Madagascar: No more fish? We'll farm seaweed instead

Local fisheries have been struggling to keep up with major manufacturers. Sustainable fishing practices have been countering that by creating Niche markets.

In Myanmar, aquaculture production from medium-sized freshwater farms is growing and could be an important and sustainable supplier of food for the world’s growing population. Aquaculture businesses are thriving in Southeast Asia despite the decline of wild fisheries — the acreage of cultivated fishponds in some regions has expanded by more than 250 percent. While some environmentalists argue that it damages ecosystems, research suggests that freshwater aquaculture have a much lower environmental impact than marine fish farming.

Increasing salinization of water sources and droughts as a result of climate change have threatened traditional agricultural practices in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. But The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Netherlands Development Agency are helping teach farmers to adapt by showing them how to work with the saltier waters, establishing organic shrimp farms instead of growing rice and preserving the valuable mangroves that protect their coastline from storms.

Coastal Shellfish, an Indigenous aquaculture company in British Columbia, is focusing on sustainable food and food security through its product Great Bear Scallops. This is the first project funded by the Costal Funds trust set up by donors, governments, and First Nations to support sustainable Indigenous-led businesses. The company has been selling scallops to several local businesses like restaurants and breweries.

In Jamaica, locally-led coral nurseries are working to restore the coral reef that have been lost to natural and manmade disasters. These organizations have small coral gardens where they can grow free of danger and when they’re big enough, are transported to a reef. With coral and fish being so codependent in the underwater ecosystem, the regrowth of coral has meant an increase of fish and fishing for the country, which many people rely on for their livelihood.

Algaculture offers a sustainable and empowering alternative to rice farming in coastal areas of India threatened by sea level rise. With the assistance of The Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research and the South Asian Forum for Environment, women engage in algae farming training workshops. Harvesting algae like a crop provides a vital source of additional income to women, who are often the caretakers of their family.

A community-based seafood program called Fiishadelphia is the first community supported fishery run by high-school students in the city. They offer locally harvested and affordable seafood to a diverse customer base with an emphasis on accessibility for those experiencing economic hardship. The major cost is the distribution, delivery, and operation of the program, but so far, they have purchased 5,000 pounds of various types of fish and 25,000 pounds of shellfish and have connected community members directly to the suppliers.

Fishers, researchers, and managers came together to create Torre Guaceto, a marine reserve off the coast of Italy. The area was previously exploited, but because of this cooperative management project, biodiversity has recovered. Fishers enter the reserve once a week for their catch and usually make up $10,000 a day, which is more than other Mediterranean fishers. While some illegal fishing still happens at night, the dialogue between key stakeholders was crucial to developing the reserve’s sustainable fishing model.

The world's oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is a positive thing in the face of climate change for those living on land, but can harm the animals that rely on certain acidification levels of ocean waters. When it became apparent off the coasts of Oregon and Washington that oysters and other sea life with a shell or a skeleton were suffering the ramifications, researchers created a sensor that could detect acidification levels that could warn oyster growers of potentially harmful areas.

Coral reefs play a vital role in the ecosystem, but are facing a dire future in many parts of the world. In Jamaica, however, "grassroots-run coral nurseries and fish sanctuaries" have been established over the last decade, which has helped bring reefs in this area back to life.