Isabelle Autissier ocean future Michel Serres Meetings, Digi Mart USA News: Navigator Isabelle Autissier will address the challenges facing the ocean in the future at the Michel Serres Meetings on Friday, November 13. The theme of the event is “What Are We Truly Attached To?”, and Autissier, the first woman to complete a solo non-stop sailing circumnavigation of the globe, says she plans to approach the question in a practical way rather than through pure philosophy.
She says her interest lies in the exchange of ideas and dialogue with people. Autissier argues that time is the decisive factor in what people are attached to, noting that she has built her life around the ocean even though she spends only about two and a half months a year at sea.
Autissier stresses that the future and the oceans cannot be separated. She explains that phytoplankton, the plant-based microalgae and cyanobacteria in the seas, carry out photosynthesis, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.
According to her, if plankton disappeared, the world would lose about 50 percent of its oxygen, and phytoplankton captures one third of greenhouse gas emissions.
She also says that marine biodiversity can recover within five or six years when harmful activities are curbed. She cites the decline of French fishing and the recent improvement in fish quotas as a result of efforts to follow scientific advice, adding that such decisions are political and civic in nature.
Autissier also points to marine protected areas, where tourism and fishing are regulated and some zones prohibit fishing, allowing fish stocks to rebuild. She notes that the ocean contributes greatly to economic strength and says that if it were a country, it would be the world’s fifth economic power.
She argues that nature does the work for free when fishing is done responsibly, and that this message must be explained to younger generations.
