The future of Aquaculture at Madeira Island
The consumption of dried codfish is a long time tradition in Portugal. Codfish is the most frequently consumed fish at Madeira Archipelago. Curiously, codfish does not inhabit Madeira’s seawaters. Norway is the source of the majority of codfish consumed on Madeira, where it grows in aquaculture farms.
Although Madeira’s population is a large consumer of aquaculture products, raise fish in the archipelago’s waters is not simple. Besides the open water challenges, aquaculture producers face political and social pressures. Accordingly to local newspapers, popular associations and political oppositions parties declare themselves against aquaculture sea-cages. The protesters claim the removal of aquaculture sea-cages assuming they harm the sea view and are prejudicial to tourism and the environment, while few jobs are generated. Opposition to aquaculture is not exclusive of Madeira’s Island, but at the archipelago, it affects the picture policymakers, entrepreneurs and scientists want to draw as the future of aquaculture, not permitting the activity to achieve its full potential.
The future of aquaculture is only possible if objections are considered but also contested in a process to construct the desired outcome. The social process of finding consensus is strategy making. The stakeholders must create the strategic decision process, which will guide the implementation of actions necessary to create the best version of aquaculture.
Strategy making as a tool
To create strategy, though, the stakeholders must be on the same page, which is only possible throughout education. A variety of initiatives have been developed in recent years to promote ocean literacy and promote educational activities. One of them is the Young4Ocean Forum.
The Young4Ocean Forum is an online platform supported by the European Commission for young EU changemakers passionate about the sea. The common goal is to shape a future with a healthy ocean that sustains us all. The Young4Ocean is an opportunity for the youth to speak up for their generation, share ideas and present their projects. It also permits the accreditation as an EU Young Ocean Advocate, which provide access to additional benefits such as coaching & mentoring and resources to develop a project.
Platforms as the Young4Ocean Forum are essential to reinforce the connection between youngsters. Credible information is available to members to deepen their knowledge and apply it to their projects. Access to high-quality data and specialists empower the youth to actively discuss and build the strategy for the sea in their local community. Defend aquaculture on Madeira Island is an example.
Cohesion and divergence are critical to effective strategy making. According to the book Making Strategy, written by Fran Ackerman e Colin Eden, professors at Strathclyde University Business School, sometimes strategy making needs to encourage divergence of thinking rather than risk too much cohesion. Conflict, to a certain extension, generate the energy necessary to boost creativity.
Madeira’s aquaculture conflict brings people out of the status quo zone, and consequently, boosts creativity. People search for alternatives to change the status quo in two scenarios, to survive throughout crises or to improve and achieve better results. Madeira’s economy faces a crisis due to covid-19, and its society needs to leave the status quo. The Oceanum Portugal project was born to help Madeira solve this problem while promoting aquaculture.
The Oceanum Portugal project mission is to integrate Madeira Island Sea Nature tourism, aquaculture and local restaurants to improve their business results under the triple bottom line concept. The triple bottom line concept defines that businesses should not aim for profit only but also care about the social and environmental outcomes of their actions. Therefore, the project’s main objective is to integrate enterprises under the blue economy concept of profitably, which means exploring the sea and, at the same time, respecting and preserving the environment.
Oceanum Portugal aims to integrate local business (Nature Tourism and Local Restaurants) with the aquaculture sector that has the potential to be an alternative to make Madeira Island economically heterogeneous and resilient, generating jobs and improving R&D investments in the industry. The project will analyze the companies’ performances and then make a strategic formulation to integrate them while promoting them on social media.
Oceanum Portugal team will evaluate the relationship between the company’s mission with the actual activities they promote. Second, the team will assess its resources and capabilities (Resource-Based View) defended by R. Grant and J. Barney and make an external analysis to evaluate how the companies face the five environmental forces proposed by Porter. These will lead to the strategic options that will drive the action plan to integrate the enterprises, always focusing on achieving the triple bottom line. Finally, the project will also promote the companies on social media to improve their visibility.
Who are the beneficiaries?
The project targets business owners or managers from the three sectors: Sea nature tourism, aquaculture and local restaurants placed on Madeira Island.
Enterprises from the three sectors will benefit from receiving management consulting services and social media visibility when associated with Oceanum Portugal. Therefore, the association created between the aquaculture sector, nature tourism and local restaurants will aggregate value to their products and improve their resilience.
Next Steps
Promote aquaculture and define its future is a matter of establishing consensus and act. Join the Youth for Ocean Forum is a perfect opportunity to gain knowledge and contact the best people in the field. In addition, it is possible to submit your project to become a Young Ocean Advocate and receive mentoring and coaching from field specialists.
Join at the Maritime Forum on European Commission Official Website:
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en
If you have a company and want to improve its results while preserving the sea, Oceanum Portugal will help you. Contact us on our social media channels to understand how we can help.
Webpages:
https://www.instagram.com/oceanum_portugal/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/oceanumpt
Bibliography
Ackerman, F., & Eden, C. (2015). Making Strategy - Mapping Out Strategic Sucess.
Hermida, M., & Costa, S. (2020). Between Tradition and Taste: Fish Consumption Habits in a Small Portuguese Archipelago. Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology, 29(4), 335–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/10498850.2020.1734892
Rocha, L. (2020). Associação "Cosmos denuncia aquicultura ao Ministério Público. Funchal Notícias.
Rocha, L. (2021a). Junta de Freguesia da Ribeira Brava salienta aspectos negativos da piscicultura. Funchal Notícias.