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Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach

Publication ,  Journal Article
Greene, C; Scott-Buechler, C; Hausner, A; Johnson, Z; Lei, XG; Huntley, M
Published in: Oceanography
2022

By mid-century, society will need to significantly intensify the output of its food production system while simultaneously reducing that system’s detrimental impacts on climate, land use, freshwater resources, and biodiversity. This will require finding alternatives to carbon emissions-intensive agriculture, which provides the backbone of today’s global food production system. Here, we explore the hypothesis that marine algae-based aquaculture can help close the projected gap in society’s future nutritional demands while simultaneously improving environmental sustainability. Food production from marine algae-based aquaculture has the potential to contribute more than the total global protein demand projected for 2050, which ranges from 263.8 Mt/yr to 286.5 Mt/yr. It also offers important nutritional and environmental sustainability advantages relative to terrestrial agriculture. Marine algae can provide a better source of high-quality nutritional protein, essential amino acids, and other micronutrients relative to terrestrial plants. In addition, because marine algae do not require soil, irrigation, and the open application of fertilizer, their cultivation does not need to compete with agriculture for arable land and freshwater nor does it lead to fertilizer runoff and downstream eutrophication. Furthermore, by reducing agriculture’s demand for arable land and freshwater, marine algae-based aquaculture can reduce the pressure for deforestation, potentially leading to globally significant reductions in carbon emissions and biodiversity loss.

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Published In

Oceanography

DOI

ISSN

1042-8275

Publication Date

2022

Start / End Page

26 / 34

Publisher

The Oceanography Society

Related Subject Headings

  • Oceanography
  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 0405 Oceanography
 

Citation

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Greene, C., Scott-Buechler, C., Hausner, A., Johnson, Z., Lei, X. G., & Huntley, M. (2022). Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach. Oceanography, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2022.213
Greene, Charles, Celina Scott-Buechler, Arjun Hausner, Zackary Johnson, Xin Gen Lei, and Mark Huntley. “Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach.” Oceanography, 2022, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2022.213.
Greene C, Scott-Buechler C, Hausner A, Johnson Z, Lei XG, Huntley M. Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach. Oceanography. 2022;26–34.
Greene, Charles, et al. “Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach.” Oceanography, The Oceanography Society, 2022, pp. 26–34. Crossref, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2022.213.
Greene C, Scott-Buechler C, Hausner A, Johnson Z, Lei XG, Huntley M. Transforming the Future of Marine Aquaculture: A Circular Economy Approach. Oceanography. The Oceanography Society; 2022;26–34.

Published In

Oceanography

DOI

ISSN

1042-8275

Publication Date

2022

Start / End Page

26 / 34

Publisher

The Oceanography Society

Related Subject Headings

  • Oceanography
  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 0405 Oceanography