The Increasingly Important Role of Seafood, Wild Fisheries, and Aquaculture in a Changing World | American Blue Economy Podcast

August 17, 2021

The future of seafood

In this month's episode, host Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet (ret) discusses fisheries and seafood, one of the most sustainable and healthy forms of protein. From a food security standpoint, seafood will be critical as our world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, nearly 2 billion more than our current population. For the US, seafood is a huge part of our economy but we have a $16.8 billion seafood trade deficit. Additionally, over 85% of the seafood we consume is imported, and half of those imports are raised in foreign fish farms.  Our fisheries are also under threat, so we’ll address how advanced technologies and partnerships will help us optimize sustainable yields of wild caught fisheries, expand contributions of domestic aquaculture, adapt to climate change, and combat the negative effects of one of our greatest challenges - illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.  With the following first-rate panel members, we will explore the extraordinary opportunity that sustainable seafood and domestic aquaculture present for our post-pandemic economic recovery:

* Anthony Dal Ponte, General Counsel, Pacific Seafood Group.

* Dr. David Kerstetter, Associate Professor, Nova Southeastern University.

* Dr. Kelly Lucas, Associate Vice President for Research, University of Southern Mississippi, and Director of the Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center in Ocean Springs MS.

* Bill Michaels, CEO and Founder, Michaels EcoAssociates, and former Director of NOAA’s Fisheries Technology Program.

* Lori Steele, Executive Director, West Coast Seafood Processors Association.



Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Adm. Tim Gallaudet

Rear Admiral Gallaudet, PhD, USN (ret) is the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting. From 2017-2021, he served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere / Deputy NOAA Administrator, and from 2017-2019 he also served as the Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere / NOAA Administrator. As Acting Administrator, he led the agency comprised of 20,000 federal employees and contractors managing the nation’s fisheries, coastal resources and waterways, weather satellites, weather services, and environmental research, overseeing a $6B annual budget and daily operations of 18 environmental satellites, 16 oceanographic ships, 9 aircraft, 450 boats, and 400 technical divers, 6 supercomputers, over a dozen laboratories, and several hundred field sites across the country. As the Deputy Administrator, he led NOAA’s Blue Economy activities that advance marine transportation, sustainable seafood, ocean exploration and mapping, marine tourism and recreation, and coastal resilience. Prior to NOAA, Rear Admiral Gallaudet served for 32 years in the US Navy, completing his career as the Oceanographer of the Navy. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the US Naval Academy, and Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, all in oceanography.