If the proposed solution is presented before a committee of international diplomats for approval, it is imperative that the public is also apprised of the current situation. Education, in effect, is a fundamental cornerstone of implementation. The consideration of the proposal can be made public via news channels, the radio, magazines, etc. In doing so, people are better informed in terms of what their governments are voting on. This can spark interest in the situation and rally people for a change towards the sustainability of our oceans.
Fish are an essential part of the marine ecosystem and when populations are disrupted, biodiversity and even water salinity begins to change (Zabel et al.). Businesses and individuals should be aware of the situation and encouraged to modify their habits. It is necessary to illuminate the role that every person can play in saving the world's oceans.
Quelling the Demand for Fish
"Global consumption of fish has doubled since 1973, and the developing world has been responsible for nearly all of this growth. Countries with rapid population growth, rapid income growth, and urbanization tend to have the greatest increases in consumption of animal products, including fish products, and the developing world has experienced all three trends. China, where income growth and urbanization have been major factors, dominates consumption of fish products. It accounted for about 36 percent of global consumption in 1997, compared with only 11 percent in 1973. India and Southeast Asia together accounted for another 17 percent in 1997, with total consumption doubling since 1973" (Ahmed et al., 2003).
The Population Crisis
In 1999 the world's population reached 6 billion, and has been growing at increasingly large rates ever since (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 1999). As the population grows, our natural resources become strained. The number of individuals to feed is growing exponentially. As a result, there is an ever-increasing demand for fish, as well as possible alternatives to fish. In certain developing countries, such as China, India and Indonesia, the population is increasing so rapidly that controlling it would have a large effect on fisheries. Education of the public in such countries is the most ethical way of going about this, though it will be a difficult task, especially in regions where family size is determined by tradition or culture. For this reason we advocate the creation and extension of programs to educate people in these developing countries about family planning and contraception. The specifics of such campaigns are outside the scope of this project, but they are relevant because the population growth rate will effect fisheries in the future.
Methyl Mercury Effects
The education aspect of the proposed solution would include informing people of the negative consequences of fish consumption in hopes to reduce it, such as toxic mercury content which can be found in fish species of the oceans:
"For fetuses, infants, and children, the primary health effect of methyl mercury is impaired neurological development. Methyl mercury exposure in the womb, which can result from a mother's consumption of fish and shellfish that contain methyl mercury, can adversely affect a baby's growing brain and nervous system. Impacts on cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills have been seen in children exposed to methyl mercury in the womb. Recent human biological monitoring by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999 and 2000 shows that the majority of people have blood mercury levels below a level associated with possible health effects. Outbreaks of methyl mercury poisonings have made it clear that adults, children, and developing fetuses are at risk from ingestion exposure to methyl mercury. During these poisoning outbreak some mothers with no symptoms of nervous system damage gave birth to infants with severe disabilities, it became clear that the developing nervous system of the fetus may be more vulnerable to methyl mercury than is the adult nervous system." (Health Effects, 2007).
Other Risks
Fish may have bacteria, viruses, parasites and other disease causing organisms. Unfortunately, fish can pass directly from the fishermen to the consumers without being processed by a regulatory body. Of late there was an global breakout of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which spread through chicken. If such a problem emerges with fish it would take a longer time to detect because fish are not as strictly regulated as chickens. Every commercial chicken farm needs to be registered with some regulatory body while it is not at all necessary for the fishermen to register themselves with any regulatory bodies in some cases.
Another possible approach to reducing fish consumption would be to inform individuals of the advantages of becoming a vegetarian. Mission 2011 does not, however, support replacing the protein and nutritional value gained from fish with other animal meats, especially cattle: the cattle industry is a large contributor to global warming from the clear-cutting of forests to methane production (Marian, 2007). We do endorse obtaining the necessary amino acids from combinations of grain/wheat/flour with legumes/vegetables/beans. Additional information on food combining to achieve optimal protein intake from non-animal sources can be found on Protein in the Vegan Diet and on this Protein Information Sheet.
We also recognize that protein replacement in societies entirely dependent on fish, or in countries with little arable land, is much more difficult and less logical. Therefore, Mission 2011 highly encourages people not dependent on fish for sustenance with access to other means of protein to substantially decrease their consumption of fish. Although, in terms of alternatives, aquaculture can be encouraged.
Incentives must be identified for companies to implement fish-limiting policies as they may be detrimental to their economies, at least in the immediate short term. When proposing treaties, the UN must be able to convince nations that, in the long term, this will prevent the 'tragedy of the commons' from happening (Numprasertchai and Igel). More international trust can be gathered by the formation of an international body responsible for gathering scientific data and routing it to the different governments (Smith).This can be achieved by allowing scientific and policy representatives from different countries to work together and by allowing access and review of data by professionals from any interested country. Several bodes like this already exist, though more attention should be devoted to them. Governments also need to be educated on the importance of saving the oceans, irrespective of immediate costs, to prevent a global oceanic catastrophe.
A decrease in fish consumption is recommended to some extent as a measure to decrease the number of fish extracted from the oceans and will likely cause companies to suffer. To ease this crisis- or even to prevent it- governments may provide subsidies encouraging the companies to fish and trade sustainable fish. Training could also be offered by government bodies and NGOs to help diversification to other fields such as marine reserves. Companies should also be made aware that fishing more and more will only cause further damage. By educating them through workshops and competitions, companies will hopefully realize that a change will allow them become more efficient and, in the long run, more competitive.
People should be encouraged to understand that there is a problem with the ocean and that their daily efforts and attitudes can ultimately prevent a global disaster. The problem the international populace faces now not only concerns fish, or even the ocean, but rather exploitation of the Earth's resources. Examples methods to engage individuals are (though are not limited to): documentaries, news corporation advertisements, books and school programs which would teach children to value and preserve the environment.
One possible method for raising public awareness of the issue of the world's fisheries is to follow the example of other promoters of global issues. One instance that comes to mind is that of Al Gore's film 'An Inconvenient Truth', a documentary designed to frighten the public out of it's apathy regarding climate change. Gore succeeded in executing a "multimedia plan for informing the public about the dangers of global warming" (Koeppel, 2007). What if Gore's tactic was applied to raising awareness about global fisheries?
The commercial success of Gore's film is quite apparent. It has become the fourth highest grossing documentary in history and earned two Oscars at the 2006 Academy Awards (Wray, 2006). Even more impressive is that the film earned half of its gross outside the United States (Koeppel, 2007). This success proves that there are many more people in the world now who have a clear idea of the devastating effects that global warning will have on our planet and perhaps more motivation to do something about mitigating those effects. It also suggests that there is an appetite among the public for information about what is happening to our planet. If we appeal to that appetite by presenting the facts of a global issue in a format that is interesting, entertaining, and easily accessible, we can reach a wide audience with our message, both domestically and abroad.
Several factors other than pure entertainment value contributed to the popularity of "An Inconvenient Truth". One of these factors was the identity of the narrator: a former presidential candidate who is a memorable and controversial topic in and of himself. Another factor is the widespread knowledge about global warming that already exists in popular culture. In order for a film about the plight of global fisheries reach a sizable audience, we would have to have similar assets on our side: both a well-known figure (or several figures) presenting the message and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the problem that are separate from promotion of the film itself. With the proper approach, film and media will be powerful tools in the fight to save the fish.
Recommendations for Education:
Individual Countries:
1. Encourage developed countries to aid less developed countries in adapting to non-fish economies e.g through preferential trade rates for goods and services other than fish.
2. Countries should integrate ecology and ocean curricula into their educational systems so that all students will have a basic exposure to the issues and concepts behind this and other global environmental problems.
Businesses:
1. Encourage the government to provide subsidies to companies who fish more sustainably or who want to diversify to other fields.
2. Provide training and job opportunities for fishermen so that the transition to other jobs from fishing is smoother. Training the fishermen in alternative business such as aquaculture, data collection about the seas and observers on the fishing boats, would help the fishermen to smoothly shift out of the fishing and yet work jobs in their areas of interest.
3. Educate companies on the advantages of becoming more sustainable. Among the various advantages that can be pointed out to the companies to adapt sustainable means is that this will make the business more profitable and efficient as it will make the business itself sustain longer. In the long run it makes businesses more efficient and more competitive.
Individuals:
1. Educate the public about the ocean problem and how their everyday actions hold the key to solving this complex problem. This can be achieved by advertisements, and documentaries such as "An Inconvenient Truth" or even by making the problem more evident through pop culture
2. Introduce classes at all educational levels : involve the problems faced by our oceans in school and higher education curricula :This will make the every student aware of the importance of protecting the environment and how to use natural resources sustainably. It would be effective in the long run to implement laws or regulations involving fisheries after this because more people will be aware of the problem. In India, the education board has made it compulsory for every student to have experience with environmental education.
4. Organize school and university activities : Having debates, quizzes, workshops or research opportunities about how we as people can become sustainable consumers of our resources would help to spread awareness among people.
5. World Ocean Day : Currently there is a Oceans Day Program held by a collaboration between the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education, California Coastal Commission, Spectral Q Aerial Art and regional partners along the west coast of North America. Having such programs in the international scale would help creating large scale awareness in creative ways.
6. Advertisement : Encourage advertisements on popular sites like Google or Yahoo! will further help in increasing awareness. The Ad Council is currently running a campaign focusing on Oceans Awareness.
7. Campaigns in Public Places : Celebrity endorsement may also help raising awareness as well as money for the cause. Such events can be held at educational institutions or other public places.
Works Cited
Ahmed, M., Delgado, C.L., Meijer, S., Rosegrant, M.W., Wada, N. (2003). The Future of Fish: Issues and Trends to 2020. International Food Policy Research Insitute and WorldFish Center. Retrieved 18 November 2007, Website: http://www.ifpri.org.
An inconvenient truth (2007). Retrieved 11/9/2007, 2007, Website: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=inconvenienttruth.htm
Health Effects (2007).Retrieved November 20, 2007, from US Environmental Protection Agency: Mercury Website: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/health.htm
Koeppel, P. (2007). The marketing of an inconvenient truth. Ezine, 11/9/2007.
Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences (2007). Global Warming Facts and Our Future. Retrieved 17 November 2007, Website: http://koshlandscience.org/exhibitgcc/causes04.jsp.
Numprasertchai S, Igel B, Managing knowledge through collaboration: multiple case studies of managing research in university laboratories in Thailand Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2004.03.001
Smith R, Resolving the Tragedy of the Commons by Creating Private Property Rights in Wildlife, Website: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj1n2-1.html
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (1999). The World at Six Billion Website: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm.
Wray, L., & Flanagan, C. (2006). An inconvenient truth about youth. Electronic version. Washington Post, pp. A17. Retrieved 11/9/2007.
Zabel R, Harvey C, Katz S, Good T, Levin P, Ecologically Sustainable Yield Website: http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/17216?fulltext=true&print=yes