Coming Soon: Sustainable Fishing
Photo Credit: John Beetham
Overfishing is one of the monumental environmental problems that we face today on this planet. The ocean’s fish have been over exploited for years and major fisheries around the world are on the brink of collapse. This has led to a increase in fisheries research, where population declines are being studied and different sustainable management practices are being experimented with. A two-year study by a team of 21 marine scientists from universities around the world has shown that with intensive management practices and smart fishing major fisheries can begin the initial stages of recovery.
The team focused on the exploitation rate or the “proportion of fish removed from the ecosystem each year.” This variable allowed the research team to see how much of the fish stock had been removed by humans. Although humans aren’t the only factor that can lead to fish stock reduction, the amount of stock that is reduced yearly is so large the scientists assume that it is mostly due to anthropogenic influences. Their results illustrate that changes in fisheries management can lead to global fish stock recovery. “Some of the most spectacular rebuilding efforts have involved bold experimentation with closed areas, [fishing] gear restrictions and new approaches to catch allocations and enforcement” the team stated,” the scientists said.
The truth of the matter is global fish stocks are still in trouble. It has been predicted that all fisheries will collapse within the next 25 to 50 years if the world’s fisheries are not managed and regulated properly. This study should give us hope that with ingenious management practices and heavy regulations in place, sustainable fishing is within the realm of our future. The lead author Dr. Boris Worm (great name for a fish researcher) of Dalhousie University in Canada said, “[the paper] offered a blueprint for sustainable fishing. It clearly shows what needs to be done to not only avoid fisheries collapse, but to actually rebuild fish stocks and ecosystems.” What we should take from this study is that the oceans fisheries can make a come back but only with mindful consumption and smart management practices that the worlds top researchers and officials can hopefully deliver.
Loading ...
