The search for blue transitions in aquaculture-dominant countries
The capacity for aquaculture to provide an alternative source of fish and seafood to capture fisheries was once promoted as a tool to reduce demand for wild fish and thus tackle overfishing. To date, there is little evidence to suggest that aquaculture growth has successfully reduced fishing effo...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://umt-ir.umt.edu.my:8080/handle/123456789/21534 |
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| Summary: | The capacity for aquaculture to provide an alternative source of fish and seafood to
capture fisheries was once promoted as a tool to reduce demand for wild fish and
thus tackle overfishing. To date, there is little evidence to suggest that aquaculture
growth has successfully reduced fishing effort on wild populations. Recent theory on
“blue transitions” suggests that displacement may only occur as aquaculture production
surpasses that of capture operations. Yet, there has been no systematic attempt
to understand whether aquaculture-driven
fisheries displacement has occurred in
countries where aquaculture is now the dominant production form. We investigate
the role of aquaculture on fisheries landings in these “aquaculture-dominant”
countries
using national-level
production, trade, consumption and socioeconomic data
from 1980 to 2017. Importantly, we find that aquaculture growth is associated with
fisheries decline in aquaculture-dominant
countries, but the marginal effects of aquaculture
have a far weaker influence on wild-caught
landings than other promoting
factors, such as fish consumption and trade. Further, our qualitative analysis of the
state of wild fisheries in aquaculture-dominant
nations suggests that overexploitation
continues to be pervasive and that any minimal displacement effects from
aquaculture are unlikely to have offset the environmental impacts imposed by the
growing sector. The rise of aquaculture as an alternative production form can provide
valuable insights for growing industries developing sustainable new foods. Unless
coupled with effective food consumption policy, such products may simply add to
rather than displace the environmental impacts of human food production. |
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