Senior science and management representatives from leading fishing nations will head to the Gulf of Mexico to discuss the state of fisheries and the sustainability of seafood at the second annual Science and Sustainability Forum. Photo: Jim Gossen/GSI
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
Senior science and management representatives from leading fishing nations will head to the Gulf of Mexico to discuss the state of fisheries and the sustainability of seafood at the second annual Science and Sustainability Forum (SSF).
“Sustainability is the result of a well-designed and implemented management system and sustainability assessments should focus on the system, not on a snapshot of individual stock status or fishing level at any given point in time,” said Thor Lassen, president of Ocean Trust and co-host of the forum. Photo: Ocean Trust
The 2014 forum to review the status, trends and advancements in seafood sustainability will be held in New Orleans on October 27-29.
The forum features a distinguished list of presenters on fisheries sustainability as well as new initiatives that aim to validate the fishery management systems and the sustainability of seafood managed under those systems. It is open to scientists, managers, seafood industry representatives and companies, stakeholder organizations and press from around the world.
“Sustainability is the result of a well-designed and implemented management system and sustainability assessments should focus on the system, not on a snapshot of individual stock status or fishing level at any given point in time,” said Thor Lassen, president of Ocean Trust and co-host of the forum. “We need to rationalize seafood sustainability assessments by taking a systematic approach on a national and international level as we did in assuring seafood safety.”
Past major findings from the SSF have included “red listed” species by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s), including some in the Gulf of Mexico, are actually from well-managed sustainable fisheries, scientific data and terminology are being misinterpreted to incorrectly describe the state of fisheries, and most fish stocks where there is existing data are sustainably managed.
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Presentations at the Crescent City gathering will include Brian Rothschild, associate professor, Department of Fisheries Oceanography School for Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Photo: UMass
“Many Gulf fisheries are short-lived, coastally dependent species driven by annual environmental fluctuations,” continued Lassen. “The fisheries are quite different from those found in temperate waters and open oceans. Fortunately, resource managers in the Gulf have adopted practical approaches to ensure fishery sustainability in the subtropical ecosystem Gulf fisheries thrive in.”
The forum will discuss the topics of bycatch, forage fish, tuna, Antarctic and Southern Ocean fisheries, as well as fishery and aquaculture partnerships addressing sustainability. The FAO’s Committee on Fisheries Chair will also give a presentation on FAO’s current global initiatives.
“Speakers and participants at this conference are seafood experts we know and work with on a regular basis,” said Bob Gill, a Gulf Seafood Institute Florida board member. “It is good to see the conference have a Gulf focus this year tied to sustainability. That’s what the Gulf fisheries are all about”
The Science and Sustainability Forum is cosponsored by Ocean Trust and the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists. For more information visit www.oceantrust.org or www.aifrb.org.
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