WFC: Wrapping up the conference with challenges and hope
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Blogger: Abigail Lynch, PhD student
The final day of the conference was very full day -- among the last (but of course not least!) presenters was CSIS’s own Chiara Zuccarino-Crowe. Chiara presented in a Marine Protected Areas session – providing the only example of a protected area in aquatic systems. Her talk was very well received!
Continuing with our Olympic analogy, today was also the closing ceremony of the World Fisheries Congress where Eric Schwaab, the assistant administrator for fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, gave the final plenary talk. Eric was a nice bookend for the conference, drawing on the U.S. approach to fisheries management and considering the next issues on the horizon for U.S. fisheries and the world’s fisheries.
From the status of inland fisheries, to fisherwomen of Oman, to the economic potential of fisheries – the world of fisheries represented by the delegates attending the meeting are diverse and the topics are fascinating. Learning about these issues, the challenges facing fisheries today has surely been whirlwind. But rather than being overwhelmed with the “doom and gloom,” I am optimistic – these challenges are opportunities; the livelihoods of fishers, our fisheries, and their ecosystems are in good hands! I am excited to continue in this field and look forward to all the progress that will be made toward sustainable fisheries before the next World Fisheries Congress (just announced to be in Busan, South Korea in 2016).
