Go Blue! Seafood Sustainability

Happy Birthday to Both Sea Port and the Magnuson-Stevens Act!

This year Sea Port celebrates its 35^th birthday along with the 40^th birthday of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and we undoubtedly share a common birthday wish that our ocean resources will provide current and future generations with abundant seafood from both wild fisheries and aquaculture.

Sea Port’s viewpoint is that achieving sustainable seafood from both wild fisheries and aquaculture is a perpetual pursuit rather than a static endpoint because human population and economic changes impact our marine resources along with naturally occurring environmental changes that have nothing to do with human actions. Because of this, both Sea Port and Magnuson must always work with the best available scientific facts and forgo emotional responses.

With this perspective, both Sea Port and the Magnuson-Stevens Act must be able to evolve and adapt to current and foreseen changes that will negatively affect our ability to make sure that our country always has enough seafood to maintain and improve the health of our citizens.

The following changes and potential changes are a few of the possible drivers that will spur us to evolve and adapt our wild fishery and aquaculture practices going forward:

·         Increasing ocean acidification

·         Increasing pollution from municipal, industrial, and agricultural sources, and plastics

·         Increasing world population

·         Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration

·         Increasing ocean temperatures

·         Increasing atmospheric temperatures

·         Increasing toxic algae blooms

·         Increasing sea levels

·         Increasing loss of productive coastal marshlands, estuaries, and mangrove forests

·         Increasing demand for seafood

·         Increasing demand for freshwater

·         Increasing changes of weather patterns and intensity of storms

The notable birthdays of both Sea Port and the Magnuson-Stevens Act are definitely worthy of celebration.  However, birthdays are also a launching pad toward a brighter future, a future in which both Sea Port and the Magnuson-Stevens Act will adapt and evolve in our shared perpetual pursuit to sustainably maximize the bounty of our wondrous oceans for current and future generations.

Happy Birthday and Many More!

Go Blue!  For Sustainability – For Our Health – For Our Environment

Sincerely, David Glaubke

Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Sea Port Products Corp.