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Education is an essential part of successfully implementing our solution. If the proposal is discussed internationally, the news media should inform citizens about the deliberations. This could 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 encouraged to modify their habits. It is necessary to illuminate the role that every person can play in saving the world's oceans.
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). We can see that education efforts must reach the developing world and those who are most dependent on fishing. (WHAT'S OUR PLAN HERE??)
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 for the possible alternatives to fish. In certain developing countries, such as China, India and Indonesia, the population is increasing so
to reducing fish consumption would be to inform individuals of the advantages of becoming a vegan or vegetarian. Mission 2011 does not support replacing the protein and nutritional value gained from fish with other animal meats, especially cattle: the beef industry is a large contributor to global warming through activities ranging from the clear-cutting of forests to methane production by cattle (Marian, 2007). We do endorse obtaining the necessary nutrients from combinations of grain/wheat/flour with legumes/vegetables/beans. Additional information on combining foods 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 strongly encourages people with access to other sources of protein to substantially decrease their consumption of fish.
Educating Fishermen
Incentives must be identified for fishermen and large-scale fisheries to implement sustainable policies, as they may be more expensive than unsustainable fishing practices in the immediate short term. Fisheries should also be made aware that fishing more and more will only cause further damage. Education through activities such as workshops, will hopefully convince the industry that changing fishing practices will make them more efficient and, in the long run, more competitive.
Educating People
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 world faces now concerns not only fish, or even the ocean, but rather exploitation of the Earth's resources. Examples of methods to engage individuals are (though are not limited to): documentaries, advertisements, books and school programs to 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 leads of other global issue activists. An excellent example is Al Gore and his film, "An Inconvenient Truth." 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 revenue outside the United States (Koeppel, 2007). This success indicates 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:
- 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).
- 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:
- Encourage the government to provide subsidies to companies who fish more sustainably (employing equipment that does not harm the ocean environment) or who want to diversify to other fields.
- Provide training and job opportunities for fishermen so that the transition from fishing to other jobs is smoother. Training the fishermen for alternative jobs such as aquaculture, ocean research, and regulatory observation on the fishing boats would help the fishermen to smoothly shift out of fishing and yet work jobs in their areas of interest.
- Educate companies on the advantages of becoming more sustainable. In the long run it makes businesses more efficient, more profitable, and more competitive.
Individuals:
- 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 in popular culture.
- Introduce classes at all educational levels: involve the problems faced by our oceans in school and higher education curricula. This will make 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.
- Organize school and university activities: Having debates, quizzes, workshops or research opportunities about how we can become sustainable consumers of our resources would help to spread awareness among people.
- 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 worldwide would help create large-scale awareness in creative ways.
- Advertisements: Advertising on popular Web sites like Google or Yahoo! will further help in increasing awareness. The Ad Council is currently running a campaign focusing on Oceans Awareness, using Ariel from the Disney movie "A Little Mermaid".
- Campaigns in Public Places: Celebrity endorsement may also help raise awareness as well as money for the cause. Such events can be held at educational institutions or in 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