Middle East pesce?

Fishers in Bahrain have just gone on strike, protesting declining fish stocks and environmental quality.  The island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia has seen fish stocks decline in response to land development.

While the latest protests seem to center around land development, the shrimp industry was damaged in 1991 because of oil spills related to the Gulf War – another incident showing the connection between land and water.  Events less catastrophic, such as erosion, declining water quality, and habitat loss, can be equally devastating to sustainable management of aquatic resources.

The story is unfolding, but click here to read about the story from a regional English newspaper.

Beer helps create sustainable fisheries

It’s not quite turning water into wine, but turning beer scum into fish is still pretty impressive.

Entrepreneurs at Oberon FMR have developed a method to use the otherwise useless (and expensive to dispose) byproducts of beer manufacturing to create food for farmed fish.  The innovative solution takes an existing waste product and converts it to a desperately needed replacement for fish meal.

On a global scale, aquaculture still relies too heavily on wild-caught seafood to feed farmed fish, contributing to the problem of overfishing.  Oberon FMR sidesteps the wild fish by using the remnants of barley and hops to create protein using bacteria; this protein is used to create a fish food without the heavy ecological toll of harvesting more fish.  According to the company, the process becomes even more sustainable to implement because it requires little in the way of new equipment – most of the basic requirements already exist in water treatment plants.

The young company has attracted attention recently and recently won the grand prize at a biotech venture capital contest. It’s a good example of a using science to create more sustainable protein sources, as well as a nice example of a green business (Colorado’s New Belgium Brewery) helping to foster innovation by providing the raw materials used in the pilot study.

Sting uncovers black market in Washington

It’s a story straight out of a spy novel: it begins in a sleepy town, where government agents assume local names and cautiously enter a thriving black market.  Several million dollars change hands.  With the some helpful advice from a coroner, it ends in an upscale Georgetown neighborhood and winds up covered in the Washington Post.  

But instead of foreign intelligence agencies and military secrets, the case revolves around a delicious bass.  

As reported in the Washington Post, Maryland fishers have been charged with illegally harvesting rockfish, or striped bass, from the Chesapeake Bay.  While there’s a legitimate market for these fish, the case revolved around the size of the fish caught and the methods by which they were caught.

As with many species of fish, the oldest and largest striped bass are the most important for reproducing.  To protect these fish and ensure robust future generations, there’s an open slot length for striped bass: fish that are too small cannot be caught, and neither can the large, older fish so valuable for maintaining a healthy population.  The fishers charged are accused of knowingly taking the protected breeders.  The fish were also likely to have been caught with nets, which are banned, instead of hook and line.

These illegally harvested fish were then passed on to markets and unknowing consumers, highlighting one of the great difficulties of protecting fish: by the time a consumer is staring at a restaurant menu or looking at a cut of fish at the market, it’s virtually impossible for them to know how the fish was caught.  So in the nexus of policy-makers and wonkishly-informed consumers that is Washington, even the most conscientious shoppers would have no idea they were contributing to unsustainable fishing practices by eating striped bass.

The engaging story can be read in full at the Washington Post’s website.

An ocean victory

Climate change is already producing dramatic changes in Arctic ecosystems.  In response to this, commercial fishing and conservation groups have agreed to close over 150,000 square miles of the Arctic sea to commercial fishing.

It’s a smart move because the ecosystem is changing rapidly, making it difficult to predict the impact any fishing might have.  The protected area has only recently been accessible as sea ice has melted in recent years, so the agreement will not affect areas of the Arctic sea that are currently fished.

It’s heartening to see commercial fishing interests and conservation groups reach such an agreement, and it should be good news for all.  Click here to read more details.

Sustainably delicious

Taking a page from farmers, American fishermen are offering their local communities shares in their catch through community supported fisheries.  By purchasing a share at the beginning of the season, consumers get an allotment of fresh seafood each week directly from the folks on the boat.  It’s a promising example of how sustainability, buying locally, and supporting small businesses can interact.

While less widespread than community supported agriculture, coastal communities like those in  North Carolina and Maine can enjoy the benefits of tremendously fresh seafood while also doing something good.  Here’s a quick run-down of the benefits this model has over more traditional seafood harvest and distribution:

First, it’s a good way for small-scale fishermen to have a more reliable and more livable income.  As fish stocks worldwide are declining, smaller operations in traditional fishing towns have suffered; most of the growth in the industry comes from huge ships operating in remote and dangerous seas.  Community supported fisheries provide local boats money at a critical time and can provide fishermen with a higher price for their catch than merchants.

Second, the structure promotes sustainability – to an extent.  The history of commercial fishing has largely failed to ensure fish harvests in a given area remain abundant from one generation to the next.  But community supported fisheries promotes a greater bond between consumers and local fishermen, and also gives fishermen a greater sense of economic security – both good steps to prevent overharvest.  While there’s no guarantee all such operations will be sustainable, it at least provides the right kind of environment for it to succeed.

Lastly, community supported fisheries are changing the way people view seafood.  It’s much easier to be disconnected from ocean life because it’s often out of sight, miles from shore and yards beneath the surface.  Connecting consumers with the changes in seafood with seasons, weather and climate emphasizes the importance of maintaining healthy oceans in the same way gardening helps people realize how the natural world affects their plants.  Out of sight usually means out of mind – and for the oceans, that’s usually bad news.

It’s good for fishermen, better for the sea and good news for those who like their seafood as fresh as can be.

Greening the stimulus

There are two things the proposed economic stimulus package should do, in the very broadest sense:

1) foster economic growth

2) foster lasting economic growth

Sound obvious?  Not necessarily, and that’s where a healthy dose of ecology and science can be valuable.  

American prosperity in the last decade and the American recession of the past year seem to hinge on the rapid increase of real estate and complex, poorly-regulated financial arrangements based on homeowner debt.  In other words, there was a great deal of wealth created without any tangible goods, services, or knowledge behind them.

During the same decade of sky-rocketing American home prices, the rest of the world was entering a period where the competition for limited resources (oil, natural gas) and the effects of using those resources (climate change, pollution) became the greatest threats to the well-being of humanity as a whole.  So as American politicians consider the best way to stimulate the economy, creating economic growth based on tangible goods and services that increase our quality of life seems a sensible solution.

What does this have to do with science and ecology?  First, we need a solid grasp on ecology to understand how our choices impact things like the climate, our agricultural lands, and the oceans.  This doesn’t mean the stimulus should include gobs of earmarks for ecological studies; instead, we should view the stimulus package through an ecological lens to make sure it helps get us closer to a sustainable future.

Secondly, none of the natural resources on earth offers the same riches as our scientific potential.  And if Americans are going to produce some sort of goods and services they can sell abroad, the smart money says it will be the result of accumulated knowledge based in the minds of its scientists and entrepreneurs.  

Making the stimulus more green isn’t just a hip idea – it might be the smartest way to create growth and to begin tackling the biggest challenges we face in the 21st century.

A farmer, a biologist, and the future of civilization

Our ability to feed ourselves rests on the ability to nourish the soils that provide the plants that we and our food animals eat.  While many other issues are important, there are probably none as immediately linked to our survival as this.

For this reason, a recent op-ed discussing soil and agriculture by a farmer and a plant biologist was much more interesting than it might sound.  Along with supplying clean freshwater, managing soil and agricultural land is the bedrock of our civilization – and their viewpoint is well worth the time it takes to read.

It’s also a good illustration of the importance of ecology in our daily lives.  By understanding how plants, soil, and erosion are related, we can better protect the precious soil that nourishes us.  Crafting smart policies in farm bills to help this process are an important part of this, and ecologists and farmers have a large role to play.

President Bush, conservationist

Give credit where it’s due: in the last days in office, President Bush has cemented his legacy of marine conservation.  In designating nearly 200,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean and islands a marine national monument, Mr. Bush has preserved a massive, vibrant chunk of one of the world’s most overlooked and threatened ecosystems.

Globally, oceans are being pushed to the brink by overfishing, which is changing the way these ecosystems function.  The announcement of the monument is a bright spot, for several reasons:

- Marine conservation has lagged behind terrestrial conservation.  By preserving such a wide swath of habitat, the United States has taken an important step to increase the amount of oceans protected globally.

- The monument fosters species threatened elsewhere and preserves intact populations of large predators.  In degraded areas, most of the large, predatory species have been severely depleted.  Sharks and other vital species are present in good numbers; it’s critical to preserve such areas where the natural balance of species is intact.

- The area protected includes some of the most productive spots in the Pacific.  Though immense, large portions of the Pacific Ocean have low densities of marine life.  The monument preserves a bountiful area.

It’s not the first time Mr. Bush has acted with foresight: in 2006, he created the slightly smaller Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.  Together, the two monuments are probably the most important contribution any president has made to oceans and marine life.  Environmental organizations like the Pew Environmental Group were quick to praise the action.  

Click here to read the account in the New York Times.

When mundane becomes exciting: Dr. Lubchenco goes to Washington

Like an iPod hidden in a pair of socks, sometimes exciting news comes wrapped in a less-than-exhilarating package.  An incoming president’s selection of a person to run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) usually garners the same amount of excitement as, say, a pair of tube socks.  But when Jane Lubchenco was announced as the new administration’s pick for the job, it caused a stir.

Lubchenco, a professor at Oregon State University, has an impressive background: former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a 1993 MacArthur fellow, and a highly cited scientist.  But it’s more than just a matter of appointing another brilliant mind to a government post.  

It’s the combination of Lubchenco’s knowledge, policy chops, awareness of global issues, and symbolic change the selection represents that makes this otherwise bland announcement newsworthy.  

As a scientist, Lubchenco has been heavily involved with helping scientists become important contributors to public affairs.  As the person tapped to look after oceans and the atmosphere, two tremendously vital realms of our existence that get scant public attention, the ability to communicate science to lawmakers and the public is a useful skill.  

At a time when global issues like climate change and depleted fisheries are reaching a critical point for billions of people, scientists are going to play a large role.  Since America is home to the best universities and many of the world’s best scientific minds, Lubchenco’s selection also sends the message that America is going to be an active player in this struggle.

NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce, which has helped to create the impression that marine life is merely something to be bought and sold.  This ignores the ecological complexity of oceans – and without knowledge of how the ecology of marine life operates, there’s no way to preserve the sources of seafood upon which hundreds of millions of people (and huge parts of the global economy) depend.  Lubchenco’s nomination means America is starting to take a long-term perspective on the increasingly diminishing capacity of the oceans to feed us.

A great scientist with a solid grasp of communicating with the public and running the world’s largest scientific organization – you don’t need to be a scientist or a policy wonk to appreciate a smart choice like that.