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Walk the talk, don't eat it: a call for sustainable seafood leadership from marine scientists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2014

CARISSA JOY KLEIN  and
RENATA FERRARI
CARISSA JOY KLEIN*
Affiliation:
Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Geography Planning and Environmental Management, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4103, Australia
RENATA FERRARI
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences and Australian Centre for Field Robotics, University of Sydney, Science Road, New South Wales 2006, Australia
*
*Correspondence: Dr Carissa Klein Tel: +61 401 582606 (mobile) e-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

Fisheries stocks are rapidly declining around the world. A reduction in the consumption of unsustainable seafood may help curb this decline. Sustainable seafood consumption is not commonplace, even in the marine science and conservation community. The frequency of unsustainable and/or unlabelled seafood at marine science and conservation meetings motivates this enquiry and call for leadership. Information about the species served and where they were caught/farmed was obtained for seven marine ecology and conservation meetings held in Australia, attended by c. 4000 people from around the world. Menu item sustainability was assessed according to the relevant sustainable seafood guide, which considered stock status and impact of fishing/aquaculture method. Seafood was served at all meetings; four meetings served at least one unsustainable species, and only two meetings served a sustainable species. Additional leadership by marine scientists, especially conservationists, is urgently required to turn science into action and ensure that sustainable seafood is available, not only at meetings, but more widely, to achieve a positive conservation outcome.

Type
Comment
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 102 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2014 

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