Towards A Blue Revolution

Overfishing. For the world’s oceans, it’s long been a worrisome problem with few answers. Many of the global fish stocks are at a dangerous tipping point, some spiraling toward extinction. But as older fishing fleets retire and new technologies develop, a better, more sustainable way to farm this popular protein has emerged to profoundly shift the balance. The Blue Revolution tells the story of the recent transformation of commercial fishing: an encouraging change from maximizing volume through unrestrained wild hunting to maximizing value through controlled harvesting and farming. Entrepreneurs applying newer, smarter technologies are modernizing fisheries in unprecedented ways. In many parts of the world, the seafood on our plates is increasingly the product of smart decisions about ecosystems, waste, efficiency, transparency, and quality. Nicholas P. Sullivan presents this new way of thinking about fish, food, and oceans by profiling the people and policies transforming an aging industry into one that is “post-industrial”—fueled by “sea-foodies” and locavores interested in sustainable, traceable, quality seafood. Catch quotas can work when local fishers feel they have a stake in the outcome; shellfish farming requires zero inputs and restores nearshore ecosystems; new markets are developing for kelp products, as well as unloved and “underutilized” fish species. Sullivan shows how the practices of thirty years ago that perpetuated an overfishing crisis are rapidly changing. In the book’s final chapters, Sullivan discusses the global challenges to preserving healthy oceans, including conservation mechanisms, the impact of climate change, and unregulated and criminal fishing in international waters. In a fast-growing world where more people are eating more fish than ever before, The Blue Revolution brings encouraging news for conservationists and seafood lovers about the transformation of an industry historically averse to change, and it presents fresh inspiration for entrepreneurs and investors eager for new opportunities in a blue-green economy.

This book provides comprehensive information on several dimensions of blue revolution in a structured form. Material provided in the book has been gathered from several relevant published sources and views expressed are based on practical field experience of the authors. Blue revolution would be one of the big game changers for the Indian economy. The subject of sustainable development of fisheries sector being very vast, concerted efforts have been made to accommodate all the relevant elements. Very little reading material with proper analysis is currently available and this book is expected to bridge the gap and project way-forward to achieve sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture in India under the blue revolution. The book is organised under 13 chapters covering wide ranging subjects that include fish production, processing, marketing, exports/imports of fishery products; ecolabelling; role of industry in promoting sustainability in fishing and aquaculture; sustainability issues in marine/inland fisheries/aquaculture; and fisheries regulations and legislations. Information has been provided on Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) particularly SDG 14 (Life Below Water); components of blue economy; Government of India fisheries development initiatives; and executive summary of recently launched PMMSY. Emerging plant and cell-based seafood segment; overall impacts of climate change; and impact of recent pandemic COVID-19 on fisheries and aquaculture are discussed under separate chapters. Finally, a chapter on ‘Way Forward’ is included that suggests practical management measures, technology infusion, technical interventions along with few innovative concepts and approaches towards achieving blue revolution. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Like the Green Revolution of the 1960s, a “Blue Revolution” has taken place in global aquaculture. Geared towards quenching the appetite of privileged consumers in the global North, it has come at a high price for the South: ecological devastation, displacement of rural subsistence farmers, and labour exploitation. The uncomfortable truth is that food security for affluent consumers depends on a foundation of social and ecological devastation in the producing countries. In Confronting the Blue Revolution, Md Saidul Islam uses the shrimp farming industry in Bangladesh and across the global South to show the social and environmental impact of industrialized aquaculture. The book pushes us to reconsider our attitudes to consumption patterns in the developed world, neoliberal environmental governance, and the question of sustainability.

As the world's demand for food from aquatic environments continues to increase, the importance of performing aquaculture in an environmentally responsible manner also increases. The aim of this important and thought-provoking book is to stimulate discussion among aquaculture's modern scientific, education and extension communities concerning the principles, practices and policies needed to develop ecologically and socially sustainable aquaculture systems worldwide. Ecological Aquaculture provides fascinating and valuable insights into primitive (and often sustainable) culture systems, and ties these to modern large-scale aquaculture systems. The book is edited, and authored to a considerable degree, by Barry Costa-Pierce who has assembled a team of some of the leading thinkers in the field, providing information spanning a spectrum of activities from artisanal to high technology approaches to producing aquatic organisms in a balanced and environmentally-friendly way. Ecological Aquaculture is an essential purchase for all aquaculture personnel involved in commercial, practical and research capacities. Libraries in research establishments and universities where aquaculture, biological, environmental and aquatic sciences are studied and taught should have copies of this book available on their shelves.

Contributed articles.

In Confronting the Blue Revolution, Md Saidul Islam uses the shrimp farming industry in Bangladesh and across the global South to show the social and environmental impact of industrialized aquaculture.