A brief overview of the issues faced by Harmful Algal Blooms along Johor straits

Urbanization of coastal areas worldwide has increased due to an increase in the global population. The production of sustainable aquaculture is greatly impacted by a surge of this urbanization. In certain countries, particularly for individuals with more limited space in metropolitan areas, such as along Johor's coastal area, aquaculture might well be a good strategy to maintain food availability (continuous production plus high-quality meals). Consequently, the adoption of aquaculture along the Johor's coastal area has lead to Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB). This paper examines the evolution of the aquaculture industry of Malaysian Johor coastal areas in relation to HABs. In addition to HABs, the aforementioned metropolitan regions confront diverse economic and geographical obstacles when attempting to increase their aquaculture production sustainably. Those problems are therefore addressed using a variety of operations as well as surveillance techniques in this brief overview. Lockdowns and border prohibitions caused by the continuous COVID-19 infection have had a global impact. These logistical difficulties in the seafood industry have increased dependency on imported supplies. It is suggested that international decision- making, supervision, and knowledge exchange can successfully solve the challenges urbanized areas have in ensuring sustainable food security through the evolution within the aquaculture sector.

Fisheries and aquaculture products consumption in France: when the Covid-19 crisis did not lead to more sustainable purchases

In terms of food consumption, sustainability dimensions are often conflicting with purchasing power and practical purchases. France lands, farms, imports, and consumes large quantities of fisheries and aquaculture products (FAPs). The pandemic affected both domestic and foreign FAP supply through restrictions on trade and fishing conditions. Numerous sale points offering FAPs were closed during the pandemic. This general context has likely questioned the role of consumers on environmental, economic, and social matters. The aim of the paper is to assess whether the Covid-19 crisis has been an opportunity for French consumers to align their consumption at-home with the environmental issues by favouring domestic producers, short channels, or eco-friendly products. Quantitative data on at-home ordinary household purchases in metropolitan France from 2017 to 2021 was used along with t-test methods. It seems that fresh FAPs consumption did not truly adapt to the domestic fish production in defiance of import restrictions and available surpluses. While fresh shellfish at-home consumption did not change significantly in 2020, salmon and cod are still widely favoured by French consumers at-home, although their French production is virtually non-existent. On the contrary, domestically produced fish species remains poorly consumed at-home. The abundant supply of fresh salmon initially intended for other markets has permitted to consolidate the dominant position of this species on the French at-home consumption market. Initiated by supermarkets and hypermarkets and followed up by consumers, the trend of purchasing pre-packaged fresh fish has been substantially amplified by the pandemic and seems to persist over time. © 2023 EDP Sciences. All rights reserved.

Aquaculture Production in the Midst of GHG Emissions in South Africa

The study ascertained the relationship between aquaculture production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in South Africa. The study used the Autoregressive Distributed Lag—Error Correction Model (ARDL-VECM) with time series data between 1990 and 2020. The results showed that the mean annual aquaculture production, GHG emissions, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the period were 5200 tonnes, 412 tonnes, and US$447 billion, respectively. There was a long-run relationship between GHG emissions and GDP. In the short run, GHG emissions had a positive relationship with GDP and a negative relationship with beef production. Furthermore, there was a bi-directional relationship between aquaculture production and GHG emissions. In addition, beef production and GDP had a bi-directional relationship. Beef production also had a positive relationship with aquaculture production. The study concludes that aquaculture production is affected and tends to affect GHG emissions. Aquaculture legislation should consider GHG emissions in South Africa and promote sustainable production techniques.