We’ve come to our final blog in our series on sustainable aquaculture for EDFish. Now that we’ve covered aquaculture feed, escapes, and diseases, we’ll wrap up the discussion with a look at technology’s role in sustainable aquaculture. With appropriate investment and incentives, ocean farming technologies and innovations could address sustainability risks for farming seafood in U.S. federal waters, also known as “open ocean aquaculture.” Read More
Pokmaswas supported the authorities in capturing trawl vessels, July 3, 2024 (Credit: Ubay)
By: M. Khazali, Guswarman, and Meutia Isty Wulandari
“If we don’t prioritize monitoring and law enforcement against destructive fishing activities, the blue swimming crab management is unlikely to succeed.” These words were said in March 2024 by Hasan “Ubay” Ubaidillah, a leader of the Community Surveillance Group (Kelompok Masyarakat Pengawas/Pokmaswas) Jaya Bahari Abadi. He stood in the Lampung Blue Swimming Crab Co-management Team (TPPRB) meeting, his voice echoing with a sense of urgency. This was not a new concern for him; he had repeatedly raised this issue since 2022 to the blue swimming crab stakeholders. Read More
By: Harlisa, M. Khazali, and Meutia Isty Wulandari
Fishers collecting blue swimming crab data. Credit: Bagus Santoso
Sarkad gazed out at the Lampung coastline, his hands gripping the edge of his small fishing boat. At 49 years old, Sarkad had spent over half his life catching blue swimming crabs. He fled his hometown in West Java, hoping to escape deteriorating marine conditions and declining catches, only to find the same situation in Lampung. The abundant blue swimming crabs he remembered from 16 years ago have dwindled as a result of years of unsustainable fishing practices. Read More
Let’s continue the conversation on sustainable aquaculture. This is the third blog in our series exploring the sustainability of aquaculture—what we currently know, emerging advancements, and areas for growth. In our previous, we covered escapes in aquaculture, and before that, we discussed aquaculture feed. Read More
Open ocean aquaculture in the U.S. has the potential to create diverse local jobs, build a more climate-resilient domestic seafood supply, and minimize impacts on the climate and environment. However, achieving these benefits hinges on practicing aquaculture the right way. Read More
Is aquaculture sustainable? As with so many important questions, the inevitable—often infuriating—answer is, “it depends.”
As the U.S. looks to expand into open ocean aquaculture (usually between 3 and 200 nautical miles off the coast), we have the opportunity to get things right from the start. We can create diverse local jobs, build a more climate-resilient domestic seafood supply, and, of course, minimize impacts on the climate and environment. We know that aquaculture can already be more sustainable than other forms of food production. But, we can make it even better by focusing on what remains unknown. Read More
