Sustainability Spotlight

Written by Kate Whitlock 

Punch into Google the question: “Is climate change accelerating?” If you skip the “AI” mix of truth and fiction and head to solid information, you are met by some increasingly alarming statements by the experts such as: “Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change); “The rate of change since the mid-20th century is unprecedented over millennia. https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/ 

It is like that Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime: 
And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful house (planet)" 
And you may ask yourself, "Am I right, am I wrong?" 
And you may say to yourself, "My God, what have I done?" 

But do not despair! We in the IZFS are extremely fortunate to have a group of highly motivated, predominantly young scientists who formed the Zebrafish Sustainability Network (ZSN) (formerly Environmental Sustainability Committee) which now has collaborative projects with several other zebrafish societies. So, what have they been up to? According to Max Breuer and Viviana Vedder, two of the original founders of the Environmental Sustainability Committee, “The most important aspect for ZSN is to raise awareness about the topic of sustainability in aquatic research facilities and find solutions with the community.” Probably one of the most extensive and notable activities of the group is the waste audit, an extensive questionnaire that collected responses from 4 continents and over 80 scientists: “It’s the first global aquatic research facility audit (as far as we know)”. This project was the catalyst for subsequent workshops at conferences and the formation of the collaborative inter-society ZSN. For more ZSN updates check out the new LinkedIn Profile (www.linkedin.com/company/zebrafish-sustainability-network/) 

What are some of the take home messages? One of the easiest (in my opinion) to implement is a solution to plastic waste, in particular the thousands (millions?) of plastic petri dishes zebrafish facilities use to collect and maintain the embryos. ZSN tells us: “the most adopted sustainability method is to wash and reuse your petri dishes. It is the most notable solution to drastically reduce the amount of plastic waste in our fish labs”. Thus, we must remember that while it seems like a drop of water in a sea of need, the changes done by each lab in the community can add to a considerable amount of plastic waste saved by labs around the world. 

The audit revealed that many facilities have little idea about how much water they consume. Water awareness may take on a new meaning as the United Nation has just announced that: “The world has moved beyond a water crisis and into a state of global water bankruptcy” (https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166800). Recommendations for reducing water consumption are actions such as improving the recovery ratio of your reverse-osmosis (RO) water purification system and simply maintaining fewer fish in your facility. Reverse osmosis (RO) water systems used to purify water for fish facilities vary greatly in water use, but in general the smaller domestic units, often available at home construction type stores, can send up to five liters of water down the drain for every liter of purified water they produce. In contrast, if you are fortunate enough to work in a building with an integrated RO system, these industrial units are much more efficient (as little as 0.25 liters of wastewater for every liter of purified water). In my lab, and in most developing countries, integrated building RO water systems are non-existent, thus we use the smaller domestic units. Because of recent improvements in the technology of the membranes used in RO systems, some systems can operate more efficiently, sending just one or two liters of water down the drain for every gallon of water produced. Thus, if you are installing a new fish facility or upgrading an existing fish facility, it is worth the time to carefully question what type of RO system that will be installed.  

Fish numbers can be reduced by cryopreserving lines that are not going to be used in the next 3-6 months and maintaining a good database to minimize stock duplication. In the words of Zoltan Varga (Director of ZIRC): “If you have fewer fish, you need less water!” The audit revealed that the majority of scientists would like to run a more sustainable lab, but university, regional or government regulations make this extremely difficult. Perhaps as we enter the era of water bankruptcy, more funding options will become available to reduce water consumption in labs. 

Over the years there have been discussions of how to limit air travel, an activity that has a hefty carbon footprint. The ZSN found that the majority of scientists attend 1 to 2 in-person meetings each year, and that they considered sustainable options. In spite of this, due to costs or time, only 17% opted to take the most sustainable mode of transport available. I can personally attest to this, in my sustainability commitment I travelled by bus from Albany, New York to Montreal Canada, which took much longer than expected, resulting in me arriving late to the opening of the 2022 IZFS Meeting. The ZSN suggest that a more fruitful approach would be for scientific societies to collaborate in organizing joint meetings, which would reduce the number of overall events and subsequently reduce travel. 

In addition to pursuing sustainability themes many scientists in the ZSN are part of the joint Young Researcher Committee (YoRC) of the International and European Zebrafish Societies. This group aims to highlight not only sustainability but also the research of PhD and Postdoctoral researchers in the zebrafish community. Part of their interest encompasses topics that are important for early career researchers (ECR), such as mental health, presented at the European Zebrafish Society meeting in Krakow, as well as sustainability, like the Webinar of Sustainability just a few months ago, which can be screened online (www.youtube.com/@YoRC_EZS-IZFS), in case you missed it. The newest project of the YoRC is the “Franklin-Prasher-Kimmel Webinar series” for ECRs by ECRs. If you are a PhD or Postdoc with an exciting project, submit an abstract and join the webinar event in 2026 (see website for updates: www.ezsociety.org/yorc-committee or www.izfs.org/about-us/committees/young-researchers-committee).  

If you are an Early Career Researcher and want to get involved, the simplest way is to reach out to YoRC by visiting their website or LinkedIn account, or send an email: (yorc@ezsociety.org). The YoRC would love to hear about your ideas/suggestions!