Seafood Security and Sustainability Through Sustainable Development: A Review of Turkish Seafood Market

Introduction

The rising world population (7.7 billion currently – UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2019) needs more food, fiber and fuel. These unlimited needs and wants of people mostly cause extinction of biodiversity, destruction of forest lands, farming areas, oceans and seas (Aladjadjiyan, 2012). The continuation of humanity is subject to environmental consciousness and awareness of settled economic and social life as fully as possible. over the last decade, environmental, social and economic policies made sustainable integration and sustainable development possible. Although sustainable development history is not so old, both developed and developing countries have transformed their economic policies and development strategies based on sustainability principle recently (Yıldırım et.al., 2016). The idea of sustainability began in 1960s (International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012) but the formal adventure of sustainable world began with World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987. Sustainable development term was introduced to the world by the report of WCED (1987) called as “Our Common Future”. This report identified population and human resources, food security and sustainability, biodiversity, energy (sustainable energy resources), industry (sustainable production) and the urban challenge (sustainable city planning) as key action plans towards achieving a sustainable world (United Nations, 1987). Then, the United Nations (UN) (1972) determined the relationship between economy, society and environment through United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCED). The Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 at the The Earth Summit (1992) and UN members emphasized the need for a sustainable development and action plan (Klarin, 2018). It can be said that real action plan was set up by Rio+20. The first sustainable development goals, Millennium Development Goals, were launched in 2012 and main themes of sustainable development were presented to countries. After Rio+20, the United Nations (UN) accelerated the process and Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (IISD, 2012).

Food shortage will cause a big problem in the future, if there aren’t any effective policies for food security and food sustainability (FAO, 2017). According to sustainable development goals, both developed and developing countries try to make their agricultural methods and technologies sustainable. For example, raising organic livestock and organic agriculture have become important movements for food security recently. However, these food security movements or action plans generally don’t include seafood. Although international seafood trade is so high, seafood security has been ignored for a long time (Smith et.al., 2010). Seafood is an important and almost fundamental protein source for developing countries but an optional food for developed countries (Tlusty, 2012). It can be said that coastal developing or coastal emerging countries are more interested in seafood security and sustainability. Coastal countries generally prefer seafood as a fundamental food, just like crop or animal source foods. Seafood export and domestic sales also contribute substantially to coastal countries’ economy (FAO, 1996). Turkey is a developing country surrounded on three sides by sea and can also open to ocean by Turkish Bosporus and Gibraitar Strait. Turkey a part of the coastal areas bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea (TÜDAV, 2017). This study assessed the seafood security and seafood sustainability in Turkey.