The fact that 72% of the earth’s surface consists of seas and oceans makes our globe a blue planet.
The seas and oceans provide a big part of the earth’s oxygen need, contribute to ecological recycling, and regulate global climate and temperature rates. Moreover, one-third of carbon-dioxide emission is absorbed by the saltwater. These alone prove the significance of the seas and oceans for the continuation of the planet earth.
Blue Economy aims to actualize fair, conscious, and sustainable development in the seas and marine sectors, such as fishing. When we achieve sustainability, new areas of employment will be created and the competing capacity of local fishers with the market economy will be increased. Accordingly, when we achieve the sustainability of the fisheries, we will be fighting against poverty and unfair distribution of income, and supporting food safety; thus benefiting future generations. As the sustainable blue economic transformation takes place; the marine ecosystem will be conserved, the integrity of the ecosystem will be secured, and biodiversity and efficiency will be increased.
Europe’s biggest research and innovation program Horizon 2020 strategy predicts that, with the current rates of global population growth, the food demand will reach up to 70% until 2050. With this demand increase, it is also foreseen that food security will be constituting a crucial problem for future generations. To meet the increasing demand, new occupation types called “Blue Jobs” appear. Moreover, occupation types that support the blue economy/development both contribute to the sustainability of fisheries and enable sustainable consummation of fish/aquaculture.
For generations, communities, especially the fishers, have had a food culture of their own. Many factors like aquaculture/fish processing methods and tools, preserving techniques, and the used material influenced the seafood culture.
Especially with the increase in industrialization, the food culture started to change rapidly. The demand for fast and practical food has increased as people started to spend too much time at the workspace and especially as the women started to participate more in the labor force. More and more kinds of canned food, which can be prepared in minutes without having to spend too much time, have been produced and these foods started to be frequently used in daily life. However, when canned fish/aquaculture is mentioned in Turkey, the first thing that comes to mind is industrial-market production goods. Although Turkey has a wide variety of fish species, the consumer is compelled to the monotype fish at the markets.
Besides, almost all of the fished goods are consumed fresh, and processed fish constitutes a rather small amount. For example, 86.2% of the fish that is produced in our country is consumed fresh, while the technologically processed amount makes up to around 13.8% as frozen, dried, dry-salted, and smoked fish. Whereas only 31.7% of the fish produced in the world is freshly consumed, and the remaining 59.3% is canned.
Canning fish adds up to meat/fish’s nutritional value, enables people of different economic income to have easy access, and makes the fish easier to preserve for families with a short income and without the availability of a freezer.
In the light of above, in order to meet the increasing consumption demand with the market economy, it has become necessary to create models to prevent waste of overfished seafood and to create a fair competition environment.
Kadın Balıkçılar Derneği
Bizi Takip Edin
Güzeltepe Mah.
Abidin Daver Sok. 7/1
Çankaya – Ankara
