Oceana Presents Five Steps to Save the Oceans and Feed the World
Press Release Date: June 8, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Contact:
Anna Baxter | email: abaxter@oceana.org
Anna Baxter
In celebration of World Oceans Day and the launch of four new foreign language editions of the book The Perfect Protein, now available at Amazon.com, Oceana has compiled five steps everyone can take to help protect and restore our oceans.
Oceana is working to restore the biodiversity and abundance of the world’s oceans so that they can better support a world population forecasted to grow from seven billion people to nine billion by 2050. One aspect of this work is encouraging direct consumption of forage fish, small species such as anchovy and sardine that are often used as feed for livestock but could provide millions more tons of heart-healthy and delicious protein to feed hungry people if eaten directly.
Forage fish form massive shoals that are targeted by some of the largest fisheries on earth, but they are rarely seen on restaurant menus. Instead they are mainly used to make fish meal and fish oil to feed farmed fish like salmon as well as chickens, pigs and other livestock. These “reduction” fisheries account for an enormous 20% of all the marine fish caught worldwide according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Peruvian anchoveta alone account for 6 to 8% of all fish – by weight – caught in the oceans. Yet over 95% of all of these anchovies are “reduced” into fishmeal and fish oil. Simply eating more forage fish and reducing our reliance on protein from livestock – along with scientific management of the world’s fisheries – will enable us to put less pressure on the planet in the form of demand for fresh water, use of arable land, and emission of climate changing gases.
“World Oceans Day is an opportunity to think about the oceans not only as a source of inspiration but also as a shared resource and a source of food for millions of people worldwide,” says Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless. “We all are able to make a difference in the health of our oceans by being smart consumers when it comes to our seafood choices—and beyond being mindful consumers, we should all get involved to help change ocean policy in order to help improve the state of our oceans in years to come.”
Everyone can help support the campaign to Save the Oceans, Feed the World by following the simple steps below, drawn from Oceana’s critically acclaimed book The Perfect Protein. The new digital or kindle editions – including Spanish, Portuguese, German and French– will be sold exclusively on Amazon.com and contain recipes from 40 of the best chefs in the world.
- Get educated. Get and read the Perfect Protein and other books to better understand how we can save the oceans and feed the world.
- Speak up for stronger, better ocean policy. Join Oceana or other ocean groups. Contact your local officials with your concerns. Getting involved is the essential to good ocean policy.
- Eat and cook smart (seafood wise): or as stated in The Perfect Protein, “choose wild seafood. Not too much of the big fish. Mostly local.”
- Go to sea: it’s the best way to get inspired and to inspire others to save the ocean. Fish, scuba dive, snorkel, sail, boat, kayak or beachcomb responsibly.
- Spread the word: join conversations on Facebook or Twitter; tell your friends and family about ocean conservation and Oceana’s campaign to save the oceans and feed the world.
