The high-end restaurants’ seafood and its impact on the local environment

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The high-end restaurants in Taipei are seeking for the highest quality of seafood from the local seafood markets. The crucial character of local seafood in the north coast of Taiwan is that vendors sale living fishes. The crucial reason is that there are many Buddhists buy the living fish so that they can return them into the ocean. However, living fishes are also a good product for these high-end restaurants because the character represents “high quality” and “local catching.”

“How to define the “local catching” seafood?”, “Does the work follow the inspiration of sustainability?” I’ve asked myself many times when I was working with the fishermen. I know I hold the high-end restaurants which seems like the stakeholder and can pay the highest prices in the seafood market.

Why not use the money from restaurants and help them to have the first found from the consumers? Then, they would have capitals to switch their skills.

Unfortunately, using a company to support a dream is very difficult. While my company connects to the relation between the restaurants and producer and the producers have enough income in the first month, they did not want to change their fishing skills and seek for a sustainable fishery. Instead, the high-end restaurants support the fishermen to catch fish by bottom trawling in the near-shore area (less than 3NM, 3NM-12NM, and the products were IUU).

Even though the restaurants’ general managers knew it is an illegal activity, but the cheapest prices in the market and the lack of power of prohibition lead the situation becomes worse. Uncomfortable cooperation is a cheat. It seems these Michelin Star restaurants just want to use the stars to sell products. It is the reason why: when we require them to carry the social responsibility and environmental responsibility in their selling, they have many reasons to circumvent the responsibilities on the local environment. The “local product using” is like a joke in the catering.

p.s. My company decided to stop providing services to these restaurants. Probably this decision will let my company has very long time cannot have a stable income. However, I hope the Micheline office can use top-down impact on these Michelin restaurants to follow the SDGs and take the social and environmental responsibility.

The sea urchin is transported in animal welfare. Each living sea urchin from my company has kelps in the box. The kelp in the box provides a comfortable environment (for food and for hiding) for sea urchin.

The Importance of Safeguards in Conservation Projects

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US Capitol, Washington DC

As the summer goes on, I have been working and learning with the Environmental and Social Safeguards Team here at WWF. My team has been inclusive and supportive. I got to participate in different workshops and webinars in which the safeguards team trained WWF offices located in Latin America on safeguards policies. 

I think implementing environmental and social safeguards is an innovative approach and WWF is setting an example of how environmental organizations and NGOs need to constantly evolve and adapt to new circumstances and see communities as an integral part of conservation projects. WWF-US recently stated its commitment to safeguards, making it perfect timing for me to learn about this new and upcoming topic.

In addition to enjoying my internship I have had the chance to explore Washington DC. I am able to to visit a museum after work, go to an educational film, explore the city and meet new people. For example, I had the opportunity to meet US Congressmen and tour government buildings. Most museums and attractions are free and it is easy to bike or take public transportation from one place to the other. 

  • Visiting with US Congressman Sean Casten and UK Member of Parliament Stephen Morgan
  • Premiere of the documentary “Sea of Shadows” at National Geographic
  • US Supreme Court

Closing the gap between community development and environmental management

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My summer in San Diego is in full swing! Both sides of my internship have fully picked up. I am splitting my time between Scripps’ Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation (CCCIA) and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (TRNERR). I started my first two weeks at TRNERR, but then switched over two weeks full time at CCCIA, while my TRNERR boss prepares to defend her dissertation.

During my first few days at CCCIA I got to meet some of the coastal researchers, the graduate students who work in the labs, and some of the office staff working on governmental relations and project management. The research they are doing is fascinating. For example, one crew created an enclosed system that simulates a wave crashing on the shore; intended to collect data about sea spray and aerosols produced by ocean water. This groundbreaking research will tell us how ocean water interacts with the atmosphere, how it links to public health and air quality. As the lead scientist, Kim Prather, says, ‘When they close the beach for high bacteria, they tell you not to swim, but they don’t tell you not to breath’.

Wave simulation machine

I joined in on meetings with Ocean Acidification scientists, who are putting together a research summit in a few months. In preparation for their conference, they asked me to look into the statewide ocean acidification guidance and research priorities to ensure their efforts correctly align with funding opportunities. I also sat in on a briefing of all the research and scientific investigation occurring in and around the Tijuana River Estuary during a briefing for local elected officials. This was a unique opportunity to merge my two internship components: CCCIA conducting research in conjunction with TRNERR, as it is communicated to decision makers. This briefing was a slice of policy-making I had never experienced before and helped me understand the process for funding scientific research, filling knowledge gaps, and translating data into management decisions.

In addition to meeting the team and attending meetings and trainings, I also helped put together the CCCIA newsletter and reconstruct their webpage. These types of projects are crucial for science communications and project management. I now understand how integral sharing research findings is for good policy and management decisions!

I’ve also been able to get even more involved with all things Tijuana River. One of the biggest projects I participated in was a binational partnership between UCSD students and professors, TRNERR, and the local community is Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana. The Binational Partnership Lab at UCSD hires about 10 interns every summer to carry out projects across the border in one of the most disadvantaged communities in Tijuana. This neighborhood, known as Los Laureles, is one of the highest sediment contributors to the Tijuana Estuary. This means that because the area is naturally erosive, sediment is carried by rainwater and urban run-off in excess. It flows directly across the border in the Tijuana Reserve, and out into the Pacific Ocean. This canyon is also booming with unregulated development, where roads are not paved or properly maintained, and basic plumbing and waste collection is lacking. These issues create not only an environmental issue for the US side of the watershed, but also a flooding hazard and dangerous living environment for the residents of the canyon. This truly embodies how social development and environmental protection are intertwined.

View from Los Laureles Canyon neighborhood in Tijuana

I was able to help the interns in their community activities and workshops in the local community center in Tijuana. Walking across the border and meeting residents in the Los Laureles Canyon allowed me to connect the social issues to environmental burdens downstream. I hope to continue enabling international communities to make more sustainable environmental decisions that will protect not only neighboring ecosystems, but also their local wellbeing and security.

I’ve been really enjoying spending time at the Tijuana River NERR, learning about the Coastal Training Program, binational issues, and all the research collaborations. Now that I have also onboarded with CCCIA, I am also excited to see what goes on at Scripps! Both places offer amazing networks and resources, and I look forward to how the summer culminates!

My Summer at WWF Headquarters in Washington DC

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Richard Castillo Rodriguez
WWF-US Summer 2019

Tina (my Costa Rican dog) and the Lincoln Memorial

I was excited to learn I would be spending my summer in Washington DC as a Center for Blue Economy Fellow at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). I had been to the city once before as an exchange student from Costa Rica. From my first visit to Washington DC, I remember the city full of history, art, culture and free museums (perfect for a student!), so I was excited to spend a few months here. I arrived a week early to familiarize myself with my new place, the neighborhood and to explore some of the attractions in Washington DC. 

Upon my arrival to WWF Headquarters, I explored the 8-story building and met my team. During my time at WWF, I’ll work for the Environmental and Social Safeguards Team, which is a small group of professionals who is in charge of implementing WWF’s Environmental and Social Safeguards Policies (ESS) for Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) projects. ESS policies help to preview, avoid or mitigate any possible negative impact the projects may have on the environment or the local communities. 


  • WWF-US
    Headquarters
  • United States Capitol

Because I am a native Spanish speaker and am fluent in English, my job will involve supporting projects in Latin America, for example in the Mesoamerican reef region and in Peru’s National Protected Areas. I will be synthesizing and producing information and materials on safeguards policies for WWF offices in the region. Finally, I’ll help design training materials for the team’s webinars on ESS Policies for WWF Latin American offices. This topic aligns perfectly with my professional interests since my future career goal is to work in international marine policy.

Because I am a native Spanish speaker and am fluent in English, part of my job will be assisting in translating materials for WWF Latin American offices. Finally, I’ll help design training materials for the team’s webinars on ESS Policies in Spanish. Having worked with fishing communities before, this topic is perfect for my future career and professional interests. 

    Pura Vida!

    The Start of my Summer at BSR in SF!

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    Hi! I’ve been working this summer at BSR in San Francisco’s Financial District. BSR is a global nonprofit organization that was founded at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The organization works with its network of more than 250 member companies and other partners to build a just and sustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration. 

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