Editor’s note: SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Neil Ray is in Phuket, Thailand, this week covering the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010.
Providing access to food security and nutrition, especially for poorer populations, was the common thread of Day 2 of the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010 on Friday. Held at the Mövenpick Resort and Spa in Phuket, Thailand, the three-day event features aquaculture experts, fish farmers, scientists and government officials.
Dr. Craig Browdy, former president of the World Aquaculture Society, spoke of ways in which new technology could be used to help fish farmers. Opportunities exist to ensure food security and profitability, he said, but they may have to be taken on by co-operative ventures rather than individuals.
Dr. Somying Piumsombun, Director General of the Thai Fisheries Department, told SeafoodSource that Thailand is also committed to a sustainable seafood industry. But the country is also aware that while the industry has to demonstrate environmental responsibility the final product should be affordable, she said.
This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Brian Davy, whose presentation highlighted the need for the promotion of partnerships between farmers and outreach programs. Davy suggested that individual countries’ organizations or governments should not work autonomously. Using technical advances in communications, there ought to be a “global community response” to food security, he said.
Bringing food security and nutrition to poorer populations was also addressed by Dr. Thilstead of Bangladesh. Her work has identified small fish as a very good source of vitamin A. The potential to deliver vitamin A to the diets of 6 million children should be an opportunity taken, not missed, she emphasized.
The conference wraps up on Saturday with discussions on the draft Phuket Consensus.
