NEWS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE July 2025 107 Young people must drive the transformation needed to enable aquatic foods to nourish a global population projected to grow by billions, QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) told a youthful audience at the first official day of the UN Ocean Conference. The event was held from 9-13 June, 2025. In one of his first engagements at the conference, which marks an important platform for FAO’s technical work in fisheries and aquaculture and its role in key international agreements on the sector, Qu was speaking at an event marking FAO’s 80th anniversary, titled “From Legacy to leadership: Youthled Solutions for Ocean Sustainability.” The gathering, including young leaders from the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, was held aboard the historic Norwegian training vessel, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl in the port of this Mediterranean city. The Director-General emphasized that FAO is engaged in multi-pronged initiatives in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. But he said that for real transformation to happen, the youth need to be not just included but empowered - not just as observers, but leaders, creators, and innovators, who are not just part of the transformation but are driving it. Read more>> At the UN Ocean Conference 2025, which took place from June 9-13, Aker BioMarine and Aker QRILL Company announced their ongoing advocacy for new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica, marking an instance of an industry voluntarily pushing for regulations that will directly impact its operations. The proposed MPA will protect nearly 70% of the Antarctic Peninsula. The companies stated their commitment to lead the industry and working with nations to achieve consensus for a proposed 455,957 km² Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Antarctic Peninsula at the 2025 Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting. The proposed MPA, tabled by Argentina and Chile and developed over nearly a decade of scientific work in CCAMLR, would become one of the world's largest marine protected areas and represent a significant contribution toward the UN's 30x30 ocean protection goal. The initiative follows CCAMLR negotiations in October 2024, which ended without conclusions on new MPAs. "This is about taking responsibility for the future of Antarctica," said Matts Johansen, Chairman of the Board at Aker QRILL Company and CEO of Aker BioMarine. "We believe that science-based management and genuine dialogue across nations can create progress. The industry is ready to act for conservation – closing off vast fishing areas with direct impact on our operations, but necessary for the long-term preservation and management of Antarctica. With this MPA, 12% of Antarctica is fully protected compared to 2,3% of oceans globally." Read more>> FAO urges youth to drive transformation for aquatic foods Sustainable fishery at heart of Antarctic Peninsula protection plan Photo: Freepik Photo: ©FAO/Alessandra Benedetti
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