Fish and shellfish provide a vital source of protein and essential fatty acids for the human diet around the world. They are wild caught or aquacultured at the rate of 150 million tons annually by industrial fleets and farm operations nominally regulated by national governments which have often have drastically diverging interests from those of other nations with whom they must share the seas. Many species are endangered, some aquaculture practices have been found hazardous to the environment, and the livelihood of small-scale, subsistence fishermen everywhere is imperiled. Corrective multinational seafood conservation treaties require massive data compilation & the development of an international scientific & political consensus on best practices. But informed consumers making wise choices in the market may well be the most influential factor in making seafood a sustainable resource. Information professionals have an important role to play at every step of the process.
Program Take-Aways Participants will have a better understanding of the complexities of what is truly an international dilemma, will see how important fact-finding is, and yet understand how competing interests can look at the same set of facts and come to very different conclusions.
