Can the world's oceans feed humanity? Elspeth Probyn Department of Gender & Cultural Studies The University of Sydney, Australia

1. CAN THE WORLD’S
OCEANS FEED
HUMANITY?
(DUARTE ET AL, BIOSCIENCE 2009)

2. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) judges that by 2050 globally we will
need a 70% increase in cropping and grazing
to feed the estimated 9 billion world
population. At current terrestrial food
production yields, we will need cropping and
grazing to increase by 70% to meet the
demands of population growth. It is clear that
more of our food must come from the sea.

3. OF FISH AND HUMANS
“the fisheries are inexhaustible”

4. What we do to fish

5. HUMANS AND OCEANS

6. OF FISH AND HUMANS

7. OF FISH AND HUMANS

8. OF FISH AND HUMANS
Australia controls 14.7 million square kilometres of marine resources.

9. Where
does our
fish come
from?

10. 70% of our seafood is imported
Where does it come from?
• Thailand 26%;
• China 14%;
• Vietnam 12%
United Nations Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries Australia
ranked 4th Thailand 42nd, China 22nd,
and Vietnam 45thii.

11. An Australian study reports that 7% of
consumers are concerned with
sustainability, while only 3% say they
would pay 10% more to buy sustainable
fish (Birch and Lawley, 2011).

12. Eat more

13. Think outside the box

14. www.sustainablefishlab.org
MER
Maricultures Environmental Research is the node of the
Sydney Environment Institute dedicated to
multidisciplinary research on the culture and nature of
the oceans, particularly in regard to fisheries.
We bring together scholars from the humanities and
social sciences and the marine sciences to reflect on
and intervene in the pressing issues facing the sea and
its inhabitants including the humans that live on and
with the marine.