Going into this assignment the research topic I choose is food resources and then in particular the fishing and cultivation of shrimp. The reason I choose this topic is because, the fishing on shrimp is causing habitat destruction, derelict fishing gear, overfishing and bycatch and the cultivation of shrimps in aquaculture is causing Mangrove destruction, soil and water pollution and overfishing. I wanted to approach this project in a speculative design manner. In the book speculative everything, design fiction and social dreaming from Anthony Dunne & fiona Raby they show how speculative design approached design in a different kind of way. They have made a A/B list that shows the different approaches next to each other. Speculative design is more about problem finding instead of problem solving, more about asking questions instead of providing answers, more about functional fictions instead of fictional functions and so on.

I started by looking at the farming industry and it’s past revolutions, the innovations in society that changed landscapes. the industrial revolution and the technological revolution changed farming landscapes. From manual work, to tractors, to technologies like climate greenhouses and precision technologies that almost do al the work we did manually before. We are even moving towards a biological revolution, one where building with nature will be the center of attention.

But how is this in aquaculture? while the demand for seafood rises, all over the world farmers are dealing with ecosystem constraints. a research of the university of wageningen says that even though 70% of the earth consists of water. Today only 17% of our food comes from fisheries and aquaculture. And while 30% of world's fish stocks are overfished; 60% fished at maximum levels. With innovations in fisheries practices and in management fish yields can increase, feeding more people.

What could the future hold for the seafood industry? New food sources and promising technologies could help the seafood industry cultivate more protein and nutrition rich food and in a more sustainable way. Eating protein rich plants like seaweed, halophytes and duckweed. Designing landscapes with oyster reefs and mangroves as a coastal defense system providing opportunities for food production. New technologies that can preserve fish with dry cool air to prevent wastage. Pushing more activities out at sea.

We have seen the changes these revolutions have brought to our lands. This made me think of imagining an aquaculture utopia while keeping in mind the revolutions that have changed our food industries. All these new technologies and bio-technologies make me think of the term techno-solutionism. This is the idea that you can solve everything with technology. I dream of a world where the natural habitats can flourish again. A place where we work together with nature instead of against nature. What will this world evolve into when these aquatic technologies and innovations arise and what problems will we face?

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Dunne, Anthony . Raby, Fiona. speculative everything, design fiction and social dreaming by Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby. The MIT press, 2013, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England.

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University, Wageningen. It's about time for a blue revolution, food from water to feed the world.https://www.wur.nl/upload_mm/b/0/9/e93e8233-ab45-4901-8412-7693e8161d54_promotieboekje%20Fresco%20aquacultuur.pdf.

 

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