Biodiversity considerations in the marine aquaculture and fisheries industries

Abstract

The marine aquaculture and fisheries industries play an important role in global food security and nutrition. However, the natural (aquatic) resources are subjected to over-exploitation. The marine ecosystem also faces significant biodiversity threats that impact the long-term viability and sustainability of the industry. Given their ecological importance, it is necessary to understand the specific biodiversity challenges and the related solutions that can be used to promote the sustainable development of the sectors. This chapter provides an overview of the academic literature dealing with the biodiversity implications of the aquaculture and fisheries industries. How some of the industry’s leaders report on their efforts to manage biodiversity-related challenges is considered. Findings reveal that organisations play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity by assessing their direct and indirect impacts on the ecosystems, implementing solutions to manage these concerns, integrating biodiversity management into the business model and evaluating sustainability performance.