1. |
- Gephart, Jessica A., et al.
(author)
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The 'seafood gap' in the food-water nexus literature-issues surrounding freshwater use in seafood production chains
- 2017
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In: Advances in Water Resources. - : Elsevier BV. - 0309-1708 .- 1872-9657. ; 110, s. 505-514
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Freshwater use for food production is projected to increase substantially in the coming decades with population growth, changing demographics, and shifting diets. Ensuring joint food-water security has prompted efforts to quantify freshwater use for different food products and production methods. However, few analyses quantify freshwater use for seafood production, and those that do use inconsistent water accounting. This inhibits water use comparisons among seafood products or between seafood and agricultural/livestock products. This 'seafood gap' in the food-water nexus literature will become increasingly problematic as seafood consumption is growing globally and aquaculture is one of the fastest growing animal food sectors in the world. Therefore, the present study 1) reviews freshwater use concepts as they relate to seafood production; 2) provides three cases to highlight the particular water use concerns for aquaculture, and; 3) outlines future directions to integrate seafood into the broader food-water nexus discussion. By revisiting water use concepts through a focus on seafood production systems, we highlight the key water use processes that should be considered for seafood production and offer a fresh perspective on the analysis of freshwater use in food systems more broadly. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
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2. |
- Beveridge, M. C. M., et al.
(author)
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Meeting the food and nutrition needs of the poor : the role of fish and the opportunities and challenges emerging from the rise of aquaculture
- 2013
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In: Journal of Fish Biology. - : Wiley. - 0022-1112 .- 1095-8649. ; 83:4, s. 1067-1084
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- People who are food and nutrition insecure largely reside in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and for many, fish represents a rich source of protein, micronutrients and essential fatty acids. The contribution of fish to household food and nutrition security depends upon availability, access and cultural and personal preferences. Access is largely determined by location, seasonality and price but at the individual level it also depends upon a person's physiological and health status and how fish is prepared, cooked and shared among household members. The sustained and rapid expansion of aquaculture over the past 30years has resulted in >40% of all fish now consumed being derived from farming. While aquaculture produce increasingly features in the diets of many Asians, it is much less apparent among those living in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here, per capita fish consumption has grown little and despite the apparently strong markets and adequate biophysical conditions, aquaculture has yet to develop. The contribution of aquaculture to food and nutrition security is not only just an issue of where aquaculture occurs but also of what is being produced and how and whether the produce is as accessible as that from capture fisheries. The range of fish species produced by an increasingly globalized aquaculture industry differs from that derived from capture fisheries. Farmed fishes are also different in terms of their nutrient content, a result of the species being grown and of rearing methods. Farmed fish price affects access by poor consumers while the size at which fish is harvested influences both access and use. This paper explores these issues with particular reference to Asia and Africa and the technical and policy innovations needed to ensure that fish farming is able to fulfil its potential to meet the global population's food and nutrition needs.
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3. |
- Cottrell, Richard S., et al.
(author)
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Time to rethink trophic levels in aquaculture policy
- 2021
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In: Reviews in Aquaculture. - : Wiley. - 1753-5123 .- 1753-5131. ; 13:3, s. 1583-1593
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aquaculture policy often promotes production of low-trophic level species for sustainable industry growth. Yet, the application of the trophic level concept to aquaculture is complex, and its value for assessing sustainability is further complicated by continual reformulation of feeds. The majority of fed farmed fish and invertebrate species are produced using human-made compound feeds that can differ markedly from the diet of the same species in the wild and continue to change in composition. Using data on aquaculture feeds, we show that technical advances have substantially decreased the mean effective trophic level of farmed species, such as salmon (mean TL = 3.48 to 2.42) and tilapia (2.32 to 2.06), from 1995 to 2015. As farmed species diverge in effective trophic level from their wild counterparts, they are coalescing at a similar effective trophic level due to standardisation of feeds. This pattern blurs the interpretation of trophic level in aquaculture because it can no longer be viewed as a trait of the farmed species, but rather is a dynamic feature of the production system. Guidance based on wild trophic position or historical resource use is therefore misleading. Effective aquaculture policy needs to avoid overly simplistic sustainability indicators such as trophic level. Instead, employing empirically derived metrics based on the specific farmed properties of species groups, management techniques and advances in feed formulation will be crucial for achieving truly sustainable options for farmed seafood.
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4. |
- Gephart, Jessica, et al.
(author)
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Environmental performance of blue foods
- 2021
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In: Nature. - : Nature Research. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 597:7876, s. 360-365
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fish and other aquatic foods (blue foods) present an opportunity for more sustainable diets1,2. Yet comprehensive comparison has been limited due to sparse inclusion of blue foods in environmental impact studies3,4 relative to the vast diversity of production5. Here we provide standardized estimates of greenhouse gas, nitrogen, phosphorus, freshwater and land stressors for species groups covering nearly three quarters of global production. We find that across all blue foods, farmed bivalves and seaweeds generate the lowest stressors. Capture fisheries predominantly generate greenhouse gas emissions, with small pelagic fishes generating lower emissions than all fed aquaculture, but flatfish and crustaceans generating the highest. Among farmed finfish and crustaceans, silver and bighead carps have the lowest greenhouse gas, nitrogen and phosphorus emissions, but highest water use, while farmed salmon and trout use the least land and water. Finally, we model intervention scenarios and find improving feed conversion ratios reduces stressors across all fed groups, increasing fish yield reduces land and water use by up to half, and optimizing gears reduces capture fishery emissions by more than half for some groups. Collectively, our analysis identifies high-performing blue foods, highlights opportunities to improve environmental performance, advances data-poor environmental assessments, and informs sustainable diets. © 2021, The Author(s)
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5. |
- Holmerin, Isak, et al.
(author)
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Uptake and transfer of five trace metals from clam to oxygen-deprived fish in a marine benthic pathway
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- As a result of eutrophication and climate change, marine benthic areas around the world are suffering from expanding oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) where hypoxia has become a real threat to local ecosystems. Coastal and estuarine areas are especially prone to develop OMZs due to high nutrient loading. These areas are also preferred sites for nuclear power plants (NPPs), which continuously provide nearby watersheds and coastal areas with radioactive effluents. However, the effects of hypoxia on the trophic transfer of radionuclides is poorly documented. Studied here is the uptake in the bivalve Ruditapes philippinarum of five radioactive trace metals (54Mn, 57Co, 65Zn, 110mAg, and 134Cs), common in intentional or accidental effluents from nuclear power plants, and their subsequent transfer to the benthic teleost Pomatoschistus minutus living in oxygen-deprived conditions simulating mild or severe hypoxia. In R. philippinarum, the radionuclide uptake was dominated by 65Zn and 110mAg with a comparably low uptake of 54Mn. This was not reflected in the radionuclide transfer after feeding R. philippinarum to P. minutus, which predominately incorporated 54Mn and 65Zn, indicating a species specific preference for certain trace metals. There was a tendency for higher retention of radionuclides in P. minutus suffering from severe hypoxia. A possible explanation is the increased stress caused by the low oxygen levels. Longer retention times of radionuclides would cause a longer radiation exposure, possibly affecting fish living in OMZ negatively.
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6. |
- McNicholl, Conall, et al.
(author)
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Deoxygenation reduces growth rates and increases assimilation of essential trace metals in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)
- 2021
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In: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 288
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The widespread decline in oceanic dissolved oxygen (DO), known as deoxygenation, is a threat to many marine ecosystems, and fish are considered one of the more vulnerable marine organisms. While food intake and growth rates in some fish can be reduced under hypoxic conditions (DO ~ 60 μmol kg−1), the dietary transfer of essential metals remains unclear. In this context, we investigated the influence of DO on the dietary acquisition of two essential metals (Zn and Mn) in the commercially important gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) using radiotracer techniques. Fish were exposed to variable DO conditions (normoxia 100% DO, mild-hypoxia 60% DO, and hypoxia 30% DO), and fed a single radiolabeled food ration containing known activities of 54Mn and 65Zn. Depuration and assimilation mechanisms under these conditions were followed for 19 d. Based on whole body activity after the radio-feeding, food consumption tended to decrease with decreasing oxygen, which likely caused the significantly reduced growth (- 25%) observed at 30% DO after 19 d. While there was an apparent reduction in food consumption with decreasing DO, there was also significantly higher essential metal assimilation with hypoxic conditions. The proportion of 65Zn remaining was significantly higher (~60%) at both low DO levels after 24 h and 19 d while 54Mn was only significantly higher (27%) at the lowest DO after 19 d, revealing element specific effects. These results suggest that under hypoxic conditions, stressed teleost fish may allocate energy away from growth and towards other strategic processes that involve assimilation of essential metals.
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7. |
- Merrie, Andrew, et al.
(author)
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An ocean of surprises - Trends in human use, unexpected dynamics and governance challenges in areas beyond national jurisdiction
- 2014
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In: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 27, s. 19-31
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The expanse of ocean which makes up all marine areas beyond national jurisdiction has been characterized as the last frontier of exploitation on the planet, a figurative final Wild West. Existing users of areas beyond national jurisdiction, with the exception of fisheries, currently have a limited footprint there as a consequence, in part, of substantial hurdles in technological development that need to be overcome before many resources can be extracted at a commercially viable scale. However, we argue surprise shifts perpetuated by both established and emerging users could lead to an expansion in actors taking opportunities to chase lucrative resources that they are currently constrained from exploiting. Rapid development could also lead to a crowded ocean due to the multiplication of users which could present a problem given the current lack of a unified institutional framework for governance connecting the different user groups. Here, we have collated trends in human use of areas beyond national jurisdiction and offer a framework for, and examples of, unexpected dynamics relevant to living and non-living marine resources. Such an approach is necessary in order to begin to mobilize an adequate governance response to changing conditions and uses of areas beyond national jurisdiction. This governance response must be able to govern established or potential users, be flexible and adaptive in response to unexpected and unpredictable dynamics and be able to transform in the face of unpredictable future uses of this vast area. Here we present a set of institutional design principles as a first tentative step in this direction.
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8. |
- Merrie, Andrew, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Radical futures for global fisheries : An imaginative narrative scenarios approach
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Scenarios are important tools in developing capacity for dealing with the unknown and unpredictable, as well as the unlikely but possible. A range of scientific methods for developing scenarios is available, but we argue that they have limited capacity to investigate complex social-ecological futures. We contend that for most scientific scenarios 1) non-linear change is rarely incorporated and that 2) in attempting to engage with complexity they often fail to interest an audience outside of academia. This manuscript intends to address these two concerns, by drawing on narrative approaches to scenarios and applying the method of Science Fiction Prototyping. Using a rich and empirical scientific background on existing and emerging trends in marine natural resource use and dynamics, we develop four ‘radical’ futures for global fisheries. They are written for a wide audience and each was carefully designed to incorporate and extrapolate from existing environmental, technological, social and economic trends. We argue that Science Fiction Prototyping can complement existing methods for developing scenarios and can assist scientists in developing a holistic understanding of complex systems dynamics. This approach holds promise for making scenarios more accessible and interesting to non-academics and thus more useful in discussion on policy and governance questions in marine fisheries.
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9. |
- Merrie, Andrew, et al.
(author)
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Radical ocean futures-scenario development using science fiction prototyping
- 2018
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In: Futures. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-3287 .- 1873-6378. ; 95, s. 22-32
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Scenarios can help individuals, communities, corporations and nations to develop a capacity for dealing with the unknown and unpredictable, or the unlikely but possible. A range of scientific methods for developing scenarios is available, but we argue that they have limited capacity to investigate complex social-ecological futures because: 1) non-linear change is rarely incorporated and: 2) they rarely involve co-evolutionary dynamics of integrated social-ecological systems. This manuscript intends to address these two concerns by applying the method of science fiction prototyping to developing scenarios for the future of global fisheries in a changing global ocean. We used an empirically informed background on existing and emerging trends in marine natural resource use and dynamics to develop four 'radical ocean futures,' incorporating and extrapolating from existing environmental, technological, social and economic trends. We argue that the distinctive method as applied here can complement existing scenario methodologies and assist scientists in developing a holistic understanding of complex systems dynamics. The approach holds promise for making scenarios more accessible and interesting to non-academics and can be useful for developing proactive governance mechanisms.
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10. |
- Metian, Marc, et al.
(author)
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Farming of Bluefin Tuna-Reconsidering Global Estimates and Sustainability Concerns
- 2014
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In: Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2330-8249 .- 2330-8257. ; 22:3, s. 184-192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increased global demand for bluefin tuna has triggered unsustainable fishing and many wild stocks have seen dramatic declines. Improved fisheries governance is now slowly stabilizing many stocks and recently bluefin aquaculture has emerged as an economic alternative route for supplying the market. Most of captured bluefin tuna directly enters the global seafood market, but an increasing part of catches are destined to aquaculture (17-37%) as bluefin aquaculture almost exclusively depends on wild specimens for stocking. Farming is mainly being performed in the Mediterranean region, Mexico, Australia, and Japan. Few studies have focused on the global importance and future role of bluefin aquaculture and there are confounding uncertainties related to production volumes and trends. This study provides an overview of global bluefin tuna aquaculture and identifies its direct and indirect interactions with wild fish stocks, outlines some of the challenges for future expansion as well as pointing out significant mismatch of production statistics.
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11. |
- Metian, Marc, et al.
(author)
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Mapping diversity of species in global aquaculture
- 2020
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In: Reviews in Aquaculture. - : Wiley. - 1753-5123 .- 1753-5131. ; 12:2, s. 1090-1100
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aquaculture is the world's most diverse farming practice in terms of number of species, farming methods and environments used. While various organizations and institutions have promoted species diversification, overall species diversity within the aquaculture industry is likely not promoted nor sufficiently well quantified. Using the most extensive dataset available (FAO-statistics) and an approach based on the Shannon Diversity index, this paper provides a method for quantifying and mapping global aquaculture species diversity. Although preliminary analyses showed that a large part of the species forming production is still qualified as undetermined species (i.e. 'not elsewhere included'); results indicate that usually high species diversity for a country is associated with a higher production but there are considerable differences between countries. Nine of the top 10 countries ranked highest by Shannon Diversity index in 2017 are from Asia with China producing the most diverse collection of species. Since species diversity is not the only level of diversity in production, other types of diversity are also briefly discussed. Diversifying aquatic farmed species can be of importance for long-term performance and viability of the sector with respect to sustaining food production under (sometimes abrupt) changing conditions. This can be true both at the global and regional level. In contrast, selection and focus on only a limited number of species can lead to rapid improvements in terms of production (towards sustainability or not) and profitability. Therefore, benefits and shortcomings of diversity are discussed from both economical and social-ecological perspectives that concurrently are shaping the expanding aquaculture industry.
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12. |
- Norström, Albert V., et al.
(author)
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Three necessary conditions for establishing effective Sustainable Development Goals in the Anthropocene
- 2014
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In: Ecology and Society. - 1708-3087. ; 19:3, s. 8-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of the United Nations-guided process to establish Sustainable Development Goals is to galvanize governments and civil society to rise to the interlinked environmental, societal, and economic challenges we face in the Anthropocene. We argue that the process of setting Sustainable Development Goals should take three key aspects into consideration. First, it should embrace an integrated social-ecological system perspective and acknowledge the key dynamics that such systems entail, including the role of ecosystems in sustaining human wellbeing, multiple cross-scale interactions, and uncertain thresholds. Second, the process needs to address trade-offs between the ambition of goals and the feasibility in reaching them, recognizing biophysical, social, and political constraints. Third, the goal-setting exercise and the management of goal implementation need to be guided by existing knowledge about the principles, dynamics, and constraints of social change processes at all scales, from the individual to the global. Combining these three aspects will increase the chances of establishing and achieving effective Sustainable Development Goals.
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13. |
- Osborn, David, et al.
(author)
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Ocean acidification: impacts and governance
- 2017
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In: Handbook on the Economics and Management of Sustainable Oceans. Eds.: Paulo A.L.D. Nunes, Lisa Emelia Svensson, Anil Markandya.. - Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishers & UNEP. - 9781786430717 ; , s. 396-415
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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14. |
- Tacon, Albert G. J., et al.
(author)
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Fish Matters : Importance of Aquatic Foods in Human Nutrition and Global Food Supply
- 2013
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In: Reviews in fisheries science. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1064-1262 .- 1547-6553. ; 21:1, s. 22-38
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In a world where nearly 30% of humanity is suffering from malnutrition and over 70% of the planet is covered with water, aquatic foods represent an essential component of the global food basket to improve the nutrition, health, and well being of all peoples. It is not by chance that Japan, the country with one of the world's highest reported life expectancies and lowest incidences of obesity and deaths from heart related illnesses, is also one of the world's top consumers of captured and farmed aquatic animal food products and aquatic plants. According to the FAO, in 2009, total captured and farmed aquatic animal food products accounted for 16.6% of the global population's intake of animal protein, providing more than three billion people with almost 20% of their average per capita intake of animal protein, and 4.3 billion people with at least 15% of such protein. This article reviews the nutritional composition of different farmed and captured aquatic food products and compares these with conventional terrestrial meat products. In addition to the superior nutritional profile and benefits of aquatic animal food products, small-sized marine pelagic fish play an important role in the nutrition of the poor as an affordable and much needed source of high quality animal protein and essential amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. As one of the best aquatic animal foods from a nutritional perspective, the direct consumption of small pelagic fish should be encouraged and promoted, as apposed to the continued targeted use of these species for reduction into fishmeal and fish oil for use in animal feeds.
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15. |
- Troell, Max, et al.
(author)
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Does aquaculture add resilience to the global food system?
- 2014
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 111:37, s. 13257-13263
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector and continues to expand alongside terrestrial crop and livestock production. Using portfolio theory as a conceptual framework, we explore how current interconnections between the aquaculture, crop, livestock, and fisheries sectors act as an impediment to, or an opportunity for, enhanced resilience in the global food system given increased resource scarcity and climate change. Aquaculture can potentially enhance resilience through improved resource use efficiencies and increased diversification of farmed species, locales of production, and feeding strategies. However, aquaculture's reliance on terrestrial crops and wild fish for feeds, its dependence on freshwater and land for culture sites, and its broad array of environmental impacts diminishes its ability to add resilience. Feeds for livestock and farmed fish that are fed rely largely on the same crops, although the fraction destined for aquaculture is presently small (similar to 4%). As demand for high-value fed aquaculture products grows, competition for these crops will also rise, as will the demand for wild fish as feed inputs. Many of these crops and forage fish are also consumed directly by humans and provide essential nutrition for low-income households. Their rising use in aquafeeds has the potential to increase price levels and volatility, worsening food insecurity among the most vulnerable populations. Although the diversification of global food production systems that includes aquaculture offers promise for enhanced resilience, such promise will not be realized if government policies fail to provide adequate incentives for resource efficiency, equity, and environmental protection.
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16. |
- Wilkinson, John L., et al.
(author)
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Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers
- 2022
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
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17. |
- Österblom, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Modeling Social—Ecological Scenarios in Marine Systems
- 2013
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In: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 63:9, s. 735-744
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Human activities have substantial impacts on marine ecosystems, including rapid regime shifts with large consequences for human well-being. We highlight the use of model-based scenarios as a scientific tool for adaptive stewardship in the face of such consequences. The natural sciences have a long history of developing scenarios but rarely with an in-depth understanding of factors influencing human actions. Social scientists have traditionally investigated human behavior, but scholars often argue that behavior is too complex to be repre-ented by broad generalizations useful for models and scenarios. We address this scientific divide with a framework for integrated marine social ecological scenarios, combining quantitative process-based models from the biogeochemical and ecological disciplines with qualitative studies on governance and social change. The aim is to develop policy-relevant scenarios based on an in-depth empirical understanding from both the natural and the social sciences, thereby contributing to adaptive stewardship of marine social-ecological systems.
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