Aquaculture as a Component of Food Security

The world’s supply of fish from natural habitats is being depleted, and the quality of marine ecological systems throughout the world is declining, except in a few places where environmental awareness is more evident and strict enforcement is applied. In order to supply the constantly growing demand, the branch of aquaculture in Israel has been developing at a rapid rate over the past few years.

There are a number of natural causes that can bring about the deterioration of water quality, for instance the growth of algae, invasion of non-endemic species, or changing quantities of sediment. But man-made factors, including unsuccessful developmental strategies, have caused, and still cause, some of the gravest damage to marine ecological systems, hastening their deterioration to the extent that all life in the water is threatened, as it is on land.

The world’s lakes and seas are closely connected to the daily life of the communities that surround them. Many lakes were and still are the only source of livelihood and of communities which depend mainly on fishing. Non-sustainable use of soil, nonexistent development, and the desire for quick profits are some of the reasons for the widespread deterioration. In many cases unplanned development has critically affected the communities living in the area of the water, severely damaging their quality of life, nutrition and food security.

The communities of fishermen, fish breeders and farmers or settlers with access to water sources, and those who want to breed fish, are the main target populations for MASHAV’s, the overseas development arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, development assistance activities in the field of mariculture.

ISRAEL’S RELATIVE ADVANTAGE

MASHAV has been working for many years in the field of agricultural assistance to the developing world, based on the accumulated experience of 70 years of fish breeding in Israel. Israel’s know-how and experience are uniquely valuable and meaningful for developing countries, some of which face a lack of natural resources or arid or semi-arid conditions.

In the field of aquaculture, Israel has achieved impressive results that have made it a leader in several areas that are at the heart of development cooperation:

Fish breeding – diversified technologies for production of different fish species, under changing intensification conditions (ponds, cages and recirculating systems).

Planning and management of a farm – structural principles of fishponds, kinds of facilities and equipment for fish breeding; data collection and registration.

Water quality – water as a medium for life, limnology of fishponds. Importance of water quality for fish breeding; health aspects of fish, dependent on water quality; adaptation of fish breeds to different water qualities (salinity,
temperature, etc.).

Fish and marine animals – morphology and anatomy; fish breeds in aquaculture, biological aspects of different breeds; types of interface according to fish species.

Fish health – causes of disease, diagnosis and treatment, prevention interface.

Feeding and nutrition – principles of fish nutrition; feed production for different fish species (use of raw materials).

Fish propagation – production of fingerlings, naturally or induced, with hormonal control; production of mono-sex population; planning and maintenance of breeding schools.

Feasibility analysis and economical consideration – cost and production aspects for establishment and continuous maintenance.

Let's Cheer Some Good News !!

The conflict takes up so much of the media space, that there is never enough room for talkking about the REAL Israel

Here are just a few of the ongoing activities that you may not ahave heard about:

1. Scientists in Israel found that the brackish water, drilled from underground desert aquifers hundreds of feet deep, could be used to raise warm-water fish. The geothermal water, less than one-tenth as saline as sea water, free of pollutants, and a toasty 98 degrees on average, proves an ideal environment. Now that can help the food chain in harsh climates.

2. When Stephen Hawkins recently visited Israel , he shared his wisdom with scientists, students, and even the Prime Minister. But the world's most renowned victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, also learned something, due to the Israeli Association for ALS' advanced work in both embryonic and adult stem cell research, as well as its proven track record with neurodegenerative diseases. The Israeli research community is well on its way to finding a treatment for this fatal disease, which affects 30,000 Americans.

3. Israeli start -up, Veterix, has developed an innovative new electronic capsule that sits in the stomach of a cow, sheep, or goat, sending out real-time information on the health of the herd, to the farmer via email or cell phone. The e-capsule, which also sends out alerts if animals are distressed, injured, or lost is now being tested on a herd of cows, in the hopes that the device will lead to tastier and healthier meat and milk supplies. (I could think of a few uses if it was in my stomach!!)

4. Beating cardiac tissue has been created in a lab from human embryonic stem cells by researchers at the Rappaport Medical Faculty and the Technion - Israeli institute of Technology 's biomedical Engineering facility. The work of Dr. Shulamit Levenberg and Prof. Lior Gepstein, has also led to the creation of tiny blood vessels within the tissue, making possible its implantation in a human heart. (And I thought my stents where up-to-date technology!)

5. It is common knowledge that dogs have better night vision than humans and a vastly superior sense of smell and hearing. Israel 's Bio-Sense Technologies recently delved further and electronically analyzed 350 different barks. Finding that dogs of all breeds and sizes, bark the same alarm when they sense a threat, the firm has designed the dog bark-reader, a sensor that can pick up a dog's alarm bark, and alert the human operators. This is just one of a batch of innovative security systems to emerge from Israel which Forbes calls 'the go-to country for anti-terrorism technologies.' (Is there a bark to warn a husband that the wife is about to arrive home??)

6. Israeli company, BioControl Medical, sold its first electrical stimulator to treat urinary incontinence to a US company for $50 Million. Now, it is working on CardioFit, which uses electrical nerve stimulation to treat congestive heart failure. With nearly five million Americans presently affected by heart failure, and more than 400,000 new cases diagnosed yearly, the CardioFit is already generating a great deal of excitement as the first device with the potential to halt this deadly disease.

7. One year after Norway 's Socialist Left Party launched its Boycott Israel campaign, the importing of Israeli goods has increased by 15%, the strongest increase in many years, statistics Norway reports. In contrast to the efforts of tiny Israel to make contributions to the world so as to better mankind, one has to ask what have those who have strived to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth done other than to create hate and bloodshed???