Global Fisheries in Decline
Listen to a story by The World’s Jeb Sharp about the status of the once-thriving Newfoundland cod fishery. That’s followed by an interview with Dr. U. Rashid Sumaila about the state of global fisheries.
Sumaila directs the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Center. He’s our guest in this Science Forum discussion.
According to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London, 70% of the world’s commercial marine fish stocks are on the decline. Some are on the brink of collapse.
There ‘s a growing number of resources that consumers can use to buy sustainably harvested fish. Some of them are:
- The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch: You can download and print one of their pocket guides to sustainable seafood. Or if you’re a smart phone owner, just download their app.
- The WWF also has seafood eating guides. You can find them here.
- The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fish Watch Program has basic facts on some 30 marine species. There’s even information on seafood and human health. Check out the site here.
But can consumer awareness alone stop overfishing and protect the livelihoods of millions of fishermen around the world?
Ask Dr. Sumaila. He’s taking your questions and comments through December 2nd. The conversation is just to the right.
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Hi,
Welcome to this forum on the world’s fisheries and how to sustain them.
Rashid Sumaila
I recently heard your interview on KPCC in Los Angeles, California and my question relates to the interesting comment you made about the length of time it has taken to note some improvement in the stock of cod off of the coast of New Foundland, Canada. I was impressed that the Canadian government chose to keep this area closed now for close to 20 years.
What I would like to know more about is what other methods (aside from transmitter impants) are you are using to measure the survivability or recovery of the various fish species around the world.
I recall Einstein said the importance of bees was related to our survivability as a species couldn’t that same principle be applied to the role fish play in our oceans?
Hi Amy,
Fisheries scientists use various approaches to assess the status (and the recovery) of fish stocks. In the case of Atlantic cod, for example, scientists periodically conduct research bottom-trawl survey, sentinel surveys and hydroacoustic surveys in addition to the tagging studies as you noted above. Information gathered from these surveys are then used to estimate the biomass of the stocks.
Wilf Swartz, Fisheries Centre, UBC
Dear Amy,
I hope you find the answer provided by Wilf Swartz (thanks, Wilf) satisfactory.
Your quote from Einstein does indeed apply to the role of fish in the ocean – a healthy fish population is a good indicator of the health of the ocean, which in turn signals that we are drawing values and services from the ocean in a sustainable manner.
Hi Amy,
Scientists conduct field surveys and use mathematical models to estimate the abundance of fish in the ocean and their rates of growth, reproduction and mortalities. These may be fishing surveys, tagging experiments, or visual census. Scientists then use mathematical models to project the changes in fish population in the future given different scenarios of fishing intensivity, and estimate the time at when a stock may reach a certain level of abundance.
This is a difficult task. You can imagine that this is similar to counting the number of trees in a forest, except that you cannot see the trees and they keep moving around.
Cheers,
William Cheung
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Dear William,
Thanks for shedding more like on Amy’s question.
Dr. Rashid,
Why is bottom trawling and use of miles long nets permitted at all? Why don’t the people who regulate the legal aspects of oceans do something? Why doesn’t the UN do something?
I have been wondering this for years, certainly since the cod fisheries collapsed in Newfoundland in 1992. Please explain.
Thank you.
Dear Susan,
Essential habitats for fish species need to be protected if fish and fisheries are to be sustained through time. Many studies show that bottom trawling destroys the essential habitats of fish. Many members of the UN recognise this and want to take action but they face strong opposition from countries that have strong economic interests in bottom trawling (e.g., Iceland – credited with leading the charge to block the UN General Assembly from banning bottom trawling in the high seas a few years back). A key reason why the UN has not banned these habitat destroying gears is that the short-term economic, social and political costs loom large even though the medium term to long-benefits of banning them are most likely much larger. For humanity to begin to tackle many global (environmental) problems, we need to find ways of dealing with what I term the short-term versus medium to long-term cost and benefits problem.
Dear Susan,
My colleague from the University of Guelph, James Atsu Amegashi, wrote the following in an email to me, and gave me the permission to post it here:
“It is like Kyoto and global pollution. It is a classic public good/public bad situation where it is rational for each person to free ride but is socially damaging. At the end of the day, the politicians talk but it’s just talk.
To really do more, one would have to set up an NGO or advocacy group that actively lobbies in the highest corridors of political power.”
Given the tremendous pressure on wild fish stocks, you’d think that aquaculture would be a wise alternative. Yet there seem to be serious environmental problems with fish farming, too. Where do you stand on aquaculture? Should consumers choose farmed fish over wild?
David,
I have worked in fisheries and aquaculture for many years. Yes there are serious environmental issues with aquaculture and many of the products are not a ‘healthy’ alternative for wild caught fish. Also, investments in aquaculture is front end heavy so not really all that feasible for poor and developing nations. Plus, water contamination, introduction of non-native species, space, time and skilled manpower are all factors that should be weighed when considering aquaculture.
Much of the fish produced has less of the good things ie omega 3 and more of the bad things ie mercury than ocean fish. Although many species of wild fish are highly contaminated as well.
As much as we need this protein source, do we really need to add to our already toxic environment?
Dear Grace,
You are spot on!
Thanks for sharing your practical experience – that is extremely important as a way of validating what the science tells us.
Dear David,
Many fish farms still rely on wild caught fish for fishmeal and oil. The potential for disease from fish farms impacting wild populations is real. There is also the potential that fish farms can pollute the environment because of waste from such farms. As a result of these challenges, current aquaculture practices need to be modified to turn aquaculture into a real contributor of fish protein. The sector needs to (i) be organized to ensure minimal environmental degradation from it; (ii) stop the farming of carnivorous fish (e.g., salmon) until non-wild fish sources of fishmeal are developed; (iii) adopt integrated technologies that will make fish farming as self-contained as possible; and (iv) develop reliable management systems for aquaculture practices. Farmed fish that do not require fishmeal or oil from wild fish do not exert direct pressure on them.
Dr. Sumaila,
There are good questions posed here. Fisheries are in decline as we know and it is important to find sources of protein to supplement for the loss. One of the questions/concerns that I have is about the cultural aspects of the people that rely on fish as their primary dietary protein. What happens to these people when fish stocks decline so much that their way of life is impacted? Will the world agencies come together to try to preserve stocks for certain groups. Something like whaling for Inuit people?
Do we as managing agencies try to change the culture of people?
In my personal life I following the Seafood Watch guide when buying fish. I also know what impacts certain fisheries have on their environments so avoid them. But I am just one person. How do we reach the world?
Dear Grace,
You raise an important question, which as far as I know, is not being addressed either by national governments or the United Nations. Fish as a way of life is one good reason why we cannot afford to let the fish go.
How do we reach the world – I think what we are doing now, through the use of new technology and social media, is an encouraging way to reach the world.
Hello Rashid,
In trying to sustain the world’s fish stocks, does it make more sense to target fishing practices (e.g. by implementing catch shares, no-fishing sanctuaries, etc.) or to target consumer behavior (e.g. with things like the Seafood Watch guide)? Both must have a place, but I also wonder if the relative value of each approach varies around the world?
Thanks!
Elsa
Dear Elsa,
The focus of this particular interview is on how consumers can contribute to the sustainable use of the world’s fishery resources. But surely, there are other approaches, including those you mentioned:
• Use fisheries subsidies rarely, and only those that do no harm to the resource base;
• Where feasible, use catch rights or dedicated access privileges;
• Engage only in sustainable aquaculture;
• Develop smart fisheries that do not destroy the ‘homes’ of fish stocks;
• Use se marine protected areas as insurance against human mistakes and errors;
• Provide education and skills to fishing communities to increase their livelihood alternatives.
“Vote with your fork.”
Consumer power relies on informed individual consumers making the best choice for society as a whole.
The recent increase in consumer education (best choice guides etc) has probably had little effect on consumer behavior because for every good consumer choice the incentive for a bad choice increases.
How can social media and other technologies be used in ways more powerful than click lobbying?
I really like how the NOAA fishers register involve users in the management of a resource.
Could a internet based system that involves all users of a resource in its management create optimal societal outcomes? How can consumers form a lobby group that has greater power than industry?
Dear Barton,
“Vote with your fork” could be a nice rallying cry for consumers who want to do something to protect the ocean and the life it sustains! The recent increase in consumer education has probably had little effect on consumer behavior for the reason you stated. To me, this means that we need to double our efforts such that for every bad choice that appears there are multiples of good consumer choices that are created. I believe social media and other technologies have a lot of potential and much more of this potential is yet to be exploited. A simply use of social media is to rally people concerned about an issue, and ensure that the concern reaches the relevant (political) leadership. Unlike corporations where resources and power are concentrated, consumers are many and scattered, which undermines their ability to form strong lobby groups because the transaction costs are very high. Social media can help bring down these high transaction costs.
How can a bad consumer choice create a good choice?
Every good choice makes a bad choice more appealing. The more good choices the less demand for bad ones – bad choices become cheaper and more demand increases.
It doesnt work in reverse. We have to attach shame or something to the bad choices. Continuing education of consumers drops the price of unsustainable fish – increasing demand…. addressing demand only creates more demand.
We must focus on supply. Irresponsible methods are appealing for short term gain of a few. Responsible for long term benefit of many.
Bluefin – how many people need to stop eating it to cause the market to collapse before the fishery? I would say almost everybody immediately. Attaching the shame of eating endangered species works well in some cultures…
Dear Barton,
Thanks for your insightfull comments.
I agree that we have to attach a shame to the bad choices. In fact, my general position is that there is no single approach or solution to the overfishing problem. We need to apply all the approaches at our disposal. Clearly, only some of the possible solutions have been dicussed in this Forum.
Dear All,
Thanks for taking the time to participate in this discussion on the world’s fisheries and how to sustain them.
Next time there is a Forum on fisheries, we will make it broader so that participants will be able to have a more general discussion of fisheries issues from the ecology right through to the economics, management, cutural and social aspects.
I admire the beneficial info you supply in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and have my young children check up here generally. I’m fairly certain they are going to find out a lot of new stuff here than anybody else!
Dear Kellee,
It is a great idea to introduce your kids to this weblog. The earlier children are exposed to information the better, I think.
Cheers, Rashid.
I wonder if you’ve looked at Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering that is currently being done on a global scale as a reason why these fish are in decline. Are you aware of Francis Mangels reporting of high levels of Aluminum, Barium, and Strontium he’s finding in the soil and water samples from California? take a look at the recent documentary film, “What In The World Are They Spraying?” for more details. But then, considering your funding sources as listed below, I tend to think you won’t. I’d love to be happily surprised, however. These Aerosol campaigns have got to stop!