Washington State made history, becoming the first—and only—place in the world to successfully remove and permanently ban commercial net pen aquaculture.

Farmed fish can occur at sea and on land in pools, rainfed ponds, in tanks or in raceways. The approach is called aquaculture and for decades has been sold as a viable, and sustainable alternative to fishing from seas that are overfished. But not all environments are suitable for marine aquaculture, where fish live in cages and their effluent discharges at high concentrations in the coastal areas.

In addition to sea lice and viruses, a number of other pathogens found in farmed fish may pose a risk to wild salmon. Bacteria: Two bacterial diseases have the potential to impact wild salmon. The first, bacterial kidney disease (BKD) is caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum.

Because of the reduction of wild salmon in areas like Puget Sound, local orcas are starving as wild populations dwindle.

On January 7, the Washington State Board of Natural Resources cast a landmark vote to adopt a new rule prohibiting commercial finfish net pen aquaculture in all state-managed marine waters. Fish pens endandered Puget Sound’s ecosystems, and the activists who brought this decision to life say they are safeguarding the health of Washington’s public waters for generations to come.

Related: fishing for peace and fish farms for Gaza?

“This is a landmark moment for environmental protection,” said Emma Helverson, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy who led the change in law. “Thanks to the commitment of the public and the leadership of Tribal Nations, we have achieved something extraordinary. This victory is not just for Puget Sound—it’s for every community, every species, and every ecosystem that has been impacted by the harmful practice of commercial net pens.”

Puget Sound is home to wild salmon and Southern Resident orcas.

This week’s victory is the direct result of Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz’s 2022 decision to deny the industry new decade-long leases for net pens, and her subsequent executive order directing the Department of Natural Resources to develop rules to permanently ban this practice.

These actions resulted in the complete removal of commercial net pens in Washington, making 2024 the first year in four decades that Puget Sound was free from daily pollution and the devastating impacts that net pens cause.

Just days before the vote, Tahlequah (J35), the Southern Resident orca who made global headlines in 2018 after she carried her stillborn calf for 17 days straight, was observed once again grieving her newest dead calf. Recent research shows an alarming 69% of Southern Resident orca pregnancies end in miscarriage due to malnutrition and that miscarriages far outnumber births of endangered orcas. J35 “Tahlequah” (pronounced tah-le-KWAH) is a 25-year-old female Southern resident killer whale. She is the matriarch of the J17 matriline.

The stark reality of mother orcas losing their calves is a painful reminder that these whales are starving and struggling to survive due to the depletion of large, quality, and abundant wild Chinook salmon, their primary food source.

“I hope the public will join us in thanking Commissioner Hilary Franz and her committed agency staff. From the very first steps she took in response to the 2017 Cypress Island net pen collapse, Commissioner Franz has been a fierce and unwavering leader, holding the industry accountable for their harmful actions, listening to the public’s voices, and ultimately making this historic victory possible,” says Helverson.

In a conflicting report from 2011, Green Prophet reported that farmed fishing isn’t so evil after all.

The rule was adopted by a majority 4-2 vote, with Commissioner Franz, Skagit County Commissioner Lisa Janicki, University of Washington’s Dan Brown, and Governor Jay Inslee’s financial advisor Jim Cahill all voting to approve the ban. The decision was informed by overwhelming public support, with over 80% of public comments submitted in favor of the permanent ban and is a direct response to the ongoing crisis facing wild salmon populations and Southern Resident killer whales, which rely on healthy, abundant runs for survival.

“In casting their votes for the permanent ban, these leaders set a new standard of environmental stewardship for governments and leaders, emphasizing that merely minimizing risks isn’t enough given the crisis facing wild salmon and the orcas who depend on them, “says Helverson. “These leaders recognize completely avoiding risk and harm is the only way to prevent the further decline toward extinction for these iconic species and to protect the public’s immense sacrifices and investments in their recovery.”

Since 2017, Wild Fish Conservancy has led the Our Sound, Our Salmon (OSOS) campaign and coalition to protect wild salmon and Puget Sound from the harm of net pen aquaculture. Over the past decade, this dedicated coalition has worked alongside Washington’s Tribal Nations in the legislature, courts, and countless advocacy efforts.

Washington’s success will also serve as a powerful model providing important momentum for the global movement to eliminate open water net pens, an industry that poses a threat to marine ecosystems everywhere in the world they exist.

Similar efforts to protect public waters and ecosystems from this industry are already underway in countries such as British Columbia, Chile, Scotland, Norway, Finland, and Tasmania and through the Global Salmon Farming Resistance.

How we can help? According to the Global Salmon Institute, the farmed salmon industry has grown substantially in the past 60 years. Approximately 70% of salmon produced worldwide is farmed. In 2021, more than 2.8 million tons of farmed salmonids were produced. In comparison, only around 705,000 tons of wild salmonids were caught.

Outside the United States in developing economies in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia, farmed fishing is growing quickly and there are non-existent activist groups to protect nature. Saudi Arabia’s fish farming industry, the production of fish farmed in saltwater and inland waters has surged by 56.4% since 2021, reaching an unprecedented 140,000 tons in 2023. In addition to aquaculture, marine fisheries in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf contributed 74,700 tons, which represents a 16.2% increase over 2022. This brings the total fish production from aquaculture and marine fishing to 214,000 tons in 2023 –– yet how many activists or researchers are documenting the harm to the whales and sharks in the Red Sea?

Meanwhile the goal in Saudi Arabia, according to its Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture is to increase the per capita fish consumption to 30 pounds annually. Popular fish varieties in Saudi Arabia include Nile tilapia, sea bass, dentex, and shrimp.

Over in Lebanon, the situation is bleak. Fishermen target Mediterranean fish using dynamite.

The post Washington bans marine aquaculture nets for farmed fish in world first appeared first on Green Prophet.

Big labels are exploiting the widely variable patterns, colors, and iridescence of fish skin (not found in traditional leathers) to bait buyers to new products. Many boutique designers already use it, and – as fish tend to be smaller than mammalian leather sources – their skins are ideally suited to crafting accessories. Fish leather is durable, flexible, and a differentiator in a competitive market. Icelandic company Atlantic Leather has made fish leather for two decades, supplying the material to brands like Prada, Dior, Nike, Ferragamo and Puma.

The sustainability angle is that widespread adoption of fish leather could relieve demand for cow leather, radically decreasing methane emissions. “Fish leather could also help create jobs in processing locations,” said Dr. Cecile Brugere, a research associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute. As example, Kenya’s Industrial Research and Development Institute and Danish development agency Danida are collaborating on a project to turn the country’s sizable fish skin waste into leather. But the case for using this waste-stream for fashion is a bit…fishy.

Start with a comparison of fish and mammal leathers, both by-products of the food industry.  Since cows will continue to be raised on industrial scale regardless of consumer demand for suede shoes and leather handbags, emissions reductions are negligible. Prices are now comparable, but regular leather demand is rising faster than supply, and future price rises may be dramatic. Finally, as with regular leather, there is a commercial use for fish skin that goes beyond accessorizing: the manufacture of fish meal.

According to the World Bank, our increasing appetite for seafood has amped up production in capture fisheries to 93 million metric tonnes per year (up from 69 million in 1984). Production figures for aquaculture have grown to 63 million metric tonnes from 5 million in the same time span. With world population heading towards 11 billion by the end of this century, increased demand for efficient fish production means aquaculture will soon exceed traditional catch. A tonne of fish fillets typically nets 40 kg of skin waste.  That’s a boatload of wallets.  But which wins out – fish feedstock or fashion?

Farmed fish are dependent on fish meal, which is converted fish waste (trimmings, bones, fins and skin). An excellent source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and essential vitamins and minerals, fish meal has been used as feed in Northern Europe since the 19th century and is now used worldwide. About 60% of all fish meal is used for aquaculture. Fish meal is also used to feed mammals – cattle, hogs and horses.

“There’s definitely a market for high-end fish leather products and it makes more financial sense to use fish skins in high-margin items like handbags than as fish meal,” said Brugere. “But with most fish skins already being used for fish meal, fish leather doesn’t solve a big waste problem.” Factor in the water-and-energy-intensive tanning process, and assertions of improved environmental impacts start to stink.

In the end, scent may be the deciding factor for the trend. “When I show my necklaces, the first thing that happens is that people walk up and smell them,” said Hanna Altmann, a Swedish designer who works with fish skin. “But once they’re familiar with the material, I only get positive reactions.” But she didn’t say what it smells like.

Image of a brown trout from Shutterstock

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Aquaculture, or fish farming at sea and in land based ponds, has been practiced successfully by Israelis for many years. While most fish farming produces freshwater fish like carp, tilapia and trout in fresh water ponds, salt water aquaculture has also been “successfully” practiced in the Mediterranean Sea.

A new study looks at what happened to the Red Sea marine environment when fish cages were moved to the Mediterranean Sea.

The ecological viability of raising sea bream in underwater fish cages in the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat at the Red Sea has been a controversial one that ended in the fish farms being removed and relocated to the Mediterranean in 2008.

The Eilat fish farms were located offshore there for more than 20 years, and their removal came after they caused severe damage to natural marine life in the areas where the fish cages had been placed. See the photo above.

In order to determine the long-lasting affects of the Eilat fish farms studies were made by research teams led by Dror Angel, a marine researcher at the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa.

In an interview with Green Prophet, Beverly Goodman, a marine life researcher who also lectures at the Leon Charney School of marine Sciences, gave Green Prophet an indication of what has happened to the Red Sea region after the fish cages were removed in 2008.

One of the research project’s tasks involved taking core sediment samples of the sea bed directly underneath the areas where the fish cages were located.

On the subject of “nutrification”  from excrement and fish food from the farm the having a greater impact on the marine environment, she said that the presence of the cages was “causing significant changes to the marine environment in the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat. A marine biology agreement for a monitoring program with data just didn’t exist for two decades while the fish cages were in place,” says Goodman, an underwater archeologist and climate change specialist for the marine environment.

The marine environment of the area where the fish cages had been for so long has been monitored for the past several years since the cages were removed.

The initial studies in which Goodman was involved (she came to Eilat after the decision was been made to relocate the fish farms to Ashdod, she says:  “very few life forms were found where the cages had been.”

Initial sediment samples from the fish cage areas found that the sea bottom was “dead” with little life remaining. What life forms there were, were “hanging from above the seabed,” she tells us.

Later studies found that marine life has slowly returned to the area; including species of sea grasses that are important to a number of marine life species. The studies are trying to determine if the area will eventually return to what it was prior to the introduction of the fish farms.

A national monitoring program concluded that a “positive recovery trend” was being made in the area of the fish cages.

Another factor affecting marine life in the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat was the dumping of raw sewage into the sea, which occurred regularly until the 1990s.

As for the fish farms now located in the Mediterranean near Ashdod Port, Beverly Goodman told Green Prophet that the Mediterranean marine environment is much different as it is a larger body of water with various currents not found in the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat.

There are also additional environmental factors though, including pollution from Ashdod Port and pollution from very polluted nearby streams that flow into the Mediterranean. She added that as far as she knows, no studies have yet been made on the situation concerning the fish farms near Ashdod.

“We simply need more information on these  new fish farms,” she says.

More on fish farming issues affecting Israel and Palestinian Gaza:
Aquaponics is Farming With a Fishing Rod in Israel
Israel eases Distane Limit for Gaza Fishermen; But Need for Fish Farming is Evident
Eilat Fish Cages; Out of the Frying Pan and Into Ashdod Harbor

Fish farming in Eilat by Prof. Yosi Loya; fish cages at sea from Shutterstock

The post Moving Red Sea fish farm cages shows positive eco results: new study appeared first on Green Prophet.

The European Commission (EC) approved a pork-based feedstock for farm-raised fish.  Next year, your mullet and trout might contain chicken and pork:

Horsemeat in burgers, meatballs and frozen lasagna is startling, but while these products include a “secret ingredient”, they remain as advertised: meat-based foods.  But what happens when the fish on your dish also contains meat?

Wild salmon won’t be tucking in to a pork roast, but their farmed cousins will soon be dining on ground up pig parts.  A variety of animal byproducts are processed into an animal protein powder, also called meat meal, which is now approved as an additive to fish food.  Byproducts include pork-sourced cartilage (from ears, tails), hooves and organs, and it’s not particularly clear that those parts come from perfectly healthy piggies either.

The Middle East is a large importer of European seafood

Seafood labeling is widely a slipshod business: in a study last year, non-profit Oceana performed DNA testing on seafood sold at 74 retail outlets in Los Angeles. Results showed that 55% of 119 fish samples were misidentified. If California can’t get species properly sorted, what’s the likelihood that the Middle East can take it a step further and also identify each fish’s diet?

How’s this swim with Jews and Muslims and pescatarians?

How can you know if your fish purchases are kosher, or halal, or just pure fish? Will the absence of dietary surety mean an exodus of shoppers from the seafood aisle? It could be that the EC is cutting off it’s own metaphorical body part in a misguided attempt to help its aquaculture industry.

In 1997, a similar fish feed was banned for its connection to Mad Cow Disease.  Debate raged over the global food network.  Was it ethical to feed cow products to cows?  Was it safe?  But time passed and rules softened, and in 2008 fish meal was reintroduced to pig and poultry feeds. This latest step flips the food chain, now feeding pork and poultry meat meal to fish.

The news is muffled.  Food Navigator gave it a few paragraphs, as did EurActiv.  But what’s the reaction in Israel and Jordan? Why no squeals from the Gulf states or snorts from Egypt?

Global web mover and shaker Avaaz is raising a stink (appropriate for a subject that combines fish and pigs).

They’ve got a petition in play to pressure governments to stop porkfish from entering our markets. Avaaz has incited over 1 million people to petition against genetically modified food in Europe, and another million to take action against mutant salmon “frankenfish”. Want to join the movement?  Click this link and sign, share with everyone interested in controlling what they eat.

More comfortable sitting back, allowing governments to meddle with your menu?  Then perhaps you should memorize a new take on an old rhyme:

This little cod went to market; this little salmon stayed home, this little tuna ate roast beef, and little tilapia had none. And this little porkfish ran all the way home!

Browse more on this in our archives: aquaculture, Genetically Modified Food, global foodchain, halal, kosher, Mad Cow Disease

The post Are Pork-fed “Porkfish” Kosher and Halal? appeared first on Green Prophet.

The European Commission (EC) approved a meat-based feedstock for farm-raised fish.  Next year, your mullet and trout might contain chicken and pork.

Horsemeat in burgers, meatballs and frozen lasagna is startling, but while these products include a “secret ingredient”, they remain as advertised: meat-based foods.  But what happens when the fish on your dish also contains meat?

Wild salmon won’t be tucking in to a pork roast, but their farmed cousins will soon be dining on ground up pig parts.  A variety of animal byproducts are processed into an animal protein powder, also called meat meal, which is now approved as an additive to fish food.  Byproducts include cartilage (ears, tails), hooves and organs, and it’s not particularly clear that those parts come from perfectly healthy piggies.

The Middle East is a large importer of European seafood.

Seafood labeling is widely a slipshod business: in a study last year, non-profit Oceana performed DNA testing on seafood sold at 74 retail outlets in Los Angeles. Results showed that 55% of 119 fish samples were misidentified. If California can’t get species properly sorted, what’s the likelihood that the Middle East can take it a step further and also identify each fish’s diet?

How’s this swim with Jews and Muslims and pescatarians?

How can you know if your fish purchases are kosher, or halal, or just pure fish? Will the absence of dietary surety mean an exodus of shoppers from the seafood aisle? It could be that the EC is cutting off it’s own metaphorical body part in a misguided attempt to help its aquaculture industry.

In 1997, a similar fish feed was banned for its connection to Mad Cow Disease.  Debate raged over the global food network.  Was it ethical to feed cow products to cows?  Was it safe?  But time passed and rules softened, and in 2008 fish meal was reintroduced to pig and poultry feeds. This latest step flips the food chain, now feeding pork and poultry meat meal to fish.

The news is muffled.  Food Navigator gave it a few paragraphs, as did EurActiv.  But what’s the reaction in Israel and Jordan? Why no squeals from the Gulf states or snorts from Egypt?

Global web mover and shaker Avaaz is raising a stink (appropriate for a subject that combines fish and pigs).  They’ve got a petition in play to pressure governments to stop porkfish from entering our markets. Avaaz has incited over 1 million people to petition against genetically modified food in Europe, and another million to take action against mutant salmon “frankenfish”. Want to join the movement?  Click this link and sign, share with everyone interested in controlling what they eat.

More comfortable sitting back, allowing governments to meddle with your menu?  Then perhaps you should memorize a new take on an old rhyme:

This little cod went to market; this little salmon stayed home, this little tuna ate roast beef, and this little tilapia had none.  And this little porkfish ran all the way home!

 Image of porkfish from Avaaz, and of  salt-water pig from Shutterstock

The post Is Pig-fed kosher or halal? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Gaza fishermen are now able to sail further out to fish but commercial fish farming  may be a better option

Environmental and economic issues facing Palestinians living in Gaza have gone from bad to worse since the previous Cast Lead conflict between Gaza and Israel in 2008 – 2009. This is especially true following the most recent conflict, Pillar of Defense, just now put on hold with an Egyptian-brokered cease fire. Water problems, especially involving flooding by waste water, and a dire shortage of fresh water, may make the strip unlivable by 2020 and its water undrinkable by 2016.

Gaza fishermen have been especially hard pressed due to the Israeli naval blockade in the Mediterranean that recently restricted fisherman from sailing more than three miles out into the sea to fish.

The Israel navy has eased this restriction a bit, now allowing Gazan fishermen to sail out as far as six miles to fish as part of the recent cease fire agreement. As reported in the media, the previous 3 mile limit had been imposed to prevent smuggling of arms and other contraband into Gaza, much of which has come from Iran.

Sea fishing has always been a way of life for many Gazans; but restrictions imposed by Israel, as well as environmental changes in the sea itself, have resulted in smaller and more expensive supplies of fresh fish available in local markets.

Ekhail’s fish farm

To help solve this problem, outside assistance to help local Gazans establish commercial fish farms is a viable way to enable residents there to have larger and more reasonably priced quantities of fish available as a high protein food source.

A previously posted Green Prophet article reported that an on-land fish farm had been established near Gaza City by a man named Sohail Ekhail. The small fish farm had been successful in growing quantities of fish such as grey and red tilapia, known commonly as “moosht” by locals . Whether this fish farm was able to survive the recent onslaught remains to be known, however.

Growing commercial quantities of fish with  limited area and water resources is a project that is currently being tried in Israel’s Negev region by aquaculture specialists and based on an idea formulated by a professor at Hebrew University.

Researchers involved in this project who say that it is possible to “grow fish anywhere, commercially and safely, in both cities and deserts” claim that viable quantities of fish can be grown successfully in small plastic pools supplied with a brackish or partially saline water source. This means that water that may not be suitable for drinking by humans can be successfully used for such aquaculture projects.

A Negev aquaculture fish farm

Finding solutions that would help the people of Gaza establish their own fish farms and reclaim sewage water should be shared by Israel with Gaza as a means of providing large quantities of fresh, protein-rich fish for the people living there.

Gaza Port photo by AP

Read more on fishing and environmental issues affecting people living in Gaza:

Gaza Unlivable by 2020, and its Water Undrinkable by 2016

Grow Fish Anywhere – Commercially, in Cities and Deserts

Recent Gaza Conflict has Environmental Impacts

Seaside, Gaza Fishermen Grow Own Fish

The post Israel Eases Distance Limit for Gaza Fishermen: But Need for Fish Farming is Evident appeared first on Green Prophet.

Urban farming in Egypt has soared. Read about Schaduf – a soilless solution taking root in Maadi.

Two Egyptian brothers have received enough donations to set up three rooftop farms in Maadi – a once wealthy suburb of Cairo. Due for full installation by April, these won’t be any old farms. Sherif and Tarek Hosny have developed closed-loop, vertical hydroponic systems that use recycled water and mineral nutrient solutions to grow cheaper, healthier produce.

Designed to become a secondary source of income for poor families living in the less-privileged areas of Maadi, where many expatriates and wealthy Egyptians seek shelter from Cairo’s bustling urban center, Schaduf’s farms have great potential to scrub the neighborhood’s polluted air and give struggling families a much-need fiscal boost.

A healthy supplemental income

Sherif Hosny is an engineer who quit his job in Dubai to work on an organic farm in the United States. He told Egypt Independent that he became taken with farming  and decided to return to his home country with his new-found learning.

Through Schaduf, which name refers to a weighted pole device that is used to lift heavy buckets of water, the Hosny brothers hope to uplift families that live below the poverty line. They are well on their way to achieving this goal.

Already they have received enough donations to build three rooftop systems that cost up to $2,500 – an amount of money that poor families could never produce. Schaduf has implemented a scheme that allows them to provide the hydroponic system and training upfront, for which new part-time urban farmers should be able to pay within a year by selling their produce.

Not only does the system support a new generation of urban farmers, but the supplies used to create the systems all come from local manufacturers, which further fosters a proudly-Egyptian economy.

Supporting the local economy

Egypt Independent reports:

All of the products used from the wooden frames, the perelite (a soil conditioner), the peat moss to the tarps are locally manufactured. Schaduf has already received enough donations to set up three rooftop farms and is working with local NGOs to find families who are interested and have the appropriate amount of space.

In addition to the rooftop hydroponics farm, the Hosny brothers are testing an “aquaponic” systems that combines principles of aquaculture and hydroponics. Although they have managed to raise Tilapia fairly successfully, the fish die off during unusually cold weather, so Schaduf is testing various low-tech solutions that will maintain warmth in the rooftop fish tanks.

Critics worry that Egypt’s pollution will compromise the quality of produce grown on Maadi rooftops, but Sherif dismisses these claims.

“Trees in the neighborhood may filter out some of the pollution sediments before they reach roofs, and the plants create CO2, pulling pollution out of the air,” he told Egypt Independent, adding that if rooftop gardens “could have a big impact on Cairo air.”

:: Egypt Independent

More on urban farming solutions in Egypt:

Egyptian Organic Farm Declared Sustainability World Leader

What Urban Rooftop Gardening Could do for the Middle East
Egypt’s Urban Agriculture Movement is Growing

The post Rooftop Hydroponic Farms in Egypt Scrub the Air and Uplift Urban Poor appeared first on Green Prophet.

Catching wild fish in the sea is now threatening to deplete many fish species from the world’s seas and oceans, including illegal tuna fishing in the Mediterranean Sea. With world population figures now topping 7 billion, an increasing demand is being made for fresh fish as a source of protein. This demand has resulted in an increase in fish farming, or aquaculture both in the oceans and seas themselves and in salt and fresh water ponds on dry land.

Aquaculture has grown significantly in North and South America, Europe, and in the Far East; particularly in Asian countries such as Thailand and China. Countries such as China grow carp; with China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India growing  shrimps and prawns. Norway and Chile are growing salmon in aquaculture projects as well. These projects were noted  recently in a news report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The report sent to Green Prophet highlights the importance of aquaculture in supplementing the world’s growing demand for protein, especially fish.

Netting high protein

The high protein content of fish, plus nutrition supplements such as Omega 3 fatty acids are vital to health and help prevent conditions of malnutrition, increased brain function, and deterrents of heart disease and cancers.

Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries like Turkey, Israel, and Egypt, especially fresh water species like Tilapia, known as “musht” in Arabic, is helping countries like Egypt feed its growing population.

An FAO report entitled World Aquaculture Growth 2010  goes into detail regarding various aquaculture projects being carried out by countries all over the world. The report adds that:

“Achieving the global aquaculture sector’s long-term goal of economic, social and environmental sustainability depends primarily on continued commitments by governments to provide and support a good governance framework for the sector.”

Even areas where land availability is at a minimum, such as population dense Gaza, are also engaged in aquaculture. In Gaza, a small aquaculture project is being carried out by a Gaza marine engineer and sea captain, Sohail Ekhail who has been trying to provide his fellow Palestinians with nourishing fish by operating a fish farm on the outskirts of Gaza City.

Ekhail’s fish farm

While growing fish in the sea may cause some damage to coral and other marine habitations, as occurred with a fish farm in the Red Sea, off Israel’s coastal city of Eilat, the ultimate solution is growing fish in ponds instead of in the sea.

Or in your own tanks inside apartment buildings, like one Israeli entrepeneur has proposed.

With this in mind, the future of aquaculture looks bright, and will help to feed and nourish an increasing world population.

::FAO

Read more on aquaculture and related issues:

Accelerating decline of world oceans: Why it matters for the Middle East

Seaside, Gaza Fish Farmers Grow Own Fish

Fish Farming Isn’t so Evil After All

Eilat Fish Cages: Out of the Frying and into Ashdod harbor

The post UN Says Aquaculture Could Solve Fish Collapse appeared first on Green Prophet.

Restrictions placed on Gaza fishermen by Israeli naval vessels has made living from the sea an almost impossible occupation these days. This fact goes along with decreasing fish catches in the Mediterranean due to over fishing, increasing sea pollution from sewage, plastic material and other forms of garbage, and increasing numbers of unwanted pests such as jellyfish, now being attributed to global warming. As a result, one Gaza marine engineer and sea captain, Sohail Ekhail , has been trying to provide his fellow Palestinians with nourishing fish by operating a fish farm on the outskirts of Gaza City.

Ekhail’s fish pond

Ekhail is considered as a pioneer in raising fish in salt water pools in Gaza to produce fish which are of a much better quality than fish that are still managing to be caught at sea under the three mile limit that is restricted to Gaza fishermen by Israel.

In his 6 small pools, Ekhail is able to raise fish such as grey and red tilapia, known commonly as “moosht” by locals and “Amnon” or St. Peter’s fish by Israelis who also engage in widespread fish farming for species such as tilapia, grey mullet, and carp.

Ekhail’s aquaculture operations have not been without a number of problems however. His fish farm was destroyed  by Israeli ground forces during the three week Operation Cast Lead military operation in 2008-2009. After restarting the fish farm later on, he has had to contend with occasional electricity power shortages that cause problems to the aeration equipment used to provide oxygen to the fish ponds, as well as not always being able to get the fish pellets needed to feed his fish.

Another issue is the cost of the fish themselves, which go for around NS 25 ($8) per kilogram, making them not affordable by many Gazans who have to live on handouts from UN organizations.

In an interview with the IPS news site , Ekhail mentioned some of his problems:

“We sell mainly to restaurants because people can’t afford to pay for our fish. Many customers buy frozen fish from Egypt instead of ours, because it’s cheaper. And the pellets we feed the fish come from Israel. They are often delayed.”

Frozen fish are “imported” from Egypt through the series of underground tunnels from where Gazans receive much of their goods. The frozen fish is less expensive than those from Ekhail’s fish farm although the quality is not as good.

More nets than fish

Gaza has a long history of dependence on the sea for food. Some 4,000 Gazans still try to fish in the sea for a living; even though their annual fish catch has from a former 3,500 tons a year to only around 500 tons.

Their efforts to go out to fish, even in the three mile zone restricted to them are met with all types of resistance from Israeli naval vessels who do everything from spraying the fishermen with foul smelling substances from water cannon, to actual gunfire and even capture by patrol boats.

For people living on Food Aid handouts Ekhail’s fresh fish, although of excellent quality, are just not within the economic reach of most Gazans. But at least the idea of the aqua  farm itself indicates that if allowed to do so, operations like fish farms are possible in over-populated Gaza.

Fish Pond Photo credit: Eva Bartlet/IPS News

Read more on fish farming and Mediterranean fishing issues:

Fish farming Isn’t so Evil After All

Jellyfish Attack on Israeli Power Plant a Clear Sign of Global Warming?

Is the Mediterranean Sea Harboring a Giant Plastic Garbage Patch?

Commercial Fishing in the Mediterranean Endangering Dolphins?

The post Seaside, Gaza Fishermen Grow Own Fish appeared first on Green Prophet.

Aquaculture has a bad environmental rap. Possible negative impacts associated with fish farms include eutrophication or the loss of oxygen in water, greenhouse gas emissions, land occupation, excess energy demand, and biotic depletion stemming from feeding wild fish to farmed fish.

But Blue Frontiers, a recent report co-produced by the WorldFish Center and Conservation International, reveals that not all fish farms are equally destructive and that some farms can even have a positive environmental impact.

The report honed in on Asia in particular, since that continent is responsible for 90% of the world’s farmed fish stocks, though most of the major producers were evaluated.

Asian aquaculture has the worst environmental record not only because of the sheer volume of its production, which increases its impact, but because the species favored there, Carp, exacts one of the largest tolls.

Here’s a brief breakdown of the relationship between species and the environment:

• Inland pond culture and carp farming have the highest absolute impact;
• Shrimp, prawns and other carnivorous species stand out as especially biophysically demanding;
• Salmonids are demanding as a result of the use of fishmeal for feeding;
• Bivalves and seaweeds place low demands on the environment and actually reduce eutrophication

Compared to farming livestock, a global warming nightmare given the vast quantities of land and grain required to feed them and highly polluting methane pumped into the atmosphere, fish farming is fairly benign.

Aquaculture products contribute less per unit weight to global emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus than pork and beef and convert a higher percentage of the food they eat into consumable protein.

The post Fish Farming Isn’t So Evil After All appeared first on Green Prophet.