Science at UM [S05-ep05]: When fishing gets in the way

This week in Science at UM, Gaël Mariani from the Marbec laboratory Marbec talks to us about the impact of global warming and fishing on carbon storage in the oceans. The report takes us to the aquaponics training unit at the Smel with Gérard Sposito. A program broadcast every Wednesday on Divergence.

The mention of the ocean can conjure up a multitude of images. For some, it is a place of life or sustenance, while for others it is a space for leisure, competition, or transit. It can be a source of fear or, conversely, poetic inspiration, but for all of us who inhabit this planet, human and non-human animals alike, it is a carbon sink that is essential for maintaining life on Earth in acceptable conditions. But for how much longer?

While the ocean, and in particular the biomass it contains, stores a significant amount of the CO2 emitted by human activities, these same activities, primarily fishing, are depleting its fish stocks day by day, thereby limiting its capacity to store carbon.

In 2022, we welcomed Anaëlle Durfort for a focus on carbon sequestration in whale carcasses. Today we welcome Gaël Mariani, a doctoral student at the Marbec marine biology laboratory, who has quantified the combined effect of climate change and fishing on marine macrofauna and projected it onto carbon sequestration by 2100. His article, entitled The combined impact of fishing and climate change on future carbon sequestration by oceanic macrofauna, was published in Nature Communications.

In the second part of the program, we are rebroadcasting a report filmed at the aquaponics training unit of the Mediterranean coastal environment station. Gérard Sposito, project manager in the continuing education department at the aquaculture center, explains how fish can be farmed and plants grown in the same system.

Finally, our last-minute guest is Jean Caelen, a member of the Arum association, who is organizing a conference on Auguste Comte on January 21.

At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Alice Rollet

Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9


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