World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2021 33 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 3 4 ) nothing,” as it is important to remember that more than 99 percent of seaweed aquaculture remains concentrated in Asia. Consequently, extractive aquaculture needs to be more evenly distributed worldwide in an attempt at balancing fed aquaculture. It seems that, even in Asia, putting some seaweeds in shrimp operations in Vietnam, and some fish cages among eucheumatoid farms in the Philippines could be a good idea to avoid the extremes (overly eutrophic or oligotrophic conditions). This exemplifies the old adage “everything in moderation” and highlights the merits of the IMTA concept that needs to be adopted more universally for enhanced overall productivity, improved resource-use efficiency, reduced impacts on the environment and improved water quality by removing waste materials and lowering nutrient loads (FAO 2020). Recommendation#6 Instead of going through these boom-and-bust seaweed cycles, we recommend more sustainable economic cycles in the long-term by avoiding untenable promises. The multitude of applications using seaweeds is certainly amazing, but seaweeds cannot be the silver bullet for everything. Moreover, one cannot want to permanently remove carbon from our ecosystems and produce fertilizers, feed, food, ingredients, cosmeceuticals, medicines and other high value- added products at the same time, with the same rawmaterial, when market forces drive their uses towards the most lucrative applications in the absence of subsidies, grants and philanthropy. Recommendation#7 Unless societies are ready to put some grand subsidy scheme in place— such as seriously increased trading taxes on the externalities not yet internalized and implementing some robustly financed trading credits to reflect the ecosystem services provided by nature and extractive aquaculture, pretty much “free of charge” thus far — there will be no financial incentives for seaweed farmers/harvesters to direct the sale of their biomass towards carbon sequestration to the deep ocean. The schemes for taxes or credits of nutrients (which include carbon as it should also be considered a nutrient) need to be seriously re-evaluated to calculate the true values of the ecosystem services rendered by some species and to those who use them. Moreover, wanting to develop seaweed biofuels is still basing our society on the C (carbon) element that we have to move away from. It is time to embrace other sources of energy, being solar, wind, hydrodynamic, or hydrogen (the H element), recognizing that, perhaps, none will be the silver bullet, but combined could be a major source of our energy needs. Recommendation#8 We should realize that we are still in the infancy of western IMTA. Science and society need time to think and evolve. The adoption of IMTA and its key inorganic component, the seaweeds, will not happen overnight, especially in aquaculture’s new geographies that presently prefers monocultures, linear processes and short-term profits. We will need patience, determination and persistence for people to see the environmental, economic and societal advantages of growing complementary species together, creating circular economy processes and seeking sustainability in the long term. Lastly, please stop the stupid childishChinabashing These have devolved into silly, testosterone-laden trade wars and bullying and led to accelerated racismworldwide. To illustrate how stupid trade wars are, look at the recent example of American lobster fishery. In the Northwest Atlantic, where we live, we are watching the movement of coldwater species north with accelerated climate change. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018- 2019 had their highest American lobster catches ever, while Maine lobster harvests were down ~30 percent. But the markets of Canada and Maine are connected to each other, and to China. Canadian processors buy Maine lobsters, as they have different seasons and regulations. The market for live and whole cooked lobsters to China has exploded in recent years; that is, until the stupid trade wars and tariffs were put into place. With USA lobster trade to China cut, Canadian processors bought more Maine lobsters; these lobsters then acquired a “Canadian passport” and were exported to… China. In aquaculture, the last visit we made to China was in 2018, and we witnessed aquaculture suffering in its traditional spaces from coastal urbanization and marine pollution. Aquaculture’s future in China looks to be super-intensive RAS in big buildings and offshore systems outside of its polluted coastal zones. China may soon exceed the USA as the world’s largest ocean food importers driven by development and the demands of its large, growing and rapidly aging middle class. At the same time, China offers many opportunities for global sustainability if radical transformation of green logistics and electrification advance rapidly. China’s development of its scientific and education institutions in aquaculture has been stunning; these offer enormous opportunities for aquaculture partnerships (and for students) from throughout the world, not only in China, but for all of us to access its deep understanding, creativity and rapid change in aquaculture. China’s socio-economic and business models do not transfer well at present to aquaculture’s new geographies. But the very fundamentals of our system thinking, ecological aquaculture, the ecosystem approach to aquaculture and IMTA originate in China. We have a lot to learn about China’s rapidly changing “innovation ecosystem” in aquaculture (Newton et al. 2021). Notes Barry Antonio Costa-Pierce (aka “BCP”, “Pierce”) received a Ph.D. in Oceanography and Aquaculture from the University of Hawai’i and an M.Sc . in Zoology and Limnology from the University of Vermont. Currently he is the Henry L. &Grace Doherty Professor of Ocean Food Systems and Program Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Ocean Food Systems, School of Marine & Environmental Programs, University of New England in Maine, USA, and President/CEO of the Ecological Aquaculture Foundation LLC. Thierry Chopin is, in 2021, celebrating 40 years of involvement in the seaweed world which he joined at the bottom of a wave during a period of “purgatory” between two “hype crests.” He got his passion for seaweeds from a wonderful educator and mentor, Dr. Jean-Yves Floc’h, who also became his doctoral supervisor. It has been pretty lonely at conferences, professional meetings, university curriculum development meetings, etc. always being