Can the ocean delicacy on the dining table last?, Wild fishing, nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea, and global warming certification | MSC | Global

The ocean is an important source of food for great powers. From the perspective of the big food concept, the vast ocean is like blue granaries and lush pastures. In 2021, the per capita consumption of aquatic products by Chinese residents was 14.2 kilograms, making aquatic products the second largest source of animal food after pork.

However, marine catches are not inexhaustible. Now, as the final moment of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant "discharging into the sea" is approaching, the marine ecological environment has once again attracted attention. In addition to the various uncertainties caused by "sewage into the sea", what are the challenges for the sustainable development of the ocean?

"The ocean is not only a source of food, but also a guarantee of biodiversity. It is also the largest carbon pool in the earth system." On the eve of this year's World Ocean Day, Rupert House, CEO of the Marine Management Committee, who revisited Shanghai after four years, told China Business News.

House told First Finance that 25 years ago, when the MSC was founded, the global fishery was on the verge of "collapse". "Even now, there is still overfishing in the global fishery. The production of seafood is on the rise, but it cannot be ignored that the global population is growing faster. Today, the global population has moved to 8 billion, which has doubled since the 1960 s. Coupled with the impact of climate change and other factors on the ecological environment, it is an urgent task to effectively manage fisheries on a global scale."

"China has the largest consumer market and the largest production market," House said. "One-third of the world's fish stocks are under threat. This challenge is unprecedented. Our latest projections show that if global fisheries were managed sustainably, 16 million tonnes of wild seafood could be added each year, providing more food to cope with growing population pressures. Therefore, the development of sustainable fisheries and markets in China is particularly important."

Race to Wild Fishing

The Marine Stewarpship Council is an international non-profit standards organization whose mission is to promote sustainable fisheries to secure the supply of seafood now and in the future. The MSC system of standards is used by the United Nations as an important tool for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14, which is to protect and sustainably use the oceans, seas and their resources for sustainable development.

Over the past 25 years, "we have seen more and more marine fishing industries become MSC certified, and we want to support more fisheries in their transition to sustainability. The next decade will be decisive for the great challenges facing the human oceans today," says House."

Previously, House and his team found that in addition to paying attention to the catch, fishing vessels often "hurt" other protected species. For example, as a "high cold" species, pollock generally inhabits 70 to 300 meters in water depth and belongs to deep-sea fish. Prior to MSC certification, cod fishing vessels often caught sea lions and other protected species, and the certified cod fishery has effectively reduced bycatch of other species through proactive improvements in related technologies.

In Haus's view, MSC hopes to use voluntary sustainable certification and market-oriented ecological labeling projects to closely connect the producers of sustainable seafood development with the end consumers. "Sustainable fishing, effective management and impact on ecosystems are the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard." House introduced. MSC's sustainable standard system includes fishery standards and chain of custody standards. The former requires fisheries to meet "sustainable and well-managed" aquaculture environmental protection standards to promote the sustainable development of fishery fishing. The latter is evaluated by a third-party certification body with evaluation qualifications according to MSC standards, to evaluate the whole process of transportation, processing, circulation and final consumer of aquatic products from fish goods originating in marine areas after landing.

The latest data from MSC show that as of June this year, the number of MSC-certified fisheries worldwide has increased to 539. 19% of the global marine fishing industry has passed MSC certification or is under evaluation, up 1% from the same period last year. The number of companies supplying and selling MSC-certified seafood reached 5985. In the case of certified fishery species, these include cod, crab, tuna, etc. At the same time, the total value of the sustainable seafood industry certified by MSC is nearly US $15 billion.

Of course, House also stressed that the work promoted by MSC needs to cooperate with local governments and non-governmental organizations to enhance public awareness of the importance of sustainable development of fishery resources, and encourage more aquatic enterprises to voluntarily join the project to protect the continuous development of marine resources.

China's participation is indispensable

This year marks the 10th year of MSC's sustainable seafood project in China. As of the first quarter of this year, 520 enterprises in the Chinese market have obtained MSC fishery certification. In House's view, "the story in China is just beginning".

The first to receive MSC certification in the Chinese market is a sustainable clam. Public information shows that the Philippine Ruditapes fishery from the Yalu River Estuarine officially obtained the sustainable fishery certification of the Marine Management Committee on September 21, 2021. This is the first time that this species has obtained sustainable certification in China. The Yellow Sea ecological area where the fishery is located is rich in ecological diversity and is an important stop on the migration route of migratory birds. Last year, this sustainable clam with MSC ecological logo has entered the online and offline retail terminals in China.

Just in May of this year, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources of China issued a notice on the "Shenzhen Special Fund Support Measures for Agricultural Development. Among them, in the construction of aquatic product quality and safety assurance system, the Shenzhen municipal government supports the development of aquatic product quality certification, encourages fishery enterprises to apply for relevant certification including MSC, and gives a certain degree of subsidy to the certification fee. In Haus's view, this is another milestone in China's deep participation in the MSC sustainable seafood project in the past 10 years.

It is reported that in addition to the certification of tuna pelagic fishery and Dandong Ruditapes philippinarum, certification research work such as squid, swimming crab and laver is currently being carried out in China.

Of course, compared with other developed countries, House believes that China's participation in the MSC sustainable seafood project has more room for improvement. He hopes that Chinese fisheries and enterprises will continue to improve the level of fishery management, and with the support of local governments, optimize the natural environment of local fisheries and the fishing methods of fishery operations.

Dr. An Yan, the representative of the MSC China project, also said that in the Chinese market, in addition to the popularization of the concept of sustainable fisheries, due to the characteristics of China's fish resources, the concerted efforts of scientific research institutions, fishing companies and industry associations are very much needed. In addition, for the widely distributed marine life, especially some migratory fish, their sustainable fishery resources need to be jointly carried out by multiple regions or even multiple countries. For example, hairtail living in the East China Sea, except for China, neighboring countries and regions It will be caught, and the fishery management models of countries and regions are different. This undoubtedly requires a more effective way to achieve the goal of sustainable management of this fish.

Are you ready for the blue transition?

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, shows that with the significant growth of the aquaculture industry, global fisheries and aquaculture production has reached a record high. Aquatic food has made an increasingly important contribution to ensuring food security and nutrition in the 21st century.

As fisheries and aquaculture continue to expand, there is a need to drive more targeted transformational changes to build more sustainable, inclusive and equitable fisheries and aquaculture. To achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we must carry out a "blue transformation" in the production, management, trade and consumption of aquatic food ".

House also agrees with this point, "Although it is still controversial whether to use the'blue food', the indisputable fact is that if marine resources can be effectively managed in the future, it is an important guarantee for the sustainable development of mankind." However, he also told China Business News that in the current so-called "blue transition", the challenges brought by climate change should not be underestimated. MSC estimates that about 30% to 40% of the world's fisheries are affected by climate change, such as sour water quality and rising water temperatures, which have a significant impact on fish migration; rising sea levels will also have an impact on infrastructure equipment in the aquaculture industry.

Since the beginning of this year, the World Meteorological Organization has repeatedly warned that due to the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and the El Niño phenomenon, the global temperature may reach a new high in the next five years.

FAO said that production, consumption and trade will continue to grow in the future, but at a slower rate. Total aquatic animal production is expected to reach 0.202 billion tonnes by 2030, mainly due to continued growth in aquaculture. Aquaculture production is expected to exceed 0.1 billion tons for the first time in 2027 and reach 0.106 billion tons in 2030. The world's capture fisheries are expected to recover to 96 million tons by 2030, an increase of 6% over 2020, thanks to improved resource management, utilization of underfished resources and reduced discards, waste and losses.

Regarding the future, An Yan said that while deepening the Chinese market, he will continue to promote the diversification of sustainable seafood products and expand the presentation of sustainable seafood ecological labels. He plans to increase the number of items from 300 to 1000 by 2030.