by vox_mundi » Thu 28 May 2015, 13:25:22
Thirteen corporations control up to 40 per cent of world's most valuable fisheries$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'J')ust thirteen corporations control 19-40% of the largest and most valuable stocks and 11-16 % of the global marine catch, according to new research. These "keystone" corporations of the global seafood industry critically shape the future of marine ecosystems, but have yet to assume this responsibility at the global scale.
The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, makes an analogy between the largest companies in seafood industry and keystone species in ecological communities. Keystone species in nature have a profound effect on the structure and function of the ecosystem and disproportionately determine the prevalence and activities of other species. For example just a small number of sea otters can determine urchin numbers, or a few grey wolves determine the size of bison, deer or elk populations.
Likewise, the study found that the average annual revenues of the 160 largest companies in 2012 exhibit a distinct keystone pattern, where the top 10% account for 38 % of total revenues.
"The phenomenon of keystone actors is an increasingly important feature of our human-dominated world. Active leadership in sustainability initiatives by these corporations could result in a cascade through the entire seafood industry towards improved management of marine living resources and ecosystems," says lead author Henrik Österblom, Deputy Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
"Increasing demand for seafood has contributed to a global fisheries crisis, with consequences for marine ecosystems around the world," Österblom adds. Existing analyses of global fisheries operations have, however, so far largely focused on the role of countries, rather than industry corporations....
"Similar keystone actors also exist in other sectors, like meat and grain production, and they all have high relevance for sustainable management of natural resources and the environment. Our study illustrates a key feature of globalization that opens up for novel opportunities to think about ways to address current challenges," concludes co-author Carl Folke, Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics.
Transnational Corporations as ‘Keystone Actors’ in Marine Ecosystems PLOS One:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... ne.0127533 $this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figure/image?size=medium&id=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0127533.g003[/img]
Fig 3. Regional fisheries of global relevance.
Globally important wild fish stocks by volumes (grey circles with blue wedges), aquaculture production volumes (orange wedges), and global fishmeal, fish oil and aqua feeds (salmon, shrimp and whitefish feeds combined) volumes (purple wedges), and their corresponding economic value (green circles). The proportion of each stock controlled by the keystone actors is indicated by the size of the wedge. The number of companies active in each stock is shown within brackets.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figure/image?size=medium&id=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0127533.g001[/img]
Fig 1. Revenues of the 160 largest seafood companies.
Revenues of the 160 largest seafood companies in 2012 [12, 13] (circles, data show as mean ± s.e.m.) with the top ten per cent indicated by the dashed line, and corresponding revenues of the top 16 seafood companies in 2007 [10] (triangles). Maruha Group (ranked 1st in 2007) and Nichiro Corporation (ranked 5th in 2007) merged in 2008 to form Maruha Nichiro (ranked 1st in 2012). Pacific Andes (ranked 15th in 2007) acquired China Fishery Group Limited (ranked 23rd in 2007) and is currently the 9th largest seafood company in the world.