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The MAP News, 181st Ed., 19 February 2007
Dear Friends,
This is the 181st Edition of the Mangrove Action Project News. Most of us now realize that there is a clear link between human behaviour and global warming. Now, it is time we make the same connection between human behaviour and serious reduction of global warming. This is our urgent challenge that we as concerned world citizens and activists must face and demand our world leaders and dcision makers to address.
Alfredo Quarto,
Mangrove Action Project
MAP's Mission: Partnering with mangrove forest communities, grassroots NGOs, researchers and local governments to conserve and restore mangrove forests and related coastal ecosystems, while promoting community-based, sustainable management of coastal resources.
Back Issues available!
Note: The latest issues of the MAP News are available on MAP's Website.
Contents for MAP NEWS, 181st Edition
FEATURE STORY
'Dire warning' issued over global climate change
MAP WORKS
MAP Co-Sponsors Ecological Mangrove Restoration Workshop In Sri Lanka
"Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration" training workshop, March 5-8, 2007, Hollywood, Florida.
Entries Called For Next MAP 2008 Children's Art Calendar Contest
MAP 2007 Calendar Still Availkable (A Good Way To Support MAP)
AFRICA
Ghana urges banks to support aquaculture
Thailand
Thai shrimp exporters fear new health rules in Australia
Thai shrimp farmers protest against Australian import rules
Indonesia
Indonesia May Lose 2,000 Islands to Climate Change
Indonesian green group criticizes "dim past" of govt format of marine resource development
The Philippines
Expedition presents thousands of new marine species found In the Philippines
Malaysia
Shrimp ponds abandoned worldwide
Vietnam
Certified Shrimp Label For Vietnam Firm
India
How climate change hits India's poor
Brazil
Brazil Amazon Lost 13% of Virgin Forest in 2000-2003
Ecuador
WTO panel finds US duties on Ecuadorean shrimp imports break trade rules
TOURISM: FOR WHOSE BENEFIT?
US Virgin Islands
Mangrove Clean-up at the Cas-Cay Mangrove Lagoon Marine Sanctuary
USA
U.S. salmon consumption climbs; tuna, shrimp fall
Trees Take on Greenhouse Gases at Super Bowl
Canada
City park concessions to sell only sustainably caught seafood
STORIES/ISSUES
Seas Rising Faster than U.N. Predicts - Study
Naturland to launch wild-fish eco-label
CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS & PUBLICATIONS
AQUACULTURE CORNER
B.C. government proceeds with new open net-cage salmon farm in besieged Broughton Archipelago
Permit Sought For Testing Fused Fish/ Plant Material For Aquaculture Feed
Mixed news on Chinese farmed fish
'Dire warning' issued over global climate change
By Jon Land
The world's top scientists today issued the direst warnings yet about the threat from climate change.
After six years of research, they predict the average world temperature will rise by about three degrees by the end of the century - with potentially devastating consequences for melting ice caps and rising sea levels.
They also make the strongest causal link so far between human behaviour and global warming.
The evidence in a new report published in Paris has the finest pedigree - the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which draws together 2,500 scientists from more than 130 countries.
The study highlights the strengthening international scientific conviction that human activity is largely responsible for the rise in the Earth's surface temperature.
The IPCC's previous assessment in 2001 rated the link between the warming planet and the actions of its inhabitants as "likely" - IPCC-speak for a probability rate of 66-90%.
The new report revises that to "very likely" - a greater than 90% chance that mankind is to blame.
That adds credence to those who insist that the recent unseasonal warm spells are more than simply atmospheric blips.
The London-based International Institute for Environment and Development said the IPCC report delivered "the most conclusive evidence yet" that human activities are causing dangerous climate change."
Institute Director Camilla Toulmin said: "It shows in stark erms that time is running out to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to help vulnerable communities prepare for the impacts ahead, some of which are already unavoidable.
"While the developing countries have contributed least to the problem, they will suffer most from effects such as rising sea levels, droughts and flooding. A collective failure to correct this global injustice is likely to trigger social, political, economic and environmental problems that will be felt around the world."
Ms Toulmin added: "The scientific and moral arguments for urgent action are now over. It is up to political and business leaders, as well as citizens around the world, to seize this challenge and work together to tackle the biggest challenge that humanity has ever faced."
Source:
Dash.co
From: icsf@icsf.net
MAP Co-Sponsors Ecological Mangrove Restoration Workshop In Sri Lanka
MAP in co-sponsorship with the SewaLanka Foundation will be leading two workshops in Sri Lanka entitled, "Community Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration Training Programme" whereby local mangrove restoration practitioners, local NGOs and community members will participate in learning the basic principles of ecological mangrove restoration (EMR) techniques. MAP firmly believs only such a long-term, more holistic six-step approach to mangrove restoration will weork. Otherwise, too often restoration projects will fail for lack of proper approach to restoration issues, including hydrology, siting and actual methods employed. As well, a community-based approach is imperative to a successful approach.
The workshops will take place early next month at the Sewalanka's District Training Centre, Ampara, Sri Lanka
From Jim Enright
mapasia@loxinfo.co.th
===========
"Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration" training workshop, March 5-8, 2007, Hollywood, Florida.
The fifth "Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration" training workshop will be held at the Anne Kolb Nature Center, in Hollywood, Florida, USA, March 5-8, 2007. The training site is within a 500 ha mangrove restoration project at West Lake Park operated by Broward County. The award-winning project was designed by Roy R. "Robin" Lewis III, who will be teaching the course.
The workshop includes an introduction to mangrove forest ecology, management options and problems, and restoration design issues. The class programs are all given in a PowerPoint format, and each student is provided with a print out of the presentation and additional handouts including monitoring reports for typical restoration projects. Case studies of 5 successful mangrove restoration projects, and several unsuccessful projects, are discussed. Field trips are taken within the 500 ha West Lake Park mangrove restoration project (now 17 years old) and a new project just four years old, for a comparison.
The emphasis is on cost-effective successful mangrove management and restoration, and cost figures for typical projects are discussed and explained. The hydrologic restoration of mangroves is emphasized as the best approach to successful restoration at minimal cost (see Erftemeijer and Lewis 2000; Lewis 1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2005; Lewis and Marshall 1998; Lewis and Streever 2000; Lewis et al. 2005, Stevenson et al. 1999; and Turner and Lewis 1997, for further discussion about hydrologic restoration of mangroves). Planting of mangroves is discussed in light of the many failures of this alone to successfully restore mangroves.
Cost for the course not including travel to Ft. Lauderdale, lodging or food is $750, due by January 1, 2007. Two qualified students will be allowed to attend for free, and can apply at any time for the two fee-waived positions. This course is organized by the Coastal Resources Group, Inc., and will be taught in conjunction with the Mangrove Action Project (www.earthisland.org/map).
More information can be provided by Robin Lewis at
LESRRL3@aol.com
and
www.mangroverestoration.com.
From: LESrrl3@aol.com
===========
Entries Called For Next MAP 2008 Children's Art Calendar Contest
January 2007
Dear Friends of the Mangroves,
We are sponsoring our seventh international children's art competition and would like to invite children in your country to enter this contest and learn more about the important roles that mangrove forests play.
Specifically we would like you to contact schools and teachers in your area and provide them with information regarding this contest, and also to act as a liaison between MAP and the local schools as a resource person regarding mangrove and ecological information. In addition, we would ask you to collect the winners from each school participating within your country, and send the three best entries on to MAP at the above address for the final judging, and possible inclusion in the calendar. We must receive the art work by April 15, 2007
This provides an opportunity for participating NGOs to build relationships with teachers and to provide school children with environmental information. Educating children in the importance of mangrove and coastal ecosystems is critical to effecting long term change. Without current information, current generations will grow up placing little value on the environment (as modeled by their parents) unless they are given new eyes with which to see coastal ecosystems and mangrove forests.
We have attached information that is ready to have your name added as the local contact representative and duplicated for distribution to teachers in your country. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance in helping you implement this exciting educational project in your country. We will send all student winners, particpating NGOs and schools copies of our calendar as well.
Yours sincerely,
Monica Gutierrez-Quarto, , Calendar Project Coordinator
Please contact Monica Gutierrez-Quarto for more information at monicagquarto@olympus.net
===========
MAP 2007 Calendar Still Available (A Good Way To Support MAP)
Don't delay in ordering your new MAP 2007 children's mangrove art calendar before they run out, we have limited stock on hand and they are always in great demand. In addition, they make wonderful stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts, so order in time to receive them before the end of the year. Better yet, give a gift membership to MAP along with the calendar.....
Yes, MAP's new Children's Mangrove Art 2007 Calendars are now available for ordering. These calendars are produced from school art competitions from primary school children from over 12 nations. We have artwork from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean included. Any donation of $35 or more qualifies the donor for an annual membership with a free calendar! Please give generously today!
You can help MAP stay in this fight for a mangrove future by becoming a donating subscriber today! Check our website for details (www.earthisland.org/map) or contact: mangroveap@olympus.net
Ghana urges banks to support aquaculture
Mrs Gladys Asmah, Ghana's Minister of Fisheries, on Wednesday appealed to financial institutions to set up an Aquaculture Development Fund to assist entrepreneurs who desired to go into fish farming.
She said fish farming had the potential to overtake the production from marine fishing since the ocean was gradually becoming depleted due to overfishing.
Mrs Asmah said this when she interacted with some members of the Council of State led by Professor Adzei Bekoe, Chairman, and officials of some of the financial institutions during a visit to Tropo Farms Limited, a commercial aquaculture farm at Asutuare in the Eastern Region.
Tropo Farms is a private investment that started producing tilapia about four years ago with a harvesting capacity of between 12 tonnes to 14 tonnes of fish every fortnight with some fishes weighing as much as a kilogram and more and was mostly patronized by hotels and restaurants operators.
Mrs Asmah said investments in fish farming had the potentials of increasing the country's GDP since about 10 per cent of the land surface was covered with water and there were a number of land areas that could also be conveniently used for fish farming without interfering with crop farming productions.
She said the biggest problem facing investors was access to credit facilities, which the banks were unwilling to give hence the need for the firsthand exposure for bankers and Council of State members for them to appreciate that there were potentials in the aquaculture industry.
Source:
GNA
From: icsf@icsf.net
Thailand
Thai shrimp farmers protest against Australian import rules
A group of 50 shrimp farmers from the south of Thailand submitted a letter to a representative of the Australian embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday protesting against Canberra's new import rules.
A group led by Thai Marine Shrimp Farmers' Association president Surapol Pratuangtum requested that the Australian government re-consider its implementation of new import risk analysis (IRA) procedures to block shrimp imports from Thailand.
Australia recently released a draft import risk analysis (IRA) paper regarding new standards imposed on shrimp imports. It requires certifications to guarantee that Thai shrimp products are free from marine diseases.
Claiming that Thai shrimps contained five strains of virus, the measure provided that concerned agencies submit a confirmation of their enforcing corrective measures for the safety of consumers no later than 21 February before the analysis is approved and takes effect.
Based on the fact that free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and Australia is now taking effect, Thai shrimp farmers said that the Australian measure is unfair for Thailand. In fact, the Thai side said, the measure is to protect their own approximately 100 shrimp farms. Moreover. the about 300,000 Thai shrimp farmers will be affected by this measure. Meanwhile they urged the Thai government to negotiate and press for the Australian government.
Jaranthada Karnasuta, director-general of the Fisheries Department, said last week that a working group had already prepared information on Thai shrimp and farming standards and will submit the document to Australian agencies involved when they meet on February 15.
Thailand's shrimp exports are currently valued at 80 billion baht (US$2.4 bn), with statistics showing that last year's shrimp export to Australia is an estimated 2 billion baht ($60 mn). Thailand is the number one exporter of shrimp to Australia. If the measure is removed, Mr Surapol said, Thailand's shrimp exports to Australia will have a bright future.
Source:
TN
From: icsf@icsf.net
==========
Thai shrimp exporters fear new health rules in Australia
Thai shrimp farmers have urged the government to speed up negotiations with Australia over its proposed health and safety standard before it comes into effect on February 21.
Dr Surapol Pratuangtum, president of the Thai Marine Shrimp Farmers' Association, said he feared the new measure would act as another technical barrier for shrimp exports from Thailand, the largest supplier in the Australian market.
Australia has recently released a draft import risk analysis (IRA) paper about new standards imposed on shrimp imports. It requires certifications to guarantee that Thai shrimp products are free from marine diseases.
Earlier, Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives said that it would set up an ad hoc working group to prepare information on Thai shrimp and farming standards for submission to Biosecurity Australia before the new rules are enacted later this month.
Dr Surapol urged the Thai authorities to speed up the talk as time was running short. He said Thai shrimp has gained a significant market share in Australia in recent years as its quality, taste and price is superior to rival products.
The new standards would put a brake on the industry's growth, he said, adding that about 30 domestic shrimp farmers in Australia would be key beneficiaries.
Despite the free trade agreement between the two countries, Thai shrimp continues to face mounting trade restrictions, Dr Surapol said.
Source:
TNA
From: icsf@icsf.net
==========
Indonesia
Indonesia May Lose 2,000 Islands to Climate Change
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INDONESIA: January 30, 2007
JAKARTA - Indonesia could lose about 2,000 islands by 2030 due to climate change, the country's environment minister said on Monday.
Rachmat Witoelar said studies by UN experts showed that sea levels were expected to rise about 89 centimetres in 2030 which meant that about 2,000 mostly uninhabited small islets would be submerged.
"We are still in a better position. Island countries like Saint Lucia, Fiji and the Bahamas would likely disappear," he told Reuters.
Indonesia, which consists of 17,000 islands, has been trying to avert such a scenario by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and switching to bio-fuels, he said.
"We are optimistic it can be prevented. Switching to bio-fuels is not only good for the environment but also will benefit us economically considering the volatile state of oil prices," he said.
Biofuels can be substituted for fossil fuels and are seen as a way to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases which are believed to contribute to global warming.
A major UN conference on climate change will be held in the Indonesian island of Bali in December.
A draft UN report due to be released in Paris on Feb. 2 projects a big rise in temperatures this century and warns of more heat waves, floods, droughts and rising seas linked to greenhouse gases.
World leaders signed a UN Climate Convention in 1992 with an overriding goal of stabilising greenhouse gases at levels preventing "dangerous (human) interference with the climate system".
However, it did not define "dangerous" and the issue has been a vexed point in efforts to slow climate change ever since.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the UN plan for fighting global warming, 35 industrial nations have agreed to cut emissions by 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.
US President George W. Bush pulled the United States out of the protocol in 2001, saying it would damage the US economy and wrongly exempted developing nations from the first phase.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
From: LESrrl3@aol.com
==========
Indonesian green group criticizes "dim past" of govt format of marine resource development
During the last one to two years, fisheries activities in Indonesia have been coloured by conflict. For instance, the Bengkalis Riau fishermen's conflict (May 2006), which in fact has been ongoing for 23 years. The Tambolongan-Selayar waters have a similar story; one fisherman dead and 38 others arrested (November 2005 -- March 2006). In Asahan Regency, North Sumatera, an anti-trawler fisherman was arrested (January 2006). The burning of a purse seine trawler ship by traditional fishermen in East Kalimantan (January 2006). These stories don't end. But what we can be sure of are the ecological, property, and human losses that have been suffered by traditional fishermen.
The Department of Seas and Fisheries (DKP) has published the results of an evaluation of its performance in the Indonesian Cabinet (KIB). The report, presented by Freddy Numberi, who was the Minister for Seas and Fisheries at the time, demonstrated the spirit for change prevailing at the start of 2006. In the data, fantastic numbers are mentioned that emphasize the success of the government in driving the acceleration of marine development in Indonesia during 2005. Unfortunately, the report is hardly comparable with the State of Indonesia's Environment 2005 released by the Ministry for the Environment. In this latter report, coastal resources are described as being in an alarming condition. For example, only 6 per cent of total coral reefs remain intact. Similarly with mangrove forests. A study by WALHI (Indonesian Forum for Environment/Friends of the Earth Indonesia) finds that, "the decline in the extent of mangrove forests has reached 4 per cent (about 200,000 ha) per year. At the end of 2006, the area of surviving mangrove forests is not more than 1.9 million ha".
The tragedy continues. Illegal fishing practices are yet to be overcome. Foreign ships freely roam in Indonesian waters, catching fish and taking these back to their countries. This is not a surprising. Based on the verification of the Directorate-General for Catch Fisheries DKP (March 2006), more than 94 per cent of deletion certificates (statement for transfer of ship ownership) were found to be false (AgroIndonesia, November 2006). Meanwhile the national losses due to these reach 30 trillion Rupiah (US$ 3.3 bn) per year, not taking into account the environmental damage caused by illegal fishing practices. Why does the problem continue to occur?
From the perspective of WALHI, there are three factors causing the marine crisis. First, a terrestrial-based development system continues to be applied. Second, a sectoral approach to management continues to be maintained. Third, the development of market-oriented economic policies. This is evident in the shrimp trade.
The country is willing to bear the loss of hundreds of thousands, even millions of hectares, of mangrove forests in order to fulfill its sectoral ambitions. Meanwhile, there appears to be little concern over the expenditure of billions of rupiah per year to rehabilitate and manage disasters caused by extinction of the coastal green-belt. Another issue is the goal to satisfy the requirements of the international (foreign) tourism market. For this, the government "can afford" to exclude traditional fishermen from their catch areas, using conservation as an excuse. This is a high price for coastal communities to pay.
Seven years is sufficient time to learn. The Department of Seas and Fisheries must progress from its dim past, improve itself, and find a format of marine resource development that provides benefits for each and every citizen without exception.
Source:
WALH
From: icsf@icsf.net
==========
The Philippines
Expedition presents thousands of new marine species found In the Philippines
By Josephine Roque
The Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project, a French-led expedition including 80 marine biologists, technicians, students and volunteers from 19 countries presented thousands of new species of marine animals found among the rich ocean wildlife in the Philippine island of Panglao.
The team presented more than 100 "holotypes" or the representative specimens of the rare finds to the Philippine National Museum.
"Numerous species were observed and photographed alive, many for the first time, and it is estimated that between 150 and 250 of the crustaceans and 1,500 to 2,500 of the mollusks are new species," said Philippe Bouchet of the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
"However, it requires a thorough comparison with all previously named species to ascertain if a novel species is indeed new to science. This is a slow and tedious process," he said.
The expedition results showed results of more than 1,200 species of decapod crustaceans and 6,000 species of mollusks.
Panglao Island, located 390 miles south-east of Manila, was chosen for the 2004-2005 expedition for its biodiversity which is renowned globally along with the South Pacific island of Santo and the rainforests and coral reefs of Panama.
"Panglao Island was picked as the site for the study because of the diversity of its marine habitats and convenient logistical facilities," Dr. Bouchet said.
"We expect that our results will feed new concepts into conservation biology and the protection of coral reefs which, together with rainforests, are the biologically richest ecosystems on Earth," he said.
Panglao is considered part of the Pacific "golden triangle" of the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea claimed to have the most comprehensive species of fish, corals, sponges and other marine invertebrates.
Source:
All Headline News
From: icsf@icsf.net
==========
Malaysia
SHRIMP PONDS ABANDONED WORLDWIDE
Nine thousand hectares of mangroves were lost to prawn farming yearly between 1980 and 1995. Maritime Institute Malaysia senior researcher Tan Kim Hooi said that the shrimp ponds only lasted between two and five years because after some years, the soil became too acidic and water quality deteriorated, lowering prawn yields. In recent years, however, a tighter rein has been put on aquaculture activities. Prawn farms are now supposed to be built further inland and away from the mangroves, and the good farms line the bottom of their ponds properly, said Tan. But the damage has been done, leaving the world with an estimated 250,000 hectares of abandoned shrimp ponds. Tan is among a growing pool of experts who suggest that mangrove replanting efforts should be focused on abandoned shrimp ponds.
Source:
New Straits Times
Jessica Lim
4 February 2007
From: Pew Ocean Science
pewoceanscience@MIAMI.EDU
==========
Vietnam
Certified Shrimp Label For Vietnam Firm
from Seafood.com
In other news, Amanda Foods Group announced it has received certification from the ACC for its shrimp farms, processing plant and hatchery in Vietnam, becoming the first 3-star certified shrimp operation in Asia. Existing 3-star certified suppliers have previously been companies in the Americas. The ACC, (Aquaculture Certification Council) is rapidly expanding the number of accredited certifiers working with suppliers, and recently ran a training course in Seattle attended by certifiers from shrimp producing regions all over the world.
From: Elaine Corets
manglar@comcast.net
India
How climate change hits India's poor
By Roger Harrabin , BBC environment analyst, Sundarbans
At the end of a ramshackle jetty where the Ganges flows from India into the sea, a small family group pays homage to the holy waters.
The chief celebrant, head swathed in a shawl, rings a bell and chants prayers as he floats an offering of flowers on to the muddy waves.
A small girl hammers at a gong as an older man - unshaven with a white vest and loincloth - sounds a conch shell.
Down the jetty someone hurls a deafening home-made firework to create a fountain of stinking mud.
The waters bring life - but here in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, the waters are also taking life away.
Land underwater
As sea level rises - partly as a response to climate change - two islands have vanished from the map.
Professor Sugata Hazra, a stocky dynamo of a man, discovered their disappearance when he compared maps from the Raj with satellite images. He says 6,000 people have had to be relocated here because their land is underwater.
People like Bashunto Janna. He is 81 now and says he has not got long to live. His family used to farm 85 acres on the vanished island of Lochachara. Now they have one acre in a village for displaced people on a nearby island, which itself is under threat from the waves.
The Sundarbans straddle India and Bangladesh.
Here on the Indian side, the Indian government is just about coping with the slowly unfolding crisis. Bashunto's adult children may hanker for life on the farm but at least they have homes and paid work.
But Professor Hazra warns that the way the sea is rising, by the end of the century there will not be thousands on the move along this coastline - there will be millions.
The problem is compounded by rapid population growth in the Sundarbans islands at the great delta in the Bay of Bengal.
Legendary tiger
The islands are remote and hard to access - making family planning and education all the harder - while more and more families are flocking into the most vulnerable areas to make a living from the sea.
As the waters rise it is expected that they will submerge the entire delta region, home to the legendary Bengal tiger..
From: BanglaPraxis
banglapraxis@gmail.com
==========
Rs2bn aquaculture, shrimp farming project planned
[2007-02-14]
PAKISTAN - In a bid to achieve the goal of food security and poverty alleviation in the country, the government has planned to initiate a mega project of aquaculture and shrimp farming worth Rs2.074 billion across the country. "The project would be initiated in all the federating units, AJK, Northern Areas with headquarters at Karachi and sub-office at Islamabad," a senior government official told The News.
Under the project, four new hatcheries would be established apart from renovating four existing hatcheries, setting up of 11 model shrimp farms (3 in Sindh and 8 in Balochistan), 6 model markets (2 in Punjab, 2 in Sindh and 1 in Balochistan and 1 in NWFP), cage culture at five sites along with construction of office accommodation of fisheries marine section in Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock at Islamabad.
"The required land would be provided by the provincial governments for hatcheries, model fish farms and model fish markets. However, land for office building of Fisheries Management Section is available at National Agriculture Research Council," the official said. The project also envisages promotion of shrimp farming on 2000 hectares of coastal land in Sindh and Balochistan.
Provincial governments will provide land for shrimp farming on lease to the private sector. The project would be implemented over a period of five years. The official said that project has been recommended by CDWP‚s last meeting to ECNEC for approval.
He said that the project would not only help improve socio-economic uplift of fisher folk, but also enhance domestic production of fish and shrimp.
To a question the official said that a Fisheries Development Board would be created in MINFAL to execute the project. "The project would be funded through federal PSDP and all the expenditures will be incurred through FDB." To a question he said that Rs40,000 million annually for FDB and Fisheries Management Wing, sale proceeds of shrimp and fish from 11 model shrimp farms and 500 cages established under the project will be used to finalise the cost.
"The recurring cost of hatcheries, model fish farms markets and cage culture established in the provinces will be borne by the respective provincial governments."
Source: thenews.com
From: Elaine Corets
manglar@comcast.net
Brazil
Brazil Amazon Lost 13% of Virgin Forest in 2000-2003
By Adriana Brasileiro
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg)
Brazil's Amazon region lost 13.3 percent of its virgin forest from 2000 to 2003, the government statistics agency IBGE said in a report.
Deforestation wiped out 665,945 square kilometers of original vegetation in the period as farmers developed cattle pastures and soybean farms at a time Brazilian exports surged to consecutive records. Logging has also been responsible for destruction of the forest. The deforested area is equivalent to the size of Italy and Germany together, the agency said.
``Deforestation has been responsible for changes in great potions of areas covered by native forest,'' Guido Gelli, director of Geoscience research at Brazil's statistics institute IBGE, said in a phone interview from Rio de Janeiro.
Gelli said the IBGE's report, based on 2003 data from satellite images and surveys, is the first comprehensive study on the impact of human development and economic activity in the region. The Amazon region has 25,000 kilometers of navigable rivers located in 7 million square kilometers, out of which 4 million square kilometers are located in Brazil.
He said growing farming in the region will probably continue to aggravate deforestation. Brazil's soybean production will rise 5 percent this year on favorable weather conditions and rising demand worldwide, according to IBGE data. Brazil, the world's second-largest soybean producer after the U.S., may harvest 54.9 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2007 calendar year, compared with 52.2 million tons in 2006, the IBGE said on its Web site. Soybeans are the second-largest commodity export in Brazil after iron ore.
Population Growth
Brazil's population in the Amazon is growing at the fastest pace in the country, the report also said.
The agency estimates the population in the Amazon, which includes 10 out of 27 states and represents 59 percent of Brazil's territory, will add 1.3 million people between 2005 and 2008, when it may reach 25 million. The average 10 percent growth rate in the region is higher than Brazil's average growth of 1.4 percent, the agency said. Brazil has 188 million people, according to IBGE.
Gelli said the region will continue to receive massive flows of migrant laborers looking for work in the Amazon's mines and soybean farms, which may further worsen deforestation in the region.
``It's worrisome and very hard to predict what the impact will be. People are still going to the Amazon in very large numbers to look for gold or work at the farms, and the region isn't prepared for that,'' he said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Adriana Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro at abrasileiro@bloomberg.net .
From: Kwon, Cheemin (FONL)
Cheemin.Kwon@fao.org
==========
Ecuador
WTO panel finds US duties on Ecuadorean shrimp imports break trade rules
United States antidumping duties on shrimp imports from Ecuador break international trade rules, a World Trade Organization panel said Tuesday.
In its 64-page report, the panel found that the duties the US imposed in February 2005 because of alleged price dumping by Ecuadorean exporters were inflated because of Washington's use of a practice known as "zeroing" to calculate whether the shrimp were being sold at below-cost price.
According to previous panel decisions, zeroing leads to inflated margins of dumping, and thus higher duties. The case, which was not contested by Washington, is now likely to go to the WTO's dispute settlement arm, which could request the US bring its antidumping measures into line with global trade rules. US trade officials were not immediately available for comment.
The US also imposes antidumping duties on shrimp imports from Brazil, China, India, Thailand and Vietnam. In the case of Thailand and India, separate WTO panels are currently examining whether the US duties conform with trade rules.
Source:
AP/IHT
From: icsf@icsf.net
Small Islands Voice Global Forum
7 Feb 2007
TOURISM: FOR WHOSE BENEFIT?
by Ronald Sanders
The notion of a racial divide in the Caribbean tourism industry is a problem that dare not speak its name. It creates discomfort among many of the expatriate hotel owners and managers, and governments are fearful of dealing with it.
Tourism is now a huge contributor to the economies of all Caribbean countries and the biggest contributor to many of them such as Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. In 2004, travel and tourism contributed 14.8% of the Caribbean's Gross Domestic Product and 2.4 million jobs, representing 15.5% of total employment. Over the next ten years, these figures are expected to rise.
There are several pressing problems associated with Caribbean tourism. One of the most important is the racial divide between its ownership and management on the one hand, and its workers on the other. And, this problem is likely to worsen in the future unless it is tackled now. Given the size of financial investments that will be required for resorts in the Caribbean, it will be principally white expatriate companies with access to capital that will build and own the resorts and other aspects of the tourism business. Tourism may in fact become a plantation industry not dissimilar to the old sugar plantations, with absentee owners, expatriate managers, profits sent abroad and locals relegated to wage earners only. And not unlike the plantation system, if the disparity of benefits grows between foreign owners and local workers, revolts may occur starting with industrial unrest but expanding to other forms of social instability.
Furthermore, if World Trade Organization rules continue to develop in the way that they are, companies from developed countries will have the right of establishment in the service industries of developing countries, including the Caribbean, almost on demand.
Thus, the obvious racial divide between the owners and the workers in the tourist industry - and the unevenness of the benefits - will intensify. To pretend that the problem does not exist would be as unwise for hoteliers as it would be imprudent for governments.
The balance between cruise ship tourism and land-based tourism is another issue that needs addressing. Increasingly governments are being encouraged to spend tax dollars on infrastructure for cruise ships. Hoteliers argue that governments should improve and expand airports, modernise utilities, and create new tourist attractions. In the absence of studies that scientifically analyse the different positions, government allocation of scarce resources has been based on hunches and political pressure.
The same observation holds for all-inclusive holidays in which hotels trap visitors within their compounds. Should governments continue to use taxpayers' money to build airports - and in some cases to subsidise flights by foreign airlines - simply to supply a few hotels with captive guests, while restaurants, shops, arts and craft centres, and street vendors outside the hotels see no benefit at all?
Despite much talk, the Caribbean has failed to act in a serious way to integrate Caribbean agricultural production, manufacturing and services with the tourism industry. Much of the food consumed by the tourism industry is still imported from outside the region as are manufactured products and services.
Policies should be put in place to ensure that benefits from tourism are spread widely throughout Caribbean communities, not only in providing jobs, but more importantly in facilitating ownership. Such policies should be guided by research conducted by a Tourism Research and Development Institute, housed in one of the region's universities.
The Institute should be funded by governments, the Caribbean Hotel Association and other private sector organisations in the region. It is in the interest of the wider private sector to support such an Institute, for if tourism is the engine of economic growth in the region, then almost every enterprise in the private sector is dependent upon it to some extent.
Such an Institute could provide the scientific studies and plans to turn two decades of talk into action. One thing is certain: if there is not serious research and development of the tourism industry, it may continue to contribute to Caribbean economic growth and development, but not for long.
From: timteam02
timteam02@yahoo.com
==========
US Virgin Islands
Mangrove Clean-up at the Cas-Cay Mangrove Lagoon Marine Sanctuary
Sunday, February 25th
Environmental and community organizations are being called to action! In an effort to beautify and learn from the Cas Cay ˆ Mangrove Lagoon Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary on St. Thomas, USVI, enviros are undertaking a large scale coastal wetland clean up and monitoring effort.
The main objective of this work is debris removal to allow for future restoration efforts in the Mangrove Lagoon Marine Reserve. Cleanup activities will be conducted at four times throughout the year and environmental quality will be measured during each cleanup event with the help of community volunteers. Volunteers will gain the scientific skills to assess environmental quality, aid in educating fellow community members about their precious mangrove ecosystem, and enjoy the company of fellow environmentalists while making their island a cleaner place.
Baseline environmental quality measurements are necessary to allow for successful mangrove restoration in the future. This project will serve as a model to mangrove restoration in the USVI, and integrates debris removal with baseline data for mangrove restoration and public education.
The first clean-up will involve a core group of people that wish to help establish a clean-up method within the sanctuary both by kyak and by land. The members of the group will then act as team leaders, managing the larger community volunteer effort for the subsequent clean-up, this spring.†
If anyone has any questions or would like to volunteer to help with a specific duty, please contact A. McCammon as soon as possible.
From: amber mccammon
ambermccammon@yahoo.com
USA
U.S. salmon consumption climbs; tuna, shrimp fall
IntraFish Media
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) confirmed Friday seafood consumption in the United States dropped in 2005 to 16.2 pounds per person, down 2.4 percent from 16.6 pounds in 2004. The trade group released its list of top-consumed seafoods.
Shrimp continued to lead seafood consumption, down 0.1 pounds per person to 4.1 pounds for 2005.
Canned tuna remained in second place on the list at 3.1 pounds per capita, down from 3.3 in 2004. Still in the No. 3 slot, salmon consumption rose 13 percent in 2005 to 2.43 pounds per person.
Farm-raised tilapia continued to grow, up 21 percent over 2004 to 0.85 pounds. From 2003-2004 the mild white fish jumped from ninth place to sixth place, where it remained for 2005.
Overall, seafood consumption totaled 4.78 billion pounds for the year.
"Heart disease and obesity-related illnesses are killing our nation's men and women; it is essential that Americans enjoy more healthy fish meals as part of a balanced diet," said NFI President John Connelly. "Following the federal government advice and that of the American Heart Association and American Dietetic Association to eat seafood at least twice a week can help combat these diseases."
Copyright 2005 IntraFish Media AS - All rights reserved.
From: Andrianna Natsoulas
anatsoulas@fwwatch.org
==========
Trees Take on Greenhouse Gases at Super Bowl
January 31, 2007 ˜ By Timothy Gardner, Reuters
NEW YORK -- It's red mangrove trees versus greenhouse gases at the Super Bowl in Miami Sunday.
The National Football League is hoping to tackle the game's heat-trapping gas emissions by planting 3,000 mangroves and other trees native to Florida, but the plan could be more of an incomplete pass than a touchdown when it comes to global warming, experts said.
"It's probably a nice thing to do, but planting trees is not a quantitative solution to the real problem," said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University.
The NFL began planting the trees in August and will finish in May. This year's Super Bowl features the Chicago Bears against the Indianapolis Colts.
The NFL claims the trees planted in Miami, and at the last two Super Bowls, make the games "carbon neutral" because the trees will eventually absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, emitted at the events.
Power for the game and fuel for generators at the adjacent NFL Experience Super Bowl theme park, along with its more than 1,200 vehicles, will emit about 500 tons of CO2 on Super Bowl Sunday, according to the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Attempts by U.S. companies and organizations to offset carbon are taking root as evidence mounts that heat-trapping emissions from industry and the burning of coal, oil, and gas cause global warming that could lead to deadly flooding, storms, and heat waves.
A draft of a U.N. report to be released Friday says there is an at least 90 percent chance that human actions are to blame for most of the warming in the past 50 years.
Contenders for the 2008 U.S. presidential race from both major political parties want to enact U.S. laws to limit heat-trapping emissions. That could place value on offset projects by creating a market where industry might invest in green projects in exchange for the right to pollute.
The NFL should be commended for voluntarily bringing benefits of tree planting to communities, but there are less risky ways to offset greenhouse emissions, said Philip Duffy, a climate scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
"If you plant a tree (CO2 reductions are) only temporary for the life of the tree," he said. "If you don't emit in the first place, then that permanently reduces CO2."
Jack Groh, the NFL's environmental coordinator, said the carbon absorbing potential of the mangroves will blossom as the trees reproduce and grow into forests. But he acknowledged that it could be hard to ensure that trees planted by children at schools -- another of the NFL's programs -- will last into the future. He said the NFL was constantly trying to learn how to make its climate-neutral program better.
Even the mangroves could succumb to fire, disease, or be cut down, any of which would release any CO2 sequestered by the trees back into the atmosphere, said Duffy.
Tree projects can give people a feel-good illusion that they are slowing global warming, the amount of carbon in fossil fuel resources is 25 times greater than could be ever sequestered in trees, said Caldeira. Offsets that reduce the amount of fossil fuels being burned, such as solar and wind farms, and perhaps nuclear energy, can be less risky, he said.
Alex Rau, a principal based in San Francisco at Climate Wedge, which advises a carbon fund for Cheyne Capital, prefers clean energy projects over tree projects. "If your objectives are entirely on the carbon ... then it is not so wise a project at the moment," he said.
Source: Reuters
From: Elaine Corets
manglar@comcast.net
==========
Canada
City park concessions to sell only sustainably caught seafood
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Vancouver park board commissioners have voted unanimously to require that the 13 concession stands and three golf-course restaurants run by the board serve only sustainably caught seafood.
That means that as of this summer, concession stands and restaurants will no longer sell shrimp or Atlantic cod, both of which are harvested ˜ and in the case of shrimp, farmed ˜ according to unsustainable methods, said a report prepared by park board staff.
That means that instead of breaded shrimp, calamari (squid) will be available on concession stand menus, and that Pacific cod will take the place of Atlantic cod in servings of fish and chips.
Prices, however, will remain the same.
Commissioners made their decision at a meeting of the board on Monday.
Vancouver's is the first municipal government in Canada to adopt such a rule, says the initiative's instigator, COPE commissioner Spencer Herbert.
"We're the first municipal government [in Canada] to take on this issue of sustainable seafood," he said. "I think it will be a signal for other people to take notice."
The new rule doesn‚t apply to the eight restaurants operating on park property, but Herbert said: "They've all said they will do as much as they can to meet the requirements."
One of the restaurants, the Fish House, is already in full compliance, he said, and has been for some time.
©†Vancouver Sun 2007
From: Elaine Corets
manglar@comcast.net
Seas Rising Faster than U.N. Predicts - Study
Printer friendly version
FRANCE: February 2, 2007
PARIS - Sea levels are rising faster than predicted amid global warming, a group of scientists said on Thursday in a challenge to the U.N.'s climate panel which is set to issue a report toning down the threat of rising oceans.
The researchers -- from the United States, Germany, France, Australia and Britain -- wrote in the journal Science that seas have been edging up more rapidly since 1990 than at any time in more than a century, outpacing computer projections.
"The data now available raise concerns that the climate system, in particular sea level, may be responding more quickly than climate models indicate," Stefan Ramstorf of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and co-authors wrote.
Still, they said it was too early to say for sure that the accelerated rise was linked to greenhouse gases from human burning of fossil fuels. It might, they said, be caused by some natural climate variation. Rising seas, widely linked to a warming stoked by emissions of greenhouse gases, could swamp low-lying Pacific islands, large tracts of Bangladesh or the southern United States and threaten cities from Shanghai to Buenos Aires.
And governments want to plan how to confront a long-term threat that could cause billions of dollars in damage.
The scientists said the rises seemed to exceed projections made in 2001 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which said sea levels were likely to rise by between 9 cm and 88 cm (3.5-34.6 inches) by 2100.
But the Science article comes on the eve of a new IPCC report, to be released in Paris, set to cut the likely range of rises to between 28 cm and 43 cm this century, based on six computer models.
HEAT
The IPCC says the range is narrower because of cuts in predictions of how quickly the oceans absorb heat -- water gets bigger as it warms. It also projects that Antarctica, by far the biggest store of frozen ice, will stay too cold to melt.
The experts writing in Science, including NASA's James Hansen, said sea levels rose by 3.3 mm (0.1299 inch) a year from 1993-2006, according to satellite measurements, against an IPCC best estimate in 2001 of below 2 mm a year.
Sea levels rose 17 cm in the 20th century. The 1993-2006 rate, if it lasted a century, would work out at 33 centimetres but many models project a quickening pace because of a buildup of greenhouse gases. "Previous projections, as summarised by the IPCC, have not exaggerated but may in some respects even have underestimated the change, in particular for sea level," the scientists wrote.
Rahmstorf declined give his best estimate of how far sea levels would rise -- he wrote a report in December saying that observations of past data indicated that seas could rise by 50-140 cms by 2100, far higher than IPCC projections.
Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
From: lesrrl3@aol.com
==========
Naturland to launch wild-fish eco-label
By Drew Cherry
German certifier Naturland is launching a wild-fish certification scheme and eco-label similar to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) program. Stefan Bergleiter, head of aquaculture certification at Grafelfing-based Naturland, told IntraFish he and his team completed a first draft of certification standards in November, and that five fisheries are now in the initial stages of pre-assessment. The certification standard, which will focus on developing and artesinal fisheries, is the first major wild-fishery certification launched since the establishment of the MSC in 1997.
Naturland first discussed the idea of fishery certification eight years ago, but shifted its resources instead toward core activities -- namely organic seafood certification, Bergleiter said. But developing standards for both sectors is a natural progression.
"If you're dealing with aquaculture certification, you of course come into contact with wild fisheries," Bergleiter said. "There's an opportunity to bridge the gap. Organic seafood and sustainable seafood are two sides of the same coin."
Naturland put off developing wild-fish standards so long in part because the group expected the MSC to move actively into the small and developing fisheries sector.
"We saw they were not getting much more motivated, so we said, 'OK, we have to finally do this,'" he said.
MSC Rupert Howes told IntraFish last week the MSC is putting more resources into its developing fisheries program. Still, Bergleiter does not see the two groups in competition with one another.
"It seems to me MSC has focused on a certain type of fishery, so I think we're quite side by side," Bergleiter said.
That said, Naturland's certification standards will be applicable to larger fisheries as well.
"In principle, it's open to every kind of fishery," he said.
Naturland is basing its certification on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization standards for eco-labels, released in 2005.
Naturland developed a general sustainability standard to apply to all fisheries, and will develop regional and fishery-specific standards to supplement them. In addition to sustainability issues, the Naturland certification will also rate fisheries on social impacts as well, as it does with its organic standards.
Products from fisheries meeting the Naturland standards will be allowed to carry Naturland's wild-fish eco-label. Bergleiter said the group is now finalizing the logo design.
Copyright 2005 IntraFish Media AS - All rights reserved.
CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS & PUBLICATIONS
Oceans Update | Winter 2007
B.C. government proceeds with new open net-cage salmon farm in besieged Broughton Archipelago
The B.C. government is ignoring the recommendation of its own Special Legislative Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture by allowing the application for a new open net-cage salmon farm in the Broughton to move through the review process.
Read more
From: Living Oceans Society
newsletter@livingoceans.org
==========
Permit Sought For Testing Fused Fish/ Plant Material For Aquaculture Feed
[Federal Register: February 5, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 23)]
[Notices] [Page 5263-5264] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr05fe07-26]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2006-0190]
Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Field Release of Genetically Engineered Safflower
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that an environmental assessment has been prepared for a proposed field release involving a transgenic safflower line that has been genetically engineered to express, within the seeds, a carp growth hormone fused to an Arabidopsis oleosin. The purpose of this field release is to obtain a seed increase of material harvested in Chile for future use as a supplement in aquaculture meal.
We are making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments received on or before March 7, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal:
Go to http://www.regulations.gov
select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.''
In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2006-0190 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instruction for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through the site's ``User Tips'' link.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS- 2006-0190, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A- 03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0190.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Patricia Beetham, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-0664. To obtain copies of the environmental assessment, contact Ms. Cynthia Eck at (301) 734-0667; e-mail: cynthia.a.eck@aphis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 7 CFR part 340, ``Introduction of Organisms and Products Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests or Which There Is Reason to Believe Are Plant Pests,'' regulate, among other things, the introduction (importation, interstate movement, or release into the environment) of organisms and products altered or produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there is reason to believe are plant pests. Such genetically engineered organisms and products are considered ``regulated articles.'' A permit must be obtained or a notification acknowledged before a regulated article may be introduced. The regulations set forth the permit application requirements and the notification procedures for the importation, interstate movement, or release in the environment of a regulated article.
On September 5, 2006, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) received a permit application (APHIS No. 06-250-02r) from SemBioSys Genetics, Inc. of West Sacramento, CA, for a field trial using a line of transgenic safflower. Permit application 06-250-02r describes a transgenic safflower(Carthamus tinctorius) cultivar that has been genetically engineered to express a fusion protein consisting of oleosin from Arabidopsis thaliana and carp growth hormone (somatotropin) from Cyprinus carpio exclusively within its seeds. Expression of the fusion protein is controlled by the phaseolin promoter and terminator sequences from Phaseolus vulgaris L. (common bean). Constructs were inserted into the recipient organisms via a disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens vector system. The seed from these safflower plants will be ground and incorporated into aquaculture feed to be used in experimental fish feeding studies by SemBioSys and is not for commercial production.
The subject safflower is considered a regulated article under the regulations in 7 CFR part 340 because it has been genetically engineered using the recombinant DNA technique using a vector derived from the plant pest Agrobacterium tumefaciens. To provide the public with documentation of APHIS' review and analysis of any potential environmental impacts and plant pest risks associated with the proposed release of these transgenic safflowers, an environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared. The EA was prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act///
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Science News - February 7, 2007
Mixed news on Chinese farmed fish
Although most consumer fish from China fare well in an analysis of organic pollutants, seawater farmed fish have levels high enough to raise concern.
Increasingly, Chinese fish are showing up on dinner tables around the world. As the country's fish exports boom, new research published today on ES&T's Research ASAP website (10.1021/es062251z) finds that concentrations of organic contaminants in many Chinese fish are no higher than those in fish from other parts of the world. However, farmed seawater fish from China contain pollutant levels high enough for the researchers to advise limited consumption.
Eddy Zeng, an environmental chemist at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and coauthor of the study, says the analysis is "the first to systematically assess contaminants and health risks for consumption" of Chinese fish. The authors measured levels of persistent halogenated hydrocarbons, a group of contaminants that includes pesticides, PCBs, and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, in nearly 400 fish from Chinese markets.
The authors call the levels of these contaminants in Chinese fish "moderate", with concentrations well below the limits enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Chinese government. However, the researchers suggest limited consumption of seawater farmed fish from China, on the basis of a more conservative risk assessment developed by the U.S. EPA
Snubnose pompano and crimson snapper, both cage-cultured seawater fish, fared the worst in the analysis, while freshwater carp and tilapia were relatively low in contaminants. For snubnose pompano, the authors recommend no more than one meal per month, but they say that consumers could safely eat more than 16 meals per month of freshwater farmed fish and wild-caught seawater fish from China. Tim Fitzgerald, a scientist in the oceans program at the group Environmental Defense, says that seawater farmed fish contain more pollutants because they are typically larger carnivorous fish, which accumulate more pollutants through the fish meal and oil they are fed. The study's authors also point to the possibility of high pollutant levels in water carried into the estuaries where fish are raised.
Given growing consumer demand for seafood and dwindling ocean fisheries, seawater aquaculture is a booming industry, especially in China. Aquaculture production more than tripled in China between 1993 and 2003, and Chinese fisheries now account for a third of global production, according to data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
"This raises a really big issue if we're going to move toward fish farming. How do we keep contaminants out of the feed?" says Arnold Schecter, an environmental health expert at the University of Texas Health Science Center who has studied the effects of PBDEs in U.S. food sources.
Farmed fish, especially salmon, have been the focus of intense study in recent years after the discovery of high levels of PCBs and other pollutants in farm-raised salmon. But research recently published in ES&T and discussed in an ES&T news story showed that farm-raised salmon don't always have higher contaminant levels than wild-caught fish.
Some health experts say that fish, farmed or wild, gets an undeserved bad rap. "For some reason, there's a focus on contaminant levels in fish but not in the other proteins we eat every day," says Dariush Mozaffarian of Harvard University. He says that applying EPA's risk assessment could be confusing or even misleading for consumers. "EPA's action levels are based on background levels in the environment. But fish is not something neutral like air, water, or paint in homes. Fish has benefits,"
Mozaffarian says. According to his research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2006, 296, 1885-1899), eating about 1-2 servings per week of oily fish reduces the risk of death from heart attack by 36%.
In the case of Chinese fish, the data "suggest there are not the concerns that many people are worried about with farm-raised fish, and that's really good news," says biologist Samuel Luoma of the U.S. Geological Survey. In an upcoming feature article in ES&T (2007, 41), Luoma reviews problems in communicating with the public about the risks of eating farmed versus wild-caught fish. The authors of the research published today "did a very measured job of interpreting the data," Luoma says. "Aquaculture has to be done better than it's done now, but we need to keep a balanced view on communicating the risks to the public," he says.
The fish in the current ES&T study were collected around southern China's Guangdong Province, the second-largest fish-producing region in the country. Several scientists said that data from other regions and other fish species exported from China would be helpful in assessing overall exports, as would data on heavy metals. Zeng says he is continuing to study other kinds of seafood as well as the sources of contaminants.
About the implications of the new study, Zeng says, "People should eat fish; just be a little selective. I would eat less marine farmed fish than freshwater farmed or wild fish," he advises.
-ERIKA ENGELHAUPT
From: Darlene Schanfald
darlenes@olympus.net
