Sustainable Seas&

Sustainable SeafoodDr. Mey Akashah

Instructor, Harvard School of Public Health

Human Health and Global Environmental Change May 1, 2012

Harvard School of Public Health (EH 278)Harvard Medical School (HO703.0)

Harvard Extension School (ENVR E-165)

Overview

• Ocean resources• Development and marine ecosystems• Overfishing• Magnuson-Stevens Act• By-catch/Alt fishing techiniques

Guest Lecturer: Barton Seaver

Benefits of Functional Marine Ecosystems

All new chemical entities approved by FDA, 1981-

2006(n=1184)

Nature’s Medicine Chest: Pharmaceutical Resources

• Cone Shell• Horseshoe Crabs• Mexican Tiger

Salamander

Cone Shells: Intrathecal Ziconotide

• Pain management

• From Conus magus venom

• Now, synthetically derived

Horseshoe Crabs: Battling Endotoxin

• Proof of vaccine and medical device sterility

• From horsehoe crab blood

Sustainable Seas

Development

Manasota key

Old Manasota

New Manasota

Healthy Mangroves

Coral Reefs: Before & After

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/seafood-quiz/

Fisheries

Overfishing

Overfishing refers to the removal of marine organisms from the environment at a level that is not sustainable.

• Growth overfishing – Biomass lost due to fishing greater than biomass gained due to

growth. • Recruitment overfishing

– Spawning biomass of population reduced number of larvae produced inadequate to replenish population.

• Ecosystem overfishing– Rate of organism removal high enough to modify ecosystem

composition• Often leads to system-wide detrimental effects.

• Economic overfishing – Occurs when fishery resources are not being used in the most

efficient manner. Limit = cost of fishing > value of catch

BOFF Hypothesis

Adapted from Palumbi 2004

A sequence of graphs showing the effect of fishing the large members of the population at different fishing mortality levels. Note that at very high rates of mortality most of the fish being captured will be immature. © TNC

Economic Impacts of Overfishing

• 2006 study by Worm et al. examined the sustainability of our current global fishing industry

• Concluded that within 50 years, most of the important fish species will be economically extinct (Worm, 2006)

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management

Act• Primary law governing US marine fisheries

– Originated 1976; many amendments since• Main purpose: promote optimal yield • Mandates the use of annual catch limits• Accountability measures to deter overfishing• Calls for increased international cooperation.• Criticisms – failure to stop overfishing,

minimize bycatch, promote accountability

Bycatch• When fishermen are attempting to catch

target fish, many other marine animals are inadvertently captured, such as:– Sea Birds (albatross & petrels)– Marine Mammals (dolphins, porpoises, &

whales)– Sea Turtles (Kemps Ridley, leatherbacks, &

hawksbill)– Non-Target Fish (undesirable species,

immature fish, females)

A ratio of 0 would reflect catching target species and nothing else (Harrington, 2005)

Streamers tied to the long line floats which to serve to scare the birds away), they require an investment of time and labor that fishers are not always willing to pay.

Reducing Longline Bycatch up to 90%

Shrimp fishing, which utilizes trawl nets, nearly wiped out the highly endangered kemps ridely sea turtle in the Gulf of Mexico.

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs)

Purse Fishing (when used properly)

How we catch our fish

(NMFS, 2009).

http://www.mcbi.org/what/howwefish.htm

Good Vs. Bad: Seafood Choices

Check out: • Oceans Alive• Monterey Bay Aquarium

For information on marine mammal/shark-friendly catch methods and sustainable fish farming, go to:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_gear.aspx#pole

Don’t forget the trash!