Cristina Rodrigo (Compassion in World Farming)
The implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework will depend not only on progress on land, but also in the oceans. However, marine and coastal ecosystems continue to receive less attention than terrestrial ecosystems in the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, a concern explicitly recognised in the draft decision under agenda item 18(c) on marine and coastal biodiversity and island biodiversity.
At CBD COP 17, many issues under discussion share a common goal: protecting ecological relationships that sustain healthy marine ecosystems. To achieve the objectives of the Global Biodiversity Framework, it is not enough to protect important marine areas; it also requires understanding how human activities affect marine ecosystems and the species they depend on. This includes how marine resources are used in food production, particularly in relation to Target 9 on the sustainable use of wild species and Target 10 on the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture.
Compassion in World Farming's reports, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Caught, Caged and Under Threat, The Growing Threat of Carnivorous Aquaculture and Octopus Farming, a recipe for disaster, show that farming high-trophic species depends heavily on wild-caught fish for feed, placing additional pressure on marine ecosystems. The removal of these forage fish, which play a vital role in marine food webs, can reduce food availability for marine predators, threaten biodiversity, and undermine food security in regions where they are an important source of nutrition and livelihoods, particularly for vulnerable coastal communities.
As implementation of the Framework continues, greater consideration should be given to how aquatic food systems can meet biodiversity objectives without contributing to overfishing, ecosystem degradation or forage fish depletion, while safeguarding marine food webs, coastal livelihoods and food security.
Although small pelagic fish and aquatic food systems remain underrepresented in CBD discussions, they are relevant to issues already addressed by the Convention, including ecosystem-based approaches, marine food webs, sustainable use of wild species and nature-friendly production systems – as well as other crucial questions regarding food security, nutrition, and livelihoods.
Greater attention to these questions would help ensure that species essential to marine ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them, should not be overlooked in future discussions on marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
To explore these issues, Compassion in World Farming is convening the side event Feeding the Future While Protecting Ocean Biodiversity: Rethinking Carnivorous Aquaculture today, 22 October, 13:15-14:45, at the FPWC Pavilion. The discussion will explore the ecological importance of small pelagic fish and their role in marine biodiversity, marine food webs and food security, as well as the implications of aquaculture for Targets 9 and 10.