Blue revolution

The first section below sketches the blue revolution as it has taken place in fisheries around the world. It is followed by elaborations of the transformation process in two important fishing regions the west coast of North America and Southeast Asia. In doing so, I rely on two historical works McEvoy s (1986) study of Californian fisheries, and Butler s (2004) synthesis on history of Southeast Asian fisheries. Both regions are known for the quality of their fishing grounds as well as the productiveness of their fisheries. The Californian case illustrates the process of fisheries development which commenced around the turn of the 19th century in temperate waters, while Southeast Asian fisheries are indicative of the process which started in the tropics almost fifty years later. 

In the first instance these optimists appeared of course to be right. For indeed, the quantities of seafood brought to the shore increased by leaps and bound, as data from the post-WWII period illustrates (Fig. 16.1). The world s flsh harvests have increased almost fivefold. For countries that engaged in the first phase of the blue revolution, growth had actually started much earlier. McEvoy (1986 126) thus estimates that while the fishing population of California remained roughly stable in the period 1899-1925, catches increased ten times. 

The impact of technological change in fisheries has been manifold. From a global perspective, the blue revolution has on the one hand resulted in an enormous increase of fish harvests, and an improvement of food security. Millions of people are still employed in the sector most of them live in low income countries where alternative employment opportunities are scarce. The globalization of markets and the increase of fish prices has thus contributed to economic wealth, while the World Bank argues that, if we act responsibly, many sunken billions are available in future. 

Bailey (1985) coined the term blue revolution to refer to technological developments in tropical fisheries (cf. McGoodwin, 1990). As this process did not differ fundamentally from the one, which took place earlier in temperate zones, I use it as a generic term. 

Bailey, C. (1985). Blue revolution The impact of technological innovation on Third World fisheries. The Rural Sociologist, 5(4), 259-266. 

Greening of the blue revolution efforts toward environmentally responsible shrimp culture. Pages 1-19 in C.L. Browdy and D.E. lory (editors) The New Wave, Proceedings of the Special Session on Sustainable Shrimp Culture, Aquaculture 2001. Th World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, LA. 

Aluminium ammonium ferrocyanide, Al(NH4)Fe(CN)6.4H20, is formed as a jelly on mixing equivalent solutions of aluminium chloride and ammonium ferrocyanide.6 The salt is difficult to isolate, but is obtained as a precipitate by centrifugating at 3000 revolutions per minute. The precipitate is washed with acetone and ether and dried in vacuo. It resembles the potassium salt in appearance, being dark green and transparent m lumps, but a light bluish green when powdered. At 100° C. it becomes anhydrous and assumes a deep blue colour. 

Although Pmssian Blue, synthesized in 1704, was the first officially recognized metal coordination complex to be made, discovery of this group of transition metal complex ions is often credited to Taessert, who in 1798 prepared the first known cobalt ammonia salts. His work inspired a revolution in inorganic chemistry. At the turn of the nineteenth century, amidst the flourishing developments of organic chemistry, the striking colors... 

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