On 21 February, "World Ocean Review 2 - The Future of Fish – The Fisheries of the Future" (WOR 2) was released. With the new report, published by the non-profit organization maribus gGmbH with support from the magazine mare, the International Ocean Institute and the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”, scientists from Kiel together with other leading international fisheries experts have produced one of the most comprehensive investigations into the state of worldwide fisheries.
Will we still be able to eat fish with a clear conscience in future? How great is the threat and which fish species are affected? What are the possible solutions, particularly on the European level, for the sustainable management of the most important edible fish species? And how can aquaculture contribute to securing the long-term supply of edible fish for the world's population?
At present, more than one quarter of all edible fish are deemed to be overfished and a further 30 percent are considered endangered. The situation is even more drastic in Europe where almost half of all stocks are threatened by overfishing. Since 1950, the quantity of fish caught annually has increased fivefold to currently 78.9 million tons of fish and seafood. The ruthless exploitation of fish as a resource threatens not only the food supply for an increasing world population, but also particularly the sensitive ecological balance of the oceans.
"With the 'World Ocean Review 2', we are presenting, for the first time, the interrelation between world-wide fishery and the threats and consequences posed by this interrelation in their full complexity," says Nikolaus Gelpke, mare publisher and founder of maribus gGmbH. "In so doing, we are not merely sounding the alarm, but are proposing concrete solutions." Thanks to the constructive co-operation between scientists and mare journalists, the report is easy to understand and can be read by anyone: It is a profound source of knowledge for decision makers and publicists who want to increase their awareness of the problem.
The new report provides a comprehensive overview of the significance of fish as a part of the biocoenoses in the ocean, examines fish as a food source and as a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of fishermen and puts forth possible solutions long-term and sustainable management. Another chapter is devoted to the prospects for aquaculture - the fastest-growing food sector in the world today.
The report also provides advice on what to buy at the fish counter: "With the 'World Ocean Review 2', we are raising public awareness about buying fish on a sustainable basis," says Professor Martin Visbeck, speaker of the Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean", during his presentation on the WOR 2 in Hamburg. One of the greatest problems today, according to Visbeck, is that individual fish species are currently often viewed in isolation, not in terms of their interaction with other species and their significance for the entire ocean ecosystem. "This must change quickly and fundamentally," says Visbeck. "There are now positive examples of sustainable management of the resource fish from around the world, both from an economic and a social perspective. We want to make these examples know with the 'World Ocean Review 2'."
Background
maribus gGmbH was founded in 2008 by mare publisher Nikolaus Gelpke. It is a non-profit organization which aims to raise public awareness about how the diverse aspects of the marine environment are all interconnected and to contribute to more effective marine conservation. The first maribus publication, the "World Ocean Review 1" (WOR 1), is a comprehensive and unique report, illustrating the state of the world's oceans and the interaction between the ocean and ecological, economic and sociopolitical aspects. To date, around 70,000 copies of this overview in German and English have been requested worldwide.
The second maribus publication, "The future of fish – the fisheries of the future" is a continuation of the co-operation between the WOR partners; they stand for long term commitment to the oceans and work at the highest academic level:
- the International Ocean Institute (IOI), founded by Elisabeth Mann-Borgese in 1972
- the Kiel Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean", an association of more than 250 scientists from various disciplines, supported by Kiel University, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, the Institute for the World Economy (IfW) and the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design, with funding provided by the German federal government and states within the scope of the excellence initiative of the German Research Foundation (DFG), and
- mare - the magazine of the oceans
The "World Ocean Review" is published in a print run of 60,000 copies (German/English). The publication is not for sale, but is available free of charge. There is no profit-making aim. It can be obtained at http://www.worldoceanreview.com. An English version will soon be available in addition to the German version. The entire publication will appear at the same time on the Internet at http://www.worldoceanreview.com.
"World Ocean Review 2 – The Future of Fish – The Fisheries of the Future", published by maribus gGmbH, Hamburg 2013, a 148-page paperback with numerous graphics and photographs.
Images from the presentation can be found after the event at www.worldoceanreview.com under “Presse”.
Links
http://www.worldoceanreview.de
http://www.mare.de
https://www.futureocean.org
Contact and sample copies:
maribus gGmbH
Stephanie Haack
Press and Public Relations
Telephone: +49-40-368076-22
E-mail: haack@maribus.com
Kiel University
Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean"
Friederike Balzereit
Press and Public Relations
Telephone: +49-431-880-3032
E-mail: fbalzereit@uv.uni-kiel.de
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