According to a policy paper by an international economists group, marine scientists and seafood experts rising aid from developed countries, earmarked specifically for sustainable seafood infrastructure in developing countries, could improve global food security. Seafood is the main source of protein for billions of people and lack of coordinated policy threatens global seafood supplies.
In order to safeguard the future supply of sustainable seafood the price of seafood has to reflect the cost of maintaining ecosystem health in the countries that capture or farm most of it. Martin D. Smith, lead author of the paper and associate professor of environmental economics at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, said that many imports are coming from developing countries that are not necessarily well-positioned to manage their resources sustainably.
Smith also said that developing countries may produce more seafood than they can consume, exporting it and using the earnings to purchase other foods, goods or services. Cathy A. Roheim of the University of Rhode Island, opined that issues of resource ownership and governance are at the top of the list.
As per Smith version aquaculture (farming seafood) has great promise for enhancing food security but is also threatened when regulations fail to protect the supporting ecosystems. Trade policies such as import bans and tariffs could be used to punish countries that fail to meet sustainability standards, but these are rather blunt instruments.
Smith believes that allocating more foreign aid for sustainable infrastructure in developing countries — provides clear advantages. He added that by specifically earmarking aid for things like sustainable fishing gear, improved management, sustainable aquaculture facilities, or systems to verify sustainability compliance, developed countries will foster food security and ecosystem health, and strengthen seafood trade, without causing short-term hardships to consumers or producers.
