The debate “Sustainable Fisheries and Consumption - Local Challenges in a Global World” was held in Porto Santo on June 9, 2019, co-organized by three entities - Madeira Regional Fisheries Directorate (DRP), Hotel Vila Baleira and AIDGLOBAL. The meeting, part of the Tuna Route Festival, began with the viewing of a few short films about the importance of sustainable fishing. There are 800 million people in the world who have fish as their main source of nutrition and income for their families, most of whom live in developing countries. Sustainable choice of seafood in Europe has a direct impact on families from all over the world. The opening of the meeting was attended by Luis Ferreira, Regional Director of Fisheries, and Susana Damasceno, President of AIDGLOBAL.
Luís Ferreira shared the Strategy of the Autonomous Region of Madeira for Fisheries, reporting on some ongoing projects, such as auction movable, and praised the artisanal capture methods used in Madeira, in particular, pole-and-line fishing, one of the most sustainable processes.
Susana Damasceno stressed the importance of various entities - public and private - working together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing the Tuna Route Festival as a good example. This union is necessary given that more fish are being caught than the ocean can produce. It has come to a point where marine ecosystems and many local communities - especially in developing countries - are at risk.
The speaker João Delgado, DRP Director of Research Services, said that according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), globally, marine stocks are 7% depleted, 17% over exploited and 52% intensively exploited. Only 3% are underexploited. One of the major causes of overexploitation is called trawler fishing, which consists of the dragging of huge ballast nets along the seabed causing mass destruction of ecosystems, and where too much of what comes into the net is not usable or discarded, and young fish are caught.
In its communication “Migration of fish caught in Madeira's Economic and Exclusive Zone (EEZ)” (see presentation), João Delgado explained that in the case of tropical tuna species, which constitute one of the main fishing resources of Madeira and Porto Santo, intensive fishing, with siege nets and excessive use of FAD (Fish-Aggregating Devices), at the beginning of the “route” in the spawning area itself (Gulf of Guinea), leads to large-scale capture with high immature fish catch rates.
According to this expert, the concept of sustainable fishing implies, among others, the “one by one” fishing, catching only young adults and adults, selective fisheries without incidental catches of protected species (sharks, marine mammals, turtles and seabirds) and fisheries with a low ecological footprint in relation to industrial fishing.
If more people buy sustainable seafood, there will be healthier oceans, lakes and rivers. A preserved environment benefits people and the planet.
With a view to deepening the theme of sustainable fish consumption, Marta Barata of Associação Natureza Portugal, in association with the World Wide Fund (ANP/WWF) presented the project “Fish Forward, an initiative that advocates that consumers do not have to “give up” a tuna steak. What you can do is make sure you support sustainable fish and follow these recommendations: buy certified fish (prefer MSC or ASC seals or organic labels that indicate that your fish have responsible certificates and come from sustainable fishing or aquaculture), do not eat baby fish, check the labels and opt for a diversified diet (See all the recommendations in the WWF guide).
The panel discussion was also attended by several representatives, including Coopesca Madeira, Porto Santo shipowners, local fishermen and Ilha Peixe Company.
One of the topics under discussion was the difficulty that restaurants, hotels and locals have in buying fish, in Porto Santo, caught on the island itself. This is due to the fact that fishing is an unattractive sector for young people, and there are not many interested in continuing the work of the retiree (docker,…). Promoting entrepreneurship among young people and supporting the modernization of the sector, making it more attractive, were strategies identified by those present as necessary for local development. This debate had about 20 participants (see here the photo album).
The Tuna Route Festival has allowed the sharing of various other experiences related to the fishing sector, namely the presentation of the conclusions of the Study “The importance of tuna in the eating habits of people from Madeira and Porto Santo” by Bárbara Cavaleiro of the MARE-Madeira project.
AIDGLOBAL's participation was part of the project “Educate to Cooperate - Porto Santo and Madeira” co-funded by Camões - Institute for Cooperation and Language, IP., which has as partners Porto Santo City Council, DRAPS and the Teachers Union from Madeira.
