Ted Schulman

Seafood Commons becomes Seafood Ecosystem

Seafood Commons is Now Seafood Ecosystem

Thursday, 02 January 2020
Technology
General

"It's not dark yet but it's getting there." Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind As we move into the next decade, alarm bells have sounded too late to solve the oncoming climate catastrophes we are about to face. At the same time, we are in the most transformative era in history, as the old systems collapse, we can still look to the human spirit and ingenuity to attempt to steer us away from the most tragic outcomes.The 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services one of the most sweeping (and startling) on the state of the planet's natural systems, based on thousands of scientific studies and authored by hundreds of international experts offers a very bleak assessment for our future.The assessment estimates that current extinction rates could be up to hundreds of times higher than at any other point in the past 10 million years...

Seafood Commons - Establishing the Oceans as a Legal Global Commons

Seafood Commons, announcement by World Ocean Observatory

Sunday, 16 June 2019
General

Solving the biggest problem the world has ever facedCAPITOL HILL OCEAN WEEK 2019; Washington, D.C. 一 According to the World Wildlife Fund, 'Some of the worst ocean impacts are caused by pervasive illegal fishing, which is estimated at up to 30% of catch or more for high-value species.' During Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW), the nation's premier annual conference examining current marine, coastal, and Great Lakes policy issues, global innovators discussed solutions to address the challenges posed by IUU fishing. At the panel discussion on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Peter Neill, Director of the World Ocean Observatory (W2O), introduced the Seafood Commons (SFC) as a plausible solution to address the problem. "The Seafood Commons is a not-for-profit, open-source, values-driven, post-blockchain system for traceability, accountabil...

High Seas as a Legal Entity - Press Release

High Seas as a Legal Entity

Thursday, 15 November 2018
Rights

[Hong Kong, Sustainable Ocean Summit, November 14, 2018] Global fisheries, a core planetary industry, and source of food are endangered. At the same time, advocates, industry leaders, and technologists are rallying to establish the economy necessary to meet this challenge. Quite simply, humanity is facing a global crisis as life in the Oceans is threatened and the window of opportunity to help save these waters is rapidly closing. Though negotiations and meetings are underway to create a new treaty for managing biodiversity on the high seas, this will likely take years to enter into force. There is currently no effective management framework in place. The world no longer has the time to wait for slow-moving international government agencies to attempt to solve the problem. Thankfully, new technologies now create the opportunity for global...

Trim Tab Impact DApp™

Monday, 18 June 2018
Technology

So, what is a trim tab?Last month the Seafood Commons released an architecture for a Decentralized Autonomous Industry. This month we are introducing how Buckminster Fuller's trim tab design framework is employed in the SFC to reorient the seafood industry towards regenerative stewardship of the oceans.Buckminster Fuller, renowned architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist gave humanity a comprehensive perspective and approach to solving planetary problems and summarized his design goal through the analogy of a "trim tab" (an important nautical and aviation component that helps move the rudder using little force against high pressure) for innovation, leadership and personal empowerment. In the February 1972 issue of Playboy, Fuller said, "Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think o...

Decentralized Autonomous Industry (DAI)

Monday, 18 June 2018
Technology

Global fisheries, a core planetary industry, and source of food are endangered. At the same time, good actors, advocates, industry leaders, and technologists are rallying to establish the economy necessary to meet the challenge. https://seafoodcommons.orgExecutive OverviewThe seafood industry contributes US$230 billion to the global economy, creating jobs that support 8% of the world's population and provides the world's prime source of high-quality protein: 14–16% of the animal protein consumed worldwide; over one billion people rely on seafood as their primary source of animal protein.Environmental degradation, ocean acidification, plastics and loss of biodiversity are crossing major tipping points. The authors of a study released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined 78 percent of the world's annual catch and found that only ...

Earth Day 2018 -The SeaFood Commons is Born

Monday, 23 April 2018
General

THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT AND FEED 1 BILLION PEOPLE A HEALTHY PROTEIN MEAL EVERY DAYIn planning for over two years, SeaFood Commons website launches with an ambitious goal to apply sound management reforms to global fisheries around the world. This could generate annual increases exceeding 16 million metric tons (MMT) in catch, $53 billion in profit, and 619 MMT in biomass relative to business as usual. With appropriate reforms, recovery can happen quickly, with the median fishery taking under 10 years to reach recovery targets. Results show that common sense reforms to fishery management would dramatically improve overall fish abundance while increasing food security and profits. PRESS RELEASE: Download PDF File Here Draft Presentation Deck: Download PDF File Here

Global Warming’s Toll on Coral Reefs: As if They’re ‘Ravaged by War’

Saturday, 06 January 2018
Environment

Before we call rockfish, shrimp and crab "dinner," some of these species call coral reefs "home." But those reefs, home to a quarter of all marine fish species, are now increasingly threatened as rising ocean temperatures accelerate a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.Large-scale coral bleaching events, in which reefs become extremely fragile, were virtually unheard-of before the 1980s. But in the years since, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, the frequency of coral bleaching has increased to the point that reefs no longer have sufficient recovery time between severe episodes. Global Warming’s Toll on Coral Reefs: As if They’re ‘Ravaged by War’ - The New York Times Enter some description here... https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/climate/coral-reefs-bleaching.html

NFI seeks to reach administration on seafood trade in 2018

Tuesday, 02 January 2018
Supply Chain

Pressing the importance of all trade on the Donald Trump administration, including imported seafood, will be one of the top priorities of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) in 2018.The US seafood industry's biggest trade association, representing close to 300 companies, is still smarting from several of the moves made by the White House and its Cabinet in their first year, including its formal withdrawal from a trade deal with Pacific countries, a lack of progress on a trade deal with Europe and implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (Simp).But NFI president John Connelly said trade will remain a top focal point for the group in the New Year."We just need to spend more time on the Hill and in the administration to help them appreciate that not all trade is negative for the US," Connelly told Undercurrent News in a December interview ...

UN signals 'end' of throwaway plastic

Sunday, 17 December 2017
Environment

The end of the era of throwaway plastic has been signalled by UN environment ministers meeting in Kenya.They signed off a document stating that the flow of plastic into the ocean must be stopped.Scientists welcomed the statement, but were unhappy the agreement was only based in principle, with no firm targets or timetables.Ministers say it's a milestone because it shows governments, industry and the public that a major change is needed.Vidar Helgesen, Norway's Environment Minister, has been leading the UN debate on plastic pollution.He told BBC News: "What we came here with was the need for action. The starting point was aiming for zero emission of marine litter. So it's effectively a breakthrough for zero emission of plastic into the ocean."He admitted that this was really only the start of action against plastic litter. UN signals 'end' of throwa...

These 10 Rivers Are Responsible for 90 Percent of the Plastic in the Oceans

Sunday, 17 December 2017
Environment

As plastic in the world's oceans continues to rise, researchers are pinpointing sources of pollution so that conservation efforts can stem the flow. Over the last six decades, according to one estimate, 9.1 billion tons of plastic has been produced worldwide and 7 billion tons of it has ended up as waste. Much of that waste has infiltrated our oceans. And, according to another estimate, more than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the sea each year. Researchers from the Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research in Germany, think they've nailed down a crucial detail about plastic pollution: how it gets into the ocean. And, they found, just 10 rivers account for 90 percent of the plastics flowing into the seas. Their study is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Murder and abuse – the price of your sashimi

Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Rights

The last great tuna rush in the world's oceans is underway in the South Pacific. Tuna stocks are being plundered and those meant to protect them are dying mysterious deaths far from shore while fishermen live and die in appalling conditions.At least eight fisheries observers — mostly recruited from South Pacific states with an interest in the exploitation of tuna — have died in mysterious circumstances over the past five years, based on reports and my own extensive research.Fishermen too have fallen victim to the hunger for tuna that has sent thousands of boats into the region, with crews in virtual slavery, reluctant to admit the scale of the fishing going on — far in excess of what is agreed or approved.Legal recourse on the high seas is a murky world where borders are hard to define and justice hard to come by — even in the case of murder.A murder at ...

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016

Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Aquaculture

REPORT from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsGlobal per capita fish consumption rises above 20 kilograms a yearFAO's new State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report urges more work to rein in overfishing7 July 2016, ROME- Global per capita fish consumption has risen to above 20 kilograms a year for the first time, thanks to stronger aquaculture supply and firm demand, record hauls for some key species and reduced wastage, according to a new FAO report published today.There were around 4.6 million fishing vessels in the world in 2014, 90 percent of which are in Asia and Africa, and only 64,000 of which were 24 meters or longer, according to SOFIA. Globally, fish provided 6.7 percent of all protein consumed by humans, as well as offering a rich source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, calcium, zinc and iron. Some 5...

Aquaculture could feed the world and protect the planet - if we get it right

Tuesday, 05 December 2017
Aquaculture

What if we had the chance to reinvent the world's food system and make local, more sustainable food the norm rather than the exception?It might seem like a crazy idea, but with 9 billion people expected on our planet in by 2050, it's a necessity.Experts agree that world food production will need to increase by 2050, but we can't exponentially increase the amount of land or freshwater that would be required to meet that demand. With arable land in limited supply, some estimates indicate we only have 60 years of food production left in our soils if we continue with current agricultural practices.One food production sector that is growing rapidly is aquaculture—the practice of growing food in the water. Nearly every coastal country has significant potential to farm its oceans, and the global sector is poised to grow. Aquaculture could feed the world a...

Welcome to the Seafood Commons Blog

Friday, 17 November 2017
General

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans. Seafood prominently includes fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Historically, sea mammalssuch as whales and dolphins have been consumed as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are widely eaten as seafood around the world, especially in Asia (see the category of sea vegetables). In North America, although not generally in the United Kingdom, the term "seafood" is extended to fresh water organisms eaten by humans, so all edible aquatic life may be referred to as seafood. For the sake of completeness, this article includes all edible aquatic life.The harvesting of wild seafood is usually known as fishing or hunting, and the cultivation and farming of seafoo...