[env-trinity] CBB: Study Looks At Sustainable Salmon Production, Says Salmon Fisheries Low Global Scale Impact

Wed Nov 25 16:57:55 PST 2009

Bill,

My apologies for addressing you as Tom, not sure why I did that sorry.

Here is a better link to Alexandras' blog concerning BC salmon and open
net pens.

http://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=http%3A%2F%2Falexandramorton.typepad.com%2F

Frank Emerson

> Hello Tom,
>
> In what way are Canadians and Europeans ahead of "us" regarding open net
> pen salmon rearing and salmon life cycles? What was the result the
> assessments?
>
> The list of researchers on this "study: should be enough to tell you it
> was supported by the salmon farming industry.
>
> "School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University,
> Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sustainable Food Production, SIK - Swedish Institute
> for Food and Biotechnology, Gothenburg, Sweden, Knowledge Systems,
> Ecotrust, Portland, Oregon, and School of Food Engineering, Pontificia
> Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile"
>
> Other than ecotrust they are all "food institutes" and "food engineering
> schools" in the heart of salmon farming regions of the world. The
> reference to land based production is the giveaway. Many scientists in BC
> are demanding that provincial govts require salmon pens to be closed
> contained pens, with effluent treatment to prevent the contamination of
> out migrating smolts with sea lice, as well as the pollution that is
> changing fjords near the pens.
>
> I sincerely urge you to go to this scientists blog and read about what is
> happening in BC.
>
> http://howbadtherecord.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-blog-by-alexandra-morton.html
>
> There are many "youtube" vids on Alexandras work in BS and the Broughton
> Archipelago also.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/user/cradel3
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e7Ma-mD7h0&feature=fvw
>
> Thank you,
>
> Frank Emerson
> ACSF
>
>
>
>
>> <html>
>> <body>
>> <font face="Garamond" size=4>Two years ago I served, together with
> scientists from Canada and Europe, on a National Environmental
>> Trust-hosted expert panel to conduct a life cycle assessment of Pacific
> salmon fisheries and of Pacific pen-rearing operations. <br><br> It was an
> eye-opening experience for me - the Europeans (and for that matter, people
> all over the planet) are way ahead of us in this kind of analysis and in
> applying life cycle assessment results to all kinds of consumer choices
> and government rule-making - '<u>way</u> ahead<br><br> It will be a
> delight to see this kind of thinking arrive, even slowly,
> in
>> the U.S<br><br>
>> Bill Kier<br><br>
>> </font> At 10:42 AM 11/25/2009, Sari Sommarstrom wrote:<br><br>
> <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">THE COLUMBIA BASIN
>> BULLETIN:<br>
>> Weekly Fish and Wildlife News<br>
>> <a href="http://www.cbbulletin.com/" eudora="autourl">
>> www.cbbulletin.com</a><br>
>> November 25, 2009<br>
>> Issue No. 510<br><br>
>> <br>
>> <font size=4><b>* Study Looks At Sustainable Salmon Production, Says
> Salmon Fisheries Low Global Scale Impact<br><br>
>> </b></font>Popular thinking about how to improve food systems for the
> better often misses the point, according to the results of a three-year
> global study of salmon production systems.<br><br>
>> Rather than pushing for organic or land-based production, or worrying
> about simple metrics such as "food miles," the study finds that
>> the world can achieve greater environmental benefits by focusing on
> improvements to key aspects of production and distribution.<br><br> For
> example, what farmed salmon are fed, how wild salmon are caught and the
> choice to buy frozen over fresh matters more than organic vs.
> conventional or wild vs. farmed when considering global scale
>> environmental impacts such as climate change, ozone depletion, loss of
> critical habitat, and ocean acidification.<br><br>
>> The study is the world's first comprehensive global-scale look at a
> major
>> food commodity from a full life cycle perspective, and the researchers
> examined everything  how salmon are caught in the wild, what they're fed
>> when farmed, how they're transported, how they're consumed, and how all
> of this contributes to both environmental degradation and socioeconomic
> benefits.<br><br>
>> The researchers behind the study sought to understand how the world can
> develop truly sustainable food systems through the lens of understanding
> the complexities associated with wild and farmed salmon production,
> processing and distribution. They found that decision-making for food must
> learn to fully account for the life cycle socioeconomic and
> environmental costs of food production. How we weight the importance of
> such impacts is ultimately subjective and in the realm of policy and
> culture, but using a comprehensive approach provides a more nuanced
> process for informed decision-making. Even food has a lifecycle, and the
> world must learn to comprehend the full costs of it in order to design
> reliable, resilient food systems to feed a world population that's
> forecast to grow to 9 billion in less than 40 years.<br><br>
>> The researchers chose salmon as their focus as it exemplifies important
> characteristics of modern food systems, yet offers unique opportunities
> for comparison. It is available around the world at any time and in any
> location, regardless of season or local ecosystem, it is available in
> numerous product forms, and it is distributed using a variety of
> transport modes. Unlike many other food systems, however, it is
> available
>> from both wild sources and a range of farmed production systems.
> <br><br>
>> While it isn't easy to balance people, profit and planet, the world must
> do much better. Food production, in aggregate, is the single largest
> source of environmental degradation globally. Impacts vary dramatically
> depending on what, where and how food is produced. <br><br>
>> For example, early results of the study found that growing salmon in
> land-based farms can increase total greenhouse gas emissions ten-fold over
> conventional farming depending on how and where the farming is
> conducted.<br><br>
>> Similarly, while organic farming of many crops offers benefits over
> conventional production, organic salmon production gives rise to impacts
> very similar to conventional farming due to the use of resource
> intensive
>> fish meals and oils. Beyond the farm, it's important to also consider
> the
>> total impact of food preparation. Driving to the store alone and then
> cooking alone at home has a big environmental impact. Going out to dinner
>> more, or just eating more frequently with friends and family at home,
> has
>> huge benefit.<br><br>
>> For concerned consumers, it's important to think about how food was
> produced and transported  not just where it was produced  when making
> food choices.<br><br>
>> Initial Findings from the study:<br><br>
>> --- Fish should swim, not fly. Air-freighting salmon, and any food,
> results in substantial increases in environmental impacts. If more frozen
>> food were consumed, more container ships would be used to ship food.
> Container ships are by far the most efficient and carbon-friendly way to
> transport food. Globally, the majority of salmon fillets are currently
> consumed fresh and never frozen. In fish-loving Japan, which gets much of
>> its fish by air, switching to 75 percent frozen salmon would have more
> benefit than all of Europe eating locally farmed salmon. <br>
>> --- The choice to buy frozen matters more than organic vs. conventional
> or wild vs. farmed. <br>
>> --- A full life cycle assessment approach to research provides a more
> nuanced process for informed decision-making. Even food has a lifecycle,
> and we must comprehend the full impact to make meaningful improvements to
>> food systems. Tradeoffs may be inevitable. <br>
>> --- Contrary to what is widely perceived, the vast majority of
>> broad-scale resource use and environmental impacts (energy inputs, GHG
> emissions, etc) from conventional salmon farming result from the feeds
> used to produce them. What happens at or around a farm site may be
> important for local ecological reasons but contributes very little to
> global scale concerns such as global warming. <br>
>> --- Across the globe, what is used to feed salmon and the amounts of
> feeds used vary widely. As a result, impacts are very different.
> Norwegian salmon farming resulted in generally lower overall impacts while
> farmed salmon production in the UK resulted in the greatest
> impacts. <br>
>> --- Reducing the amount of animal-derived inputs to feeds (e.g. fish
> meals and oils along with livestock derived meals) in favor of
>> plant-based feed inputs can markedly reduce environmental impacts. <br>
> --- Growing organic salmon using fish meals and oils from very resource
> intensive fisheries results in impacts very similar to conventional farmed
> salmon production. <br><br>
>> If not planned carefully, technological fixes aimed at addressing local
> environmental challenges associated with conventional salmon farming can
> result in substantial increases in global-scale environmental
>> impacts.<br><br>
>> In general, salmon fisheries result in relatively low global-scale
> environmental impacts. <br><br>
>> However, substantial differences exist between how salmon are caught.
> Catching salmon in large nets as they school together has one tenth the
> impact of catching them in small numbers using baited hooks and lures.
> <br><br>
>> Across salmon production systems  and all food systems  the world is
> often swimming against the tide. Instead of working with nature, people
> work against it, chasing fish in the open ocean with big diesel engines or
> substituting energy demanding pumping and water treatment for free
> ecosystem services in salmon farming. We can and must do better than this
>> and start to swim with the tide. <br><br>
>> The most recent published paper from the study can be seen in the
> journal
>> Environmental Science & Technology:
>> <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es9010114"
> eudora="autourl">
>> http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es9010114</a><br>
>> _______________________________________________<br>
>> env-trinity mailing list<br>
>> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us<br>
>> <a href="http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity"
>> eudora="autourl">
>> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity</a></blockquote>
> <x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
>> Kier Associates, <i>Fisheries and Watershed Professionals<br>
>> </i>P.O. Box 915<br>
>> Blue Lake, CA 95525<br>
>> 707.668.1822 <br>
>> mobile: 498.7847 <br>
>> <a
> href="http://www.kierassociates.net/">http://www.kierassociates.net<br>
>> </a>GSA Advantage Contractor GS-10F-0124U </body>
>> </html>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> env-trinity mailing list
>> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
>> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> env-trinity mailing list
> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity
>