There is a way of seeing the ocean’s food as the wild — the fish caught, the fleet at sea and the catch brought home. The seeing is the traditional, and it is the past.
The future of the ocean’s food is the farm. The seaweed that is grown, the shellfish that is raised and the fish that is cultured — the ocean’s farms are being built, and the farms are the future’s feeding. The ocean is becoming a farm as much as a fishery.
The limit of the wild
The wild catch has the limit, and the limit is the ceiling.
The wild fish that can be taken is bounded by what the ocean can replenish, and the bound is the ceiling. The fishing that exceeds the ceiling is the fishing that depletes, and the depleting is the wild’s decline. The wild catch is the past’s feeding, and the past is the limit. The ocean’s wild can feed so much, and the so-much is the ceiling.
This is why the wild matters: it is the limit, and the limit is the ceiling.
The rise of the farm
The farm is rising, and the rising is the future.
The fish that is cultured in the pen, the shellfish that is grown on the line and the seaweed that is farmed in the bay — the ocean’s farms are rising, and the rising is the future. The farm is the response to the wild’s limit, and the response is the new feeding. The ocean that is farmed is the ocean that feeds beyond the wild’s ceiling, and the beyond is the future.
This is why the farm matters: it is the future, and the future is the new feeding.
The seaweed as the crop
The seaweed is the ocean’s crop, and the crop is the promise.
The seaweed that grows without the feed, the fertilizer or the fresh water — the seaweed is the ocean’s crop, and the crop is the promise. The seaweed that cleans the water, stores the carbon and feeds the world is the crop of the future, and the crop is the multiple harvest. The seaweed is the ocean farm’s foundation, and the foundation is the promise.
This is why the seaweed matters: it is the crop, and the crop is the promise.
The shellfish as the cleaner
The shellfish is the ocean’s cleaner, and the cleaner is the synergy.
The shellfish that filters the water, the oyster that cleans the bay and the mussel that grows on the line — the shellfish is the ocean’s cleaner, and the cleaner is the farm’s synergy. The shellfish that filters is the shellfish that improves the water for the other farms, and the improving is the ecosystem’s service. The shellfish is the ocean farm’s partner.
This is why the shellfish matters: it is the cleaner, and the cleaner is the synergy.
The farm’s balance
The farm must balance, and the balance is the sustainability.
The farm that feeds the fish with the wild catch is the farm that depletes the wild; the farm that feeds the fish with the plant is the farm that is sustainable. The farm must balance — the feed, the waste and the water managed, and the balance is the sustainability. The ocean farm that is sustainable is the farm that can continue, and the continuing is the future.
This is why the balance matters: it is the sustainability, and the sustainability is the future.
The coast as the farm’s home
The coast is the farm’s home, and the home is the community.
The farm that is built off the coast is the farm that employs the community, feeds the community and belongs to the community — the coast is the farm’s home, and the home is the livelihood. The ocean farm is the coastal economy’s future, and the future is the work. The farm that is rooted in the community is the farm that the community keeps.
This is why the coast matters: it is the home, and the home is the livelihood.
The honest conclusion
The ocean farms feeding the future are the ocean’s new agriculture, and the agriculture is the future’s feeding.
The limit of the wild, the rise of the farm, the seaweed, the shellfish, the balance and the coast — the future of the ocean’s food is the farm, and the farm is the new feeding.
The wild catch has its ceiling, and the farm is the beyond. The seaweed is the crop, the shellfish is the cleaner and the balance is the sustainability. The coast is the home, and the home is the livelihood. The ocean is becoming the farm as much as the fishery, and the farm is the future’s feeding — the food grown in the sea, for the world that needs it. The ocean farms are the future’s larder, and the larder is being built.