The Blue Revolution: Nicholas P. Sullivan, GSA Member
Note: The Global Seafood Alliance spotlights various members dedicated to GSA’s mission of responsible seafood. Membership starts at only $50 for individuals and $100 for businesses. Start utilizing our extensive benefits. Featured this month is author Nicholas P. Sullivan.
I’ve been writing since I was in high school. After my grandmother gave me a typewriter for my 14th birthday I took that as a sign to join the weekly school newspaper. I later went into magazine writing, editing, and publishing. I’ve also written four books, focusing on the impact of technology and entrepreneurship on social and economic development.
The latest, published in 2022, is The Blue Revolution: Hunting, Harvesting, and Farming Seafood in the Information Age (Island Press). It’s about the transformation of commercial fishing and mariculture in the 21st century.
At Seafood Expo in Boston last spring, I met the podcasters from GSA’s “Aquademia” and recorded a podcast about the book on the show floor, and another one a month or so later. That connection, and the shift in GSA to monitor both wild and farmed fish, led me to become a member of the organization.
Much of the general public has a negative perception about fishing and farming, but I see so many positive changes over the last two decades that I decided to lay out a new narrative, one that is more hopeful. Certainly, there are issues in the industry, but protection of the resource and the rebound of many overfished stocks is clearly a positive. So are the new approaches to mariculture of finfish and the profusion of shellfish and kelp, both restorative to the ocean.
I think the next big shift will come from consumers demanding a sustainable, quality, traceable product. So much of the seafood Americans eat is farmed shrimp and salmon, and canned tuna, from the other side of the world. For a country with the second largest ocean territory in the world and a huge seafood trade deficit, a consumer revolution is needed to really change that dynamic.
Thanks for being a member, Nick!
Connect with Nicholas on LinkedIn!
Photo credit: Phil Mello, Big Fish Studio
