Risk, regulation and innovation: The case of aquaculture and transgenic fish

1. Risk, regulation and innovation: The case of aquaculture and transgenic fish • Water Policy Article • Written by Philipp Aerni • Aim of the paper: • To observe the risks and benefits of aquatic biotechnology worldwide, especially in the USA

2. Initial Position: how aquaculture and transgenic fishes became an issue • 1960s: overfishing might irreversibly affect the balance of the marine ecosystem, with the consequence that marine fish production would decline, while the global demand would increase. • This public and scientific concern lead to an uncertainty about the future of fishing

3. Regulation • Forming of policies for precaution and prevention so the fish resource would stay constant. • Specialize the fish industry • Kyoto conference in 1976 organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Instead to be fish hunters, fishers had to become fish farmers. • Help through the government by subvention and promotion

4. Innovation • Building of high standardized fish aquaculture with selective breeding to increase the competition and sustain the fish demand. • Breeding of genetically predestinated fishes and addition of food supplements to enlarge and enhance the fish population, especially in China.

5. Risks • Uncertainty about ethnic rights, future policies, public resentment and perception. • Environmental problems such as water pollution. • Inequality of marine ecosystem through habitat modification, genetic interaction of cultural and wilds stocks.

6. Different strategies to meet the regulations • Negative example: • Developing countries: only few have formulated sustainable policies, lack of commitment • Lead to limited success • Latin America: saw a possibility to create new employments and improve their financial standards. • Effect was a disregard of potential cautions such as pollution and unsustainable policies. • -> may have caused negative public attitude in developed countries • Positive example: East Asia established their fish farms after creating concepts and sustainable plans, policies and farming practices where a lot of knowledge was integrated.

7. Regulation: Building of a regulatory framework by the government (national and international) and non-governmental actors • In the 1980s the environmental, socioeconomic and sanitary risks of intensive aquaculture had been recognized. • 1992 a Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro discussed about unsustainable practices in fish aquaculture. • Guidelines for fish aquaculture were settled and accommodated by several reformulations over the years. • Three guiding principles were brought up: • Principle of Sustainable Development • Precautionary Principle • Principle of Human Equity (fairness) • Establishment of a global Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) for developing an appropriate and administrative framework that facilitates the development of responsible aquaculture especially concerning the developing countries.

8. Regulation: Building of a regulatory framework by the government (national and international) and non-governmental actors • Establishment of a Code of Practice for the Products of Aquaculture • The Code contained the following policies: • Construction and operation establishments • Quality and safe use of inputs • Fish health and sanitary requirements for harvesting • Storage and transport of live fish • Establishment of a Codex Alimentarius: • Ensure food safety of fish, food inspection controlling the harvesting, processing and distribution of fish products. • Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures • Formation of the Marine Stewardship Council to raise industrial awareness for sustainable fisheries.

9. Innovation and new technology • More regulation did not slow the productivity instead it made it more receptive for innovation. • New technology to accelerate the fish production, such as selective fish breeding and genetic engineering by biotechnological changes. • Automatic computerized feeding of the fish • Improved shelter security for the fish, so they can’t escape • Sterilization techniques through triploidy induction

10. Risks • Unwilling consumption of transgenic fish, because other fishes will be to expensive or not enoughoffered. • Uncertainty and skepticism: about possible effects of transgenic fish on: • the human genome • health • biological diversity • social equity • Is there a 100% effectiveness in the reproductive sterilization

11. Regulation and dealing with the present problems, risks and concerns • One is now doing several tests, to see if there are any potential environmental and/or health risks of transgenic fish. • effect of the health of the fish by transgenic genome • fitness of transgenic fishes • effect of transgenic fishes on human health (allergies, hormonal changes, cancer risk)

12. Conclusion • From small-scale fish catching to large-scale fish catching to fish farming to fish breeding • Human beings tend to be skeptic of new innovations and always see some risks. Therefore new innovations have to be tested and regulated of legitimated agencies. • Innovation and new technology is a dynamic process which brings up uncertainty, new problems, requirements, new policies and safeties which again lead to new innovation. “Innovation in a private sector is aiming at minimizing existing risks but likely to create new risks that must be addressed again through innovations in technology and management.” (P. Aerni, paper)

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