floating fish farms will be 180 feet wide cages submerged at a depth of 20 metres. The farms will raise tuna fish from egg to harvest size in a self-contained system. The company hopes to harvest fish within 18 months.
“Our goal is to develop a new, environmentally responsible way to raise tuna in deep waters,” Bill Spencer, CEO of HOTI was quoted as saying in media reports.
HOTI hopes to cash in on ocean fish farming which is estimated to be a US$75 (€56.033) billion market by 2020, West Hawaii Today reported.
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A team of CSIRO scientists has cracked the holy grail of aquaculture by developing the world's first fish-free prawn food.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
We are now beginning to see more and more fish-free mariculture feed options.
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Some speculate that overfishing of the small fish fed to farmed salmon led to the all-time high prices seen in 2013. But Norwegian salmon experts say the bigger threat to the farmed fish is disease.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
The feed supply here is something of a (pardon the pun) red herring.
Salmon have been raised on a vegan diet (research done at Hubbs SeaWorld's Research Arm) now, so the dependency on fish meal/fish oil is in theory not a limiting factor per se.
The bigger issue is simply the space and associated potential environmental impacts. We could do large scale farming totally in artificial mariculture facilities and have effectively zero pollution or other potential impacts. The issue is cost.
More importantly, the issue of a limited absolute quantity of a finite substance (i.e. oil) can't compare to an actual living and reproducing resrouce like a fish, assuming we protect the environment and habitat of that fish so that these organisms can live.
PIRatE Lab's curator insight,
February 28, 2014 10:16 PM
The feed supply here is something of a (pardon the pun) red herring.
Salmon have been raised on a vegan diet (research done at Hubbs SeaWorld's Research Arm) now, so the dependency on fish meal/fish oil is in theory not a limiting factor per se.
The bigger issue is simply the space and associated potential environmental impacts. We could do large scale farming totally in artificial mariculture facilities and have effectively zero pollution or other potential impacts. The issue is cost.
More importantly, the issue of a limited absolute quantity of a finite substance (i.e. oil) can't compare to an actual living and reproducing resrouce like a fish, assuming we protect the environment and habitat of that fish so that these organisms can live.
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Scientists at Nofima have developed a new and efficient DNA test to trace escaped farmed salmon, in which they can link the DNA profile of the escaped fish to the fish farm from which it escaped.
Testing of the system on a pilot scale demonstrates virtually 100 % accuracy, and simulation of data that has so far been done on an industrial scale is promising.
This system means all the fish in the sea cage can relax; they do not need to be tested in order to be matched with escaped fish because their parents were tested before the production fish were hatched.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Traceability comes to wild fish.
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Lovatelli, A., Aguilar-Manjarrez, J. & Soto, D. eds. 2013.
http://www.fao.org/fishery/publications/en
Via Global Aqua Link
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