Oceans and Fisheries Seminars

We frequently hear about demise and decline in fisheries systems. This narrative can inadvertently shift the focus of research and funding away from the opportunities and benefits available within the fisheries sector. In this presentation Dr. Cohen will share recent research on equity, justice, and nutrition through fisheries. She seeks to stimulate a discussion with the group about the opportunities we have as researchers to contribute to, and rebalance, what ‘food system transformations’ might look for sustainability, nutrition and human wellbeing outcomes.

Plastic production surged during the 20th century, from about 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 348 million tonnes in 2017. The global plastic industry is valued at ~US$523 billion, and it is expected to double by 2040 (perhaps earlier due to the widespread use of PPEs triggered by COVID-19). As plastic production and use have soared, so has the damage to the marine environment as marine plastic pollution, estimated at ~ 150 million tonnes currently, has correspondingly increased. In this talk, I present an integrated system model developed by a large collaborative project led by scientists at the Pew Charitable Trusts. From this model, we derived a coherent global strategy to solve the urgent problem of marine plastic pollution. We suggest that marine plastic pollution could be reduced by 80% by 2040 through the implementation of nine complementary system interventions, including, substitution of plastic with paper in certain cases; and designing plastic for recycling across the plastics value chain. This level of marine plastic pollution would deliver co-benefits in terms of the climate, health, and jobs for millions of people worldwide.