Thursday, April 20, 2017

From Sea to Plate

Did you know that keeping illegally captured fish off supermarket shelves is a problem around the world? This is a challenge that is facing the fishing/seafood industry and one of the heaviest traded commodities in the world. We encourage you to read the linked article and then utilize the discussion points provided below to guide conversations around the globe.


Discussion Points
  • Why is it so important to track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood products around the world?
  • Explain what is being proposed to help protect against illegal, unprotected and unreported fishing. 
  • Why is international buy-in so crucial to this initiative? 
  • Which countries have led the way by already adopting similar initiatives? How can buy-in be increased globally in your opinion?

28 comments:

Unknown said...

It's important to track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood products around the world because millions of dollars are being spent on illegal fishing practices. It's also important because the unauthorized fishing is damaging marine wildlife, making authorized fishing more difficult. FAO Port State Measures Agreement created a treaty that does not allow IUU fishing vessels to enter ports and land their illegal fish.

Anonymous said...

It's important to track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood because its a big industry with a lot of money to be made. According to the article the industry had a value of 142 billion in 2016 with an additional 26 million additional tons of fish caught illegally.

Anonymous said...

It is important to monitor and track the sale of seafood products because it ensures the safety of the seafood products along with when and where the products come from. It tells the IUU how many fish were caught during the year. Tracking seafood products helps ensure safety for the public that eat this food

Anonymous said...

As the fish maket get betere then it will become more of mony to be created with fish in come

Anonymous said...

its very important to regulate the fishing industry because we need to keep as many species of fish alive and if they take away the regulations fishermen will just catch and sell any and all fish they catch.

Anonymous said...

Illegal, Unprotected, and Unreported (IUU) fishing is damaging marine ecosystems, and sabotaging efforts to manage fisheries. Catch Documentation schemes (CDS) offer a way to to cut down trade on illegal fish. So only fish with valid documentation can be exported or traded to markets with where a CDS requirement exist.

Anonymous said...

Its important to track and monitor the seafood that goes to the markets because if illegal fish are getting taken there and sold, it could stir up environmental issues. Also people depend on these markets for their protein source. Therefore, if we allow illegal fish to not be monitored and be sold, the market will get out of control and the sea quality will go down.

Anonymous said...

It is important to track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood products around the world because there are people who depend on fishing for their livelihoods and is a critical part of protein and vitamins. If illegal fish are getting sold in the markets this could cause environmental problems around the world.

Anonymous said...

Its important to monitor the sale and trade of seafood around the world because millions of dollars are being spent on illegal fishing practices and its also damaging the marine wildlife.

Anonymous said...

1- Its important to track and monitor the sale and trade because a lot of money is spent on illegal fishing practices.
2- A set of voluntary guidelines on catch documentation schemes to trace fish from their point of capture.
3- To ensure a paper certificate safely makes it from a fishing port in one country to an inspection station in another.
4-Rome.

Anonymous said...

Because tracking and monitoring fish would help stop the over fishing of fish all over the world.

A set of guild lines requiring a certification that the fish was caught legally is being submitted to the UN.

It will not only stop trade disputes, but will also stop countries from over fishing in their waters if they don't sign the treaty.

Many countries (44) have adopted these protcols, including Norway and the EU countries. Making incentive would be a good way to cause countries to develop these policies.

coleralfs said...

It is important to track and monitor the sale of sea food products around the world because people depend on the millions of dollars that are made from the fishing industry, so when illegal sea food sales are happening it takes away from those peoples lives. They are proposing that you have to have certification to be able to stop the illegal trading and selling. International buy-in so crucial to this initiative because it needs to stop trade disputes. Some countries have led the way by already adopting similar initiatives are Poland, UK, and the Netherlands are just a few countries that are adopting to similar initiatives. It can increase globally by telling the world how it works.

Anonymous said...

Millions of dollars are made from the fishing industry that many people depend on. Its important to understand that when sea food is sold illegally, it takes away from those peoples lives. They are proposing that in order to trade and sell, you would need a certification which would help stop the illegal sales and trades. International but-in is so crucial because it needs to help stop trade disputes. Some countries like Poland, UK, and the Netherlands are some countries that are leading the way in adopting similar initiatives. It can be adopted globally if the world was explained how this works.

Anonymous said...

1. It is important because if we didn't track and monitor the sales and trade then people could easily slip stuff in there that's illegal or they could sell fish illegally.
2. what's being proposed is that there's a set of guidelines that requires you to be certified and submitted proving that the fish were caught legally.
3. It will stop trade disputes and stop people from overfishing the waters.
4. The European Union as well as 44 other countries have adopted similar things. I think that the countries coming together to form one big International set of guidelines is essential.

Anonymous said...

1. It is important to track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood products around the world to stop illegally caught fish from entering the marketplace.
2. Shipments of fish certified by national authorities as being caught legally and in agreement with best practices by proof of hard copy documentation.
3. The European union has led the way by already adopting similar initiatives.
In my opinion buy-in can be increased globally by countries and surrounding fish organizations joining together to form one union to support, keep track of (keep accountable) so that buy in can be increased in an organized way.

Anonymous said...

It is important to track and monitor sale and trade of seafood products around the world because the illegal capturing of seafood products is taking away money from the industry, which among one of the world's top most widely traded food commodities. The proposal on the table presents internationally agreed standards that can guide the development of catch documentation schemes. International buy in is important because all countries must be on board and coordinating with one another to ensure the guidelines are being met. So the challenge to create a user friendly program is important. The countries that have already adapted a similar initiative is the European Union. I think buy in can be increased globally by getting feedback at the local fisheries as well as higher producing fisheries to get an understanding of what they seem as user friendly and throughout the entire process of developing being able to change and adapt to what works for the people. Somonauk ST

Anonymous said...

It is really important to track the illegal, unregulated, and, unreported fishing because of the effects it can have on the economy,food security, and environment. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report,the countries that consumes fish the most are developing. This means that these countries are already struggling to feed themselves and advance. On top of their struggle, the last thing they need is for IUU fishing to affect their food and economy. A lot of these countries potentially depend on fishing to earn money to feed their families, and to feed themselves in general. Laws against IUU should be in place to stop any use of IUU that will potentially hurt those in developing countries.

Anonymous said...

It is incredibly important that seafood products are monitored and tracked once caught because catching and selling fish illegally is depleting the crops of fish, which is not only a food source, but a way of life for certain people who depend on seafood for their diet and livelihood. While there are legitimate fisherman, who, as of 2016 caught 93 million tons of fish, and there are also illegal fisherman who caught 26 million tons of fish as of 2016. They put a limit on legal catching to maintain the fish population, if more fish are being caught, that means less reproduction, which in turn means less fish to catch and eat. The illegal fisherman are hurting the fishing industry, by selling their fish cheaper than legally caught fish, and they are not allowing for the fish to repopulate. By putting laws in place to document how many fish are being caught in every country, they are better able to know, and monitor how many fish are being caught legally, illegally, and where. The international by-in is the only way this problem will be minimized. If countries around the world by into this new law, and enforce it, they can better monitor how much fish is being caught, both legally and illegally. This problem will never go away, but if the countries agree to the by-in, the problem will be less devastating, as fewer fish will be caught and sold.

Anonymous said...

The United States imports more than 90% of their seafood, relying on places like China, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Ecuador to supply us with our top imports of shrimp, freshwater fish, tuna, salmon, and more. This example of high demand and the difficulty in discerning between legally and illegally obtained fish is why IUU fishing remains prevalent. However, although IUU fishing may be profitable to those involved, many of which are from developing African and Asian countries, this illegal act causes many problems for consumers who rely on fish as a food source and workers who rely on fish as their source of employment. For those that participate in IUU fishing, they undermine the efforts to gather the necessary data to manage legal fisheries as 26 million additional tonnes go unreported, use destructive fishing methods that generally kill more fish than are captured, and threaten global food security as they continue to decrease fish stocks for the 4 billion people that depend on seafood as their source of animal protein. From an economic side, IUU fishing disrupts both small and large scale fishing operations, can cause heightened tensions between countries as they dispute over fishing rights and access to fisheries, and can reduce expected government revenues as they typically operate at lower costs than legal fishers, hurting different areas possible competitive advantage. These multiple conflicts are the driving factors behind the broadening use of catch document schemes (CDs), which are items that would verify shipments of fish as being legally caught with the best practices. However, because of the challenges when CDs are more widely applied, including the potential for fraud and loss, international buy-in between countries is essential to provide a common ground, reduce barriers, and lower trade disputes. Overall, with the majority of areas are on the same page, the CDs will become more simple and easier to adapt to different fisheries circumstances. To increase internatiol coordination, I believe more data on the growing problem of IUU fishing needs to be presented in a manner that discusses each region and the specific problems they would face. -R.O, Somonauk

Anonymous said...

It is important to keep track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood products around the world because it effects the economy and consumers/producers. Most seafood products come from developing countries, the United States imports 90% of seafood. These countries deal with IUU fishing, Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated,this greatly affects how the country produces, and their economy. As of now there are many fishing limits in which fishers have to know how many fish they caught so it can be determined how many fish are being caught illegally. With the international by-in countries will know how much fish is being caught legally and illegally. This won't stop the problem right away but over time IUU fishing is to end. In my opinion, the buy-in can be increased globally by informing fisheries of this this process and having them understand so they can start to see a change in their country.

Anonymous said...

I come from a family that catches their own fish for consumption. We go on fishing trips at least once a year, having fish frys every night, and only being allowed to take a specific number of fish due to the economy and environment. If it weren't for that specific number, people would be taking as many as they could leaving little to no fish in the lake. It would be hard to repopulate the fish as there are few in there, having a scarce supply for people to consume as well. Monitoring the fish being caught and sold is very important because they could have not been treated properly, they take money away from the industry and they make it hard for legal, recreation fishing. With this being something close to home for me, I wouldn't want to see scarcity or illegal selling contribute to more problems within our economy. The place that we stay on these trips also have "fish police" that come around and make sure you aren't taking too many. -K.P. Somonauk

Anonymous said...

Since seafood products are so widely traded, it is important to track the trade and sales of it around the world. Illegal fishing takes money away from companies that sell these products and without things like permits and knowing about endangered species, legal companies would not be able to have good crop to trade. In order to protect against this, a set of guidelines was created to have a standard for governments and businesses that want a system to track fish from "sea to plate". This could help reduce the amount of illegal fishing and increase the sales for companies since aquaculture is such area of trade. The new guide lines are going for a more digital-efficient way of doing things and it says that if shipments and important information is recorded digitally it would be able to be referred back to at any time and would decrease the amount of fraud opportunities. I was slightly confused by this because I thought people were more likely to lie over a computer screen so false documentation can be given as well as changed. Also, paper can be copied and saved in multiple places so there is a back-up to look back if needed, but with the internet if something goes wrong all of that information could be lost. Would digital really be more efficient? E.D. Somonauk

Anonymous said...

It is so important to track and monitor the sale of fish around the world because if people just sell fish that is endangered without the government knowing that species could go instinct. And other animals are already loosing different species of them because of poachers. It would just be another animal that we might end up loosing because of man kind. They are doing Catch documentation schemes which offer a way to cut down on trade on illegal fish.

Anonymous said...

From sea to plate is not an issue I honestly would have ever realised is happening around the world. As someone who does not eat seafood, it is just not a worry that I have ever had. However, it is so important to track and monitor the sale and trade of seafood products around the world to ensure one of the world's most widely traded food commodities is not being sold illegally and to ensure the safety of the marine ecosystem and fisheries. In a market that is producing 91-93 million tonnes of fish for $142 billion in exports, 26 million of these tonnes is being captured and sold illegally. Ultimately, this takes money away from companies who are legally allowed to capture and sell this seafood for a profit. Being proposed to help protect against illegal, unprotected and unreported fishing is Catch documentation schemes (CDS). These are used to cut down on trade of illegal fish. This means fish must be documented legally by national authorities and legally processed and marketed nationally or internationally in order to be exported or traded to other markets with the same requirements. A updated version of CDS would be instead of the fish only being documented on paper, but now digitally too. The more aware people become of CDS, the easier it will be to put an end to illegally sold and traded seafood and the sooner it will be to help the marine ecosystem. -Somonauk

Anonymous said...

Sea commodities are a important part of the import and exports aspects to how a country runs. Since they can only be found in certain area the pricing of items can vary alot, which means these things should most defiantly be tracked and kept up with financially. Many people have the idea that there is a magor surplus of fish everywhere due to the fact that the earth is 70% water, yet many restrict the amount of fish available to catch. Recreational fishing takes away from businesses and with both recreational and corpate fishing at times certain species come close to exintion. To help prevent this there are many different laws and regulations on fishing. Therefore illegal fishing is a major problem in any type of country and it is greatly affecting the income of countries that buy and sell seafood commodities.

JP said...

Most people probably do not realize it, but insuring that the seafood that they are consuming on their plate for a meal is legal has become a seemingly large issue for countries all over the world. It has been estimated that around 26 million tons worth of fish has been illegally caught this past year. Some may think that it is no big deal because these fish were going to be captured and consumed anyways, but illegally capturing and selling seafood takes away from other countries. Some fisheries in some countries depend on their practices for their livelihood. If their fishery is not thriving, they are not thriving. Some countries rely on seafood in order to have a healthy diet. If the amount of fish in that area are dying because they are being caught illegally and are not being given enough time to reproduce then those people have a large gap in their daily diet. This is a huge issue in itself and if this trend continues for many years to come, then decreasing the effects of the hunger epidemic planned to be here by 2050 will be that much more difficult. Fortunately though, some organizations have started to take action in order to contain and decrease the amount of fish that are captured illegally. One way is through the use of CDS. CDS are documentation that travels with the captured fish so that those countries receiving it or processing it know it was captured correctly and legally. This would sure help distinguish legal fishermen from illegal fisherman, but like any other solution there are still holes in it such as fraudulent paper or the loss of documentation during transit. Overall this issue is bigger than anyone, including myself, could have ever imagined. If organizations continue to create solutions and if all countries all over the world continue to work as on international unit and apply these solutions, the effects of illegal fishing will see a great decrease.

J.P. Somonauk

Anonymous said...

It is very important to track and monitor the sale of sea food because it has a big effect on the economy and environment. The countries who export seafood are mostly developing and the United states imports 90% of its seafood. When illegal fishing is done it effects both the economies who import and export the seafood. Seafood is among the worlds highest traded commodity. So, it is very important to the economy. Also they are trying to get a control on illegal fishing because it is taking to many of the fish from the ocean and damaging the marine eco system. The international buy in is so important because fishing is done across many boarders. All country's need to be on the same page and work together in order for this to work.

Anonymous said...

It is very important that seafood products are monitored and tracked once caught because catching and selling fish illegally is costing the ocean an additional 26 million tonnes of fish each year. The black market fish industry takes away jobs from people who depend on the seafood business to provide for their families. In efforts to combat the excess amount of illegal fish that is captured each year the a catch document scheme (CDS) has implemented, in essence the CDS is a way to cut down on the amount of traded illegal fish. The basic concept: shipments of fish are certified by national authorities as being caught legally and in compliance with best practices; certifying hard-copy documentation then accompanies the fish as they are processed and marketed nationally or internationally. Only fish with valid documentation can be exported or traded to markets where a CDS requirement exists. It is crucial for all countries to adopt the CDs system because with cooperation from all participants the transition from paper to electronics will be much more smooth. Electronic tracking systems will allow documents to be shared between countries in a matter of seconds with little to no chance of them being lost in the mail, or misplaced in an office. With international cooperation the amount of illegal fish caught and traded each year could be significantly decreased. C.J.-Somonauk

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