Why We Care
The chain reaction initiated by overfishing might cause the extinction of marine biodiversity in 2050. In another word, no more seafood in forty years if no action is taken now.
Why Slow Fish Movement Matters
Issues regarding marine resources sustainability, social justice and seafood security
Marine resources sustainability
The mission of slow fish raises the public’s awareness among marine resources - Slow fish allows humans to continually fish in oceans and other bodies of water indefinitely for edible seafood.
Regarding fishing, quickly overfished, causing damage to ecosystems and pushing them out of balance. To be more specific, having a single species become endangered or extinct would have large impacts on the whole ecosystem rather than that species alone—it affects other animals in the ecosystem that prey on or that are prey for the aforementioned species. Overfishing can cause a negative domino effect in water-based ocean systems that is difficult to stop and in the end affecting the seafood we eat.
Overall, overfishing can cause a lack of fish species, and it can also cause health issues for the remaining species as well as the entire ecosystems. Slow fish - sustainable fishing - allows us to keep eating delicious seafood long into the future, while also protecting the beautiful water based ecosystems that protect much of the life on Earth. Every individual can contribute in his or her own small way to changing the mechanisms of a globalized food system based on the intensive exploitation of seafood and marine resources.
Sustainable fisheries
Slow fish could lead to seafood sustainability and thus providing a more sustainable fisheries in the premise of efficient fishery managements. Generally speaking, sustainable development comprises environmental, economic, and social sustainability. While considering biological or environmental sustainability - where a stock of fish is caught at a rate that ensures future catches, as we’ve just discussed - social welfare is also matter of sustainability. In other words, social and environmental justice are issues in nearly every facet of society; fisheries are no different.
Fisheries are big business, providing jobs and recreation and keeping our coastal communities vibrant. Therefore, a sustainable fishery can facilitate the health, economy, and livelihoods of communities all over the world.
Social justice
Environmental issues are inherently social justice issues - humans rely on natural resources for food, income, culture, and life.
Natural resources are inextricably linked to society; thus much of the injustice in fisheries is indicative of deeper social issues. Solutions to fisheries issues only work when they consider the people and stakeholders most affected. The social and economic consequences of the current fisheries situation differ greatly between small and large-scale operators. Small-scale fishing communities, for instance, highly depend on marine resources, as fishing is often the only source of income and livelihood. However, The physical remoteness of most small-scale fishing communities makes it difficult for their members to benefit from government programs, such as port development, roads and infrastructure, processing facilities, and other forms of subsidies, as well as to access fisheries information and to participate in management decisions. Small-scale fisheries are further marginalized in terms of information and research. As a result, funding and technical supports are not appropriately distributed. And thus, their food security could be greatly threatened. Other injustices include transnational stealing - Wealthy countries stealing fish from the poor - and the impacts on climate change - threatened by rising sea levels and increased storm surges.
Overall, one of the approaches in slow fish to maintain seafood sustainability - scaling down fisheries - could mitigate the problem in social justice. Also, a more sustainable fishery can raise social justice since social welfare is also a matter of sustainability.
Seafood security
Regarding fisheries in Slow Fish movement, three key areas are presented - slow down fishing, scale down fisheries, and maintain small-scale fishing communities. Among these three areas, 'maintaining small-scale fishing communities' considers food security and viable livelihood of local fishing communities. The definition of food security is not only about ensuring that people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all time, it is also about the right to food. Generally speaking, maintaining small-scale fishing communities is an important path to maintain seafood security and justice that all humans have an access to adequate and good quality seafood.
Since seafood is an important ecosystem service provided by coastal waters and ocean ecosystems and is a primary source of protein for close to a billion people, it has the potential to contribute to food security for the growing global population by supporting diets and nutrition, and indirectly, by providing a source of cash income for the purchase of staple foods and other essential goods and services. However, maintaining its continuous production from both aquaculture and fisheries for seafood and nutrition security has been a complex issue of global significance and a real challenge including ecosystem disturbance, pollution, and the effects of climate change (i.e., ocean acidification and warming water).
To sum up, while ‘Slow fish’ may enhance eating pleasure, it can maintain seafood security – having sustainable seafood to access.