Sustainability of seafood production and consumption: an introduction to the special issue

This paper provides an introduction to the special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “The Sustainability of Seafood Production and Consumption”. The purpose of the special issue is to bring together a series of papers that will form a nucleus for the growth of an emerging area of scholarship. Overfishing and marine habitat damage have generated a global crisis in the production of seafood. In order to respond to this crisis we need systems for the management of seafood production and consumption that will comprehensively reduce and eventually eliminate wastefulness in both capture fisheries and aquaculture systems. Thirteen papers address these issues, with focuses on: seafood harvesting practices, fish processing, life cycle assessment, eco-efficiency, management of wastes, seafood distribution and consumption, total energy costs, eco-labeling, and the conservation of resources and biodiversity. We conclude that major changes are required in our approaches to the management of both the marine environment and our seafood capture and production systems. We also conclude that steps have been taken in this direction, but there is still far to go.     

REFORESTATION WITH CONIFERS - ITS EFFECT ON STREAMFLOW IN CENTRAL NEW YORK1

During the early 1930's, more than 340,000 acres of abandoned farmland in New York State were purchased by the State Conservation Department for the planting, growing, and harvesting of trees. Since then, this land has developed from a heavy cover of weeds and brush into dense coniferous woodlands with trees averaging well over 30 feet high. Hydrologic data have been collected since 1932 in Central New York to determine the effect of the reforestation on streamflow. Data are available for three small partly reforested areas and for one non-reforested control area. Intensive statistical analyses of the data from the four study areas were made in 1958. It was determined at that time that significant reductions in total runoff had occurred which were attributed to increases in interception and transpiration. Reductions in peak discharges during the dormant season also were indicated which were attributed to increased interception and sublimation of snowfall, and gradual desynchronization of snowmelt runoff from the wooded and open areas of partly reforested watersheds. Updating of the studies relating to peak discharges was completed in 1967 and indicated that no further changes in relative peaks had taken place since 1958. From this it is concluded that the influence exerted by the forest had become maximum by 1958 and has remained stable since then.     

Isolation and characterization of metal resistant-tolerant rhizosphere bacteria from the serpentine soils in Turkey

Despite the number of studies describing metal hyper-accumulating plants and their associated bacteria in various regions and countries, there is no information on rhizosphere microbial potential of the Turkish serpentine soils. This study aimed to explore the rhizosphere microbial diversity of Ni-resistant, hyper-accumulating plants grown on Ni-rich soils and their metal tolerance–resistance characteristics. One hundred ninety-one locations were visited to collect soil and plant samples from different serpentine regions of Western Turkey. Following bioavailable and total Ni analysis of collected samples, the seeds of the selected plants with higher Ni content were taken to the growth/germination test in a range of serpentine soils in a growth chamber condition. In order to investigate the rhizosphere microbial diversity, Isatis pinnatiloba and Alyssum dasycarpum which were able to germinate and grow well in the preliminary tests, were introduced to 6-month greenhouse experiment in the range of three serpentine soils with higher bioavailable Ni content. I. pinnatiloba had a better stimulatory effect on the rhizosphere microbial diversity. A total of 22 bacterial isolates were identified from different soil conditions in the end of experiment. Following microbial identification and confirmation tests, 11 isolates were found to be resistant and tolerant to the increasing concentrations of Ni, Pb, Cd and Zn in the range of 50–2,000 mg L^− 1, which was considerably higher than those indicated by earlier studies. The strains isolated and identified from the Turkish serpentine soils were the members of genera Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Microbacterium and Staphylococcus.     

Assessing alternative aquaculture technologies: life cycle assessment of salmonid culture systems in Canada

This study employed life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify and compare the potential environmental impacts of culturing salmonids in a conventional marine net-pen system with those of three reportedly environmentally-friendly alternatives; a marine floating bag system; a land-based saltwater flow-through system; and a land-based freshwater recirculating system. Results of the study indicate that while the use of these closed-containment systems may reduce the local ecological impacts typically associated with net-pen salmon farming, the increase in material and energy demands associated with their use may result in significantly increased contributions to several environmental impacts of global concern, including global warming, non-renewable resource depletion, and acidification. It is recommended that these unanticipated impacts be carefully considered in further assessments of the sustainability of closed-containment systems and in ongoing efforts to develop and employ these technologies on a larger scale.