WorldFish aquaculture project providing sustainable solutions

March 21st, 2011

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the year 2050, it is projected that 9 billion people will inhabit our planet and the food we get from the sea will have dwindled to almost nothing. But less fish in our oceans doesn’t necessarily mean less fish on our tables.

One Planet 2050: An Earth Odyssey: Part 2, which was broadcast on 30 December 2010 on the BBC World Service, examines the role fish farming and aquaculture might play in a future almost devoid of wild fish. The podcast looks at aquaculture in cities; open ocean fish farming (replacing dwindling species of wild fish with genetically modified fish and less exploited fish); Africa’s increasing demand for affordable fish in the face of increasing populations; and a WorldFish aquaculture project in Bangladesh that is helping some of the country’s poorest people overcome poverty and malnutrition.

An excerpt from this podcast highlights how Africa’s demand for fish can be met by increasing the continent’s already burgeoning aquaculture industry, and also covers an interview with Dr Benoy Kumar Barman, a WorldFish Research Coordinator, in which he talks about the impact of the Adivasi Fisheries Project.

In 2007, The WorldFish Center began implementing this EU-funded project in partnership with Caritas Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Forum, with the aim of helping Bangladesh’s 2 million Adivasi people. The Adivasis live largely in the country’s northern and north-western districts and have experienced a dramatic decline in the natural resources necessary for their livelihoods, to the extent that their usual agricultural activities can no longer guarantee their survival.

The three-year project has helped many of these indigenous folk to increase fish production, household nutrition, income and alternative employment opportunities simply by teaching them how to rear fish in ponds and rice fields and produce fingerlings in cages, among other activities.

Follow the link below to listen to an excerpt from the BBC podcast
Associated links

Article on The WorldFish Center website, with podcast embedded