October 25, 2005 Source: Dalhousie University:
http://www.dal.ca/news/media/2005/2005-10-25-3.html Dalhousie Management professor to conduct $540,000 international research project to study the sustainability of seafood Professor Peter Tyedmers, Assistant Professor in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University together with co-principal investigators Ulf Sonesson (SIK- The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology) and Astrid Scholz (Ecotrust), was awarded a $540,000US grant from the Lenfest Ocean Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts. The grant launches a major international project to measure the environmental and socio-economic impacts associated with three popular salmon products—frozen steaks, sushi-grade raw salmon, and smoked—produced in both capture fisheries and aquaculture operations in use in British Columbia and Alaska. The team of researchers will employ a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method to quantify the contributions that salmon fishing and farming, along with subsequent processing and distribution activities make to a wide range of important environmental and social issues. As demand for seafood continues to grow globally, it is becoming critically important to systematically understand the full range of environmental and social implications of alternative seafood production systems. Observed Dr. Astrid Scholz, Vice President, Knowledge Systems at Ecotrust: "This research will not only provide a rigorous basis upon which the environmental and socio-economic performance of salmon fishing and farming systems can be compared but perhaps more importantly, it will provide clear information for industry leaders and policy-makers of where efforts to improve both systems could be targeted." While a great deal of information and concern exists regarding a wide range of impacts associated with both contemporary salmon fishing and farming practices, to date little work has been undertaken to systematically compare and contrast these systems. As Dr. Ulf Sonneson, the project’s co-investigator at SIK added, "This is where LCA is particularly valuable. Not only is the methodology well established and defined by the International Organization for Standardization, but it is particularly useful when trying to identify tradeoffs associated with different production systems." Dr. Tyedmers noted: "My colleagues and I are grateful for the vision and support of the Lenfest Ocean Program for funding this project. While this project will be keeping us all quite busy over the next year and a half, we look forward to building on this effort and extending our work to encompass all the major salmon producing regions globally." About Dalhousie: Dalhousie is a comprehensive, research-intensive university with more than 15,500 students. In The Scientist magazine, it was recently named one of the best non-commercial places to work as a scientific researcher outside the United States. Media inquiries, contact:
John MacDonald,
Faculty of Management
Phone: (902) 494-2542
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