Download 1AC (1/6)

1AC (1/6)
Contention 1 is Inherency:
Regulations governing offshore fish farms are vague and don’t establish a clear
authority to oversee operations – this deters investors and prevents the growth of
the aquacutlure industry.
Buck, MA in Marine Affairs at University of Washington, 2012
The most commonly cited barrier to development of the industry by the people I interviewed is the
lack of a clear, comprehensive federal regulatory framework, and the lack of a lead federal agency
with adequate resources to guide and regulate offshore aquaculture. However none of these was
designed with offshore aquaculture in mind. no guidance documents have been created which would
assist a prospective developer in navigating through the piecemeal framework of regulations that
currently exists. It is for this reason that the majority of stakeholders believe that NOAA should be
the lead federal agency responsible for development and regulation of offshore aquaculture in the
United States. attempts by the agency to develop a federal framework for offshore aquaculture have
been met with resistance from opponents of the industry.
Impact: This structural inherency deters the growth of the fish industry that is still in its infancy. Without
our plan, the following harms are disastrous to the point of extinction.
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1AC (2/6)
Contention 2 is Overfishing:
Overfishing is a growing problem – only expanded aquaculture can reduce strains on fish
populations.
Smith, Assistant Attorney General at Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, 2012
(Turner Smith, "Greening the blue revolution: how history can inform a sustainable aquaculture
movement," April 19, Online: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11938741)
sustainably farmed aquaculture product can reduce demand for product from capture fisheries. In
the United States, as discussed above, overfishing has become a large problem; according to the Pew
Commission in 2001 30.6 percent of known wild fish stocks are experiencing overfishing or are
overfished.222 To the extent that aquaculture is performed in a sustainable manner, as discussed below, it
can ease pressure on wild fish stocks by continuing to supply product to satisfy a large percentage of
U.S. demand for fish. Moreover, aquaculture can help natural fish populations by providing habitat
for natural species in artificial wetlands created by aquaculture activities,
Impact: Magnitude: Overfishing and extinction. As the human population increases the demand for fish is
also increasing causing further overfishing. The inherency is in the way of our solution. This is why
aquaculture is essential because with aquaculture all we have to do is breed the animals creating 100+
babies per fish pregnancy and also by releasing some back into the wild we will be able too keep their
population up. This is a win-win.
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1AC (3/6)
Existing fishing practices destroy ocean habitats, interrupt food chains, create
emissions, and lead to waste runoff – they devastate ocean biodiversity.
Oliver and Metzner, Food and Agriculture Organization, 2005
(World inventory of fisheries. Impacts on fishery activities, Issues Fact Sheets, FAO Fisheries and
Agriculture Department, online, http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/12273/en)
Some of the more well-documented fishing activities that can have potentially negative impacts on
the environment include: Overfishing and excessive fishing can reduce the spawning biomass of a
fishery below desired levels such as maximum sustainable or economic yields.. Fishing entailing the
use of dynamite and poisons can have severe and broad-reaching impacts, particularly on coral reefs.
There are also other less conspicuous or debated environmental impacts of fisheries-related activities.
Some relate to the direct dumping of debris (gear, twine, food containers, plastic bands, etc.) or the
unintentional dumping and accidental introduction of unwanted organisms, pathogens, and nonindigenous/foreign/alien species by fishing vessels. Other impacts include the organic pollution from
at-sea processing and the pollution caused by unregulated wastes and effluents from coastal
processing plants. Finally, fishing vessels and processing plants also have the potential to contribute
to global warming through exhaust fumes and refrigerant gases.
Impact: The pollution from overfishing and “fishing at sea” is devastating to our biodiversity. THIS IS
WHY THE AQUACULTURE METHOD IS ESSENTIAL. With these fish farms we will no longer require
these methods to obtain and process fish.
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1AC (4/6)
Contention 3 is Food Security:
Human population growth will quickly outpace the availability of fish, which is a
key food source for those in poverty – only support from large-scale aquaculture
can prevent billions of people from experiencing malnutrition and hunger.
Lehane, analyst at Future Directions International, 2013
(Sinead, “Fish for the Future: Aquaculture and Food Security,” Future Directions International, August,
Online: http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publications/food-and-water-crises/1269-fish-for-the-futureaquaculture-and-food-security.html)
, over one billion people worldwide rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein. Around the
world, average annual fish consumption is 16.1 kg per capita. In South-East Asia most major species of
fish produced are primarily for local consumption, with Thailand and Vietnam deriving over a third of
their fish production from aquaculture. In the last 30 years, animal protein consumption per capita in
developing countries has more than doubled, as a direct result of technology advancement in
aquaculture. Those living in poverty and in lower socio-economic households are unable to access
sufficient nutritional food to ensure their health and wellbeing. Often the food produced or
purchased consists of cereals or low-cost staple ingredients; budgets are unable to stretch to include
meat or fruit and vegetables. Fish, particularly produced through aquaculture, is commonly cheaper
than other animal meat. It also contains much higher protein levels, as well as other important
minerals and vitamins. As a means of providing greater nutrition for many poorer households,
increased availability of fish can mean better health and a more diverse diet
Impact: Food security is a human right and like it states in my evidence over one billion people worldwide
rely on fish as their primary source of protein. As the amount of fish goes up the price for fish in the
markets will go down so lets do simple math a family of 4 was only able to get 4 fish because it cost a
dollar and they only have 4 dollars but with supply and demand the price reduces to 0.50 so now that
family went from only getting one fish per person not even filling themselves up but to getting 8 fish and
each person receiving 2 fish on their plate now. NOT ONLY DOES AQUACULTURE PROVIDE FOOD
SECURITY, WE CAN HELP ALLEVIATE POVERTY.
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1AC (5/6)
Food security is a fundamental human right – millions of people die exclusively
from hunger each year.
Golay, UN advisor on food security issues, 2005
(Christophe, “The Right to Food,” CETIM Publication, Online: http://www.cetim.ch/en/documents/Bralim-A4-ang.pdf)
The right to food is a human right. It is universal, acknowledged at the national, regional and
international level, and applies to every per- son and group of persons. Currently, however, some 852
million persons throughout the world are seriously -and permanently- undernourished, 815 million of
whom are in developing countries, 28 million in countries in transition and 9 million in developed
("industrialized") countries. Furthermore, every five seconds, a child under ten years of age dies of
hunger or malnutrition' - more than 5 million per year! Out of these 852 million persons, 50% are
small farmers, 20% are landless rural dwellers, 10% are nomadic herders, or small-scale fishermen, and
l0% live in urban poverty. Barely 5% are affected by food emergency situations arising from armed
conflicts, by exceptional climatic conditions (mainly drought or floods) or by violent economic
transitions. the causes of undernourishment and of death from hunger and malnutrition are immensely
complex, and they cannot be simply attributed to war or natural catastrophe. They are primarily due
to social injustice, to political and economic exclusion and to discrimination. Hundreds of millions of
undernourished persons suffer from political and social exclusion while their right to food is violated.
Impact: In my cards it says that A CHILD UNDER TEN YEARS OF AGE DIES OF
HUNGER OR MALNUTRITION MORE THAN 5 MILLION PER YEAR. CREATING
A REGULATORY AGENCY TO ASSIST IN THE GROWTH OF OFFSHORE
AQUACULTURE CAN EVENTUALLY LEAD TO ALLEVIATING THIS HARM.
Thus, we present the following plan:
The United States federal government should create a streamlined national
framework for offshore aquaculture that consolidates regulatory and permitting
authority to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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1AC (6/6)
Contention 4 is Solvency:
Federal action to streamline and standardize aquaculture regulation is key to the
long-term survival of the aquaculture industry.
Spruill, President of Ocean Conservancy, 2011
(Vikki, “Right from the Start: OPEN-OCEAN AQUACULTURE IN THE UNITED
STATES,” March, Online:
http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/education/documents/Open_Ocean_Aquculture_
Right_from_the_Start_bytheOceanConservancyorganization.pdf)
“Now is the time for strong federal leadership on the future of open-ocean aquaculture in the United
States. The world is changing rapidly, and it is impossible to precisely predict what new developments will
emerge in open-ocean aquaculture. A national framework, including new federal legislation, is needed
to prevent haphazard development lacking standardized protections. With bold action, we can
ensure the protection of US federal waters while ensuring an environmentally and economically
responsible industry.
Impact: We purposed this plan for regulations in order to see change to solve all these harms we propose
these regulations to help make the idea of aquaculture stronger. The time for change is now and we the
affirmative are here to do so.
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“Green Capitalism”
[ ] Focusing on short-term environmental crises with feasible solution is
important – starting NOW with policy prescriptions is key to avoid
collapse of the biosphere.
Schwartzman, Professor in the Department of Biology at Howard
University, 2011
(David, Green New Deal: An Ecosocialist Perspective, Capitalism Nature
Socialism, Volume 22, Issue 3, 18 Aug, pages 49-56)
Indeed, imposing such non-market limits is imperative, but the struggle to impose
them must begin in capitalist societies now, and not be posed simply as the policies
of future socialism. Humanity cannot afford to wait for socialism to replace
capitalism to begin implementing this prevention
we must proceed now for any plausible chance of avoiding tipping points. Green job
creation is likewise the creation of a new working-class sector.
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Trade Deficit Advantage
A. The US has fallen behind on the fish market – slow growth of the
aquaculture industry means the $9 billion seafood trade gap will only
expand.
Walsh, reporter for Time Magazine, 2011
(Bryan, “Can the U.S. Close Its Seafood Trade Deficit?,” TIME Magazine, July 8, Online:
http://science.time.com/2011/07/08/can-the-u-s-close-its-seafood-trade-deficit/)
American consumption of farmed seafood is right in line with global norms. Half our fish comes from
farms as well—but not from American farms. 84% of the seafood consumed by Americans is
imported, and just 5% of the farmed seafood we eat is domestic. Here’s an amazing stat: our “seafood
trade deficit” is $9 billion, which as trade deficits in natural resources go is second only to crude oil.
More than just about anything else on our plate, our seafood has likely traveled a long way before it arrives
at our table. “It’s true that we live in a global market place, but we are concerned about the U.S. and U.S.
aquaculture,” says Michael Rubino, manager of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA) aquaculture program. Why are Americans so dependent on foreigners for their fish? Onceproductive waters in regions like New England have been hit hard by over-fishing, often followed by
lengthy and controversial moratoriums to allow commercial species to recover. In 2009 American
fisherman hauled in 3.5 million tons worth of seafood. That’s the lightest catch since 1988, but U.S.
seafood consumption keeps rising, as the taste for sushi and shrimp cocktail spreads and more of us
follow medical advice to eat at least 8 oz of seafood a week for cardiovascular health. (Right now
Americans eat less than half as much seafood as the government recommends—if we all ate what we’re
supposed to, we’d need at least twice as much seafood have now.) American fishermen are hard pressed
to keep up with domestic demand—and it wouldn’t be ecologically sustainable for long if they tried.
That leaves aquaculture, but the reality is, the U.S. doesn’t have much of a domestic fish farming
industry. The bulk of U.S. aquaculture comes from freshwater farms, involving relatively low-value
species like catfish and carp. Marine aquaculture—think salmon, shrimp, oysters—provides just 1.5%
of U.S. seafood consumption. On a global level—where countries like China, Norway and Chile
dominate—the U.S. barely registers. “You just don’t see much development in the U.S.,” says Richard
Langan, director of the Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center at the University of New Hampshire.
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Trade Deficit Advantage
B. Trade deficits create massive unemployment and slow economic growth – it
takes money out of the US economy.
Moreland, staff writer for Economy in Crisis, 2014
(James, “US Trade Deficit Fosters Unemployment,” Economy in Crisis, February 2, Online:
http://economyincrisis.org/content/lack-jobs-due-our-massive-trade-deficit)
While many politicians blame the lack of jobs on the federal budget deficit, it is actually America’s trade
deficit that is the root of many of our problems. The U.S. is still millions of jobs behind where it was
when the Great Recession started. The economy has been unable to create jobs due to America’s
massive trade deficit caused by our failed economic policy.¶ Since 1975, the U.S. has imported more
goods than it has exported. In 2010 alone, the U.S. had a deficit of $478 billion in global trade. A large
portion of this was oil imports, but consumer goods are another area in which the U.S. imports virtually
everything.¶ Trade policy that encourages businesses to relocate production of goods to other nations
without penalizing them for selling those goods back to this nation has resulted in millions of lost
jobs. White House estimates show that for every $1 billion in goods exported, the economy creates
5,000 jobs. Unfortunately, that street goes both ways — data from the Economic Policy Institute shows
that for every $1 billion in goods imported, the economy loses 9,000 jobs.¶ Making it possible for
American businesses to sell products to the American people would open up a market long denied to
them. This would help create American jobs and help protect our national security (the decline of
American manufacturing has forced the military to increasingly rely on foreign suppliers).
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Fishmeal Advantage
[
] Aquaculture could switch to raising non-carnivorous fish, decreasing
demand for fishmeal which leads to overfishing
Nordahl, Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration,
2011
(Per Gunnar, Is the Aquaculture Industry Caught In a Fishmeal Trap?, Master
Thesis in Economic Analysis (ECO), NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, Bergen, spring 2011)
One way to increase aquaculture production irrespective of research progress could be to
cultivate more non-carnivorous fish species.. Aquaculture production could therefore be
increased by focusing the growth on non-carnivorous species.
increased cultivation of non-carnivorous species and reduction of the fishmeal used in
their diets could stimulate further growth. I would therefore say that there is little validity
to the fishmeal trap in the long-term, and I find it probable that the aquaculture sector will
continue to adapt to technological development and play a more important role in feeding
the world‟s population in the future.
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[
] New advances in feed is substituting fishmeal with plant material
Olsen and Hasan, researchers for the Aquaculture Service of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012
(Ragnar L. and Mohammad R., A limited supply of fishmeal: Impact on future
increases in global aquaculture production, Trends in Food Science &
Technology, Volume 27, Issue 2, October 2012, Pages 120–128)
made from pelagic fish used to be the major dietary protein source in
compounded feed for many important farmed species, but the limited amount
available has resulted in massive research to identify alternative protein sources. The
average levels of pelagic fishmeal in aquaculture feed have decreased substantially in
the last decade and recent published results in the scientific literature show that it is
possible to replace even more in diets both for carnivorous and
herbivorous/omnivorous species. If the predicted low inclusion levels are reached
in the next decade, there may be room for a relatively large increase in the total
production of farmed fish and shellfish without any increased use of fishmeal.
Fishmeal
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OUR PLAN SOLVES THE HARMS IN THE
STATUS QUO. The regulatory agency will
allow for growth in the offshore aquaculture
industry. Overfishing; Protecting biodiversity;
Food Security (alleviating poverty), solving the
Trade Deficit, and the development of plantbased and pellet food that lessens the need for
fish to feed fish.
Role of the Ballot: The reason my partner and I are here today is to debate why we should be allowed to
use offshore aquaculture for fish recuperation, feeding the 9 billion people who rely on fish for daily
protein is a MORAL OBLIGATION. Therefore, the role of the ballot should be for the team that advocates
the most based on moral obligation and saves more lives because this isn't about being greedy about money
and power, so I suggest the neg. puts their K cards away because we are arguing for the protection of
biodiversity and people’s rights to food security.