Our oceans are facing unprecedented challenges. Global threats such as climate change and biodiversity loss are threatening marine ecosystems worldwide, including those essential for aquaculture and wild capture fisheries. Place-based threats, such as industrial activities within marine protected areas, further compound these impacts. Tackling these issues requires comprehensive solutions implemented through better management practices and robust governance.
To date, certifications and standards have functioned as a risk management tool primarily used by retailers to claim sustainability in their supply chains. Aquaculture certifications, which are primarily applied in the United States and European markets, can provide guidance on good practice, and recognize responsible actors where management policies are insufficient to provide that assurance. However, their farm-specific application struggles to drive the comprehensive changes required to safeguard our oceans. This panel will explore the necessity of implementing stronger policies, and how emphasizing improved regulations and governance can safeguard vital ecosystems. Pew’s efforts to promote healthy oceans revolve around preserving crucial marine habitats and reforming global fisheries management, including those used for aquaculture feed. We will present key policies such as ecosystem-based fisheries management and creating essential and well-managed protected areas needed to sustain healthy and intact ecosystems, along with the current challenges we face in achieving global implementation.
Holistic ecosystem centric governance efforts are vital for the health of our oceans and the future of fisheries and aquaculture, and they are key elements of both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Currently, certifications fall short in recognizing these critical issues within their criteria, permitting aquaculture farms to function within marine protected areas and omitting ecosystem-based criteria in feed standards. It is essential to not only push certifications to include stronger ecosystem protections but to ultimately adopt comprehensive, ecosystem-centric international governance for fisheries and aquaculture. Without robust governance, there is a significant risk of continued ecosystem and biodiversity degradation, which jeopardizes aquaculture supply chains. Retailers and markets need to go beyond depending solely on certifications in their seafood policies by actively engaging with their suppliers and advocating for improved, ecosystem-based management strategies.