the ocean as food more than 3 billion people obtain one-fifth or more of their animal protein from...
TRANSCRIPT
The ocean as food
• More than 3 billion people obtain one-fifth or more of their animal protein from fish
North American fisheries
The Aquacalypse?• Depletions are the norm
world-wide• Era of wild fish and
seafood is ending
Aquaculture to the rescue?
Marine defaunation
World War 2 and the US-Russian Cold War
• Sonar used to track submarines repurposed to hunt fish
• High-powered diesel engines used in war boats outfitted into larger and larger factor trawlers
• Innovations in synthesizing plastic led to new, stronger nets and lines
• GPS and satellites developed for spying used to track fish
Super trawlers – fishing factories at sea
Case study: the Atlantic bluefin tuna
Types of fisheries
• Industrial fisheries• Recreational fisheries• Artisanal or traditional
fisheries• Commercial versus
subsistence (fish not traded of sold)
Whaling is permitted for some indigenous groups as part of maintaining theirtraditional fishing customs. However, newer technology is used, thus it is no longer an entirely artisanal fishing practice
http://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000001113959/barrow-journal-a-timeless-tradition.html
Salmon fisheries in Pacific
Northwest
• Pre-European settlement: traditional Native American fisheries
• Subsistence fisheries, although fish likely traded
• First commercial European fisheries began in early 1800s.
• Declines from the 1920s onward
• Overfishing led to programs to establish hatchery releases
• Hatchery stocking led to larger catches, and more investment
• Smaller less productive natural stocks declined
• Wild salmon now dependent on restocking
• However, two-thirds of the salmon eaten is farmed-raised rather than hatchery-released.
Commercial versus recreational fisheries
• Recreational fishing does have a significant ecological impact in some regions but not all.
• Technology has improved • Number of anglers
increasing • Local aggregations for
feeding or spawning may convey abundance, but it is local
Researchers discovered in a 2011 study that the populations of barred sand bass and kelp bass, two popular recreational species in Southern California. had declined by 90% since 1980 and have now collapsed. Their tendency to cluster while spawning created an illusion of plenty, which kept anglers coming back for more. They did not realize that they were pushing the total population to unsustainably low levels
Legal framework for fisheries• The cannon shot rule defined a country’s legal waters (up to
1800’s)• Beyond that distance, freedom of the seas (mare liberum)
concept held• World War 1 and 2 led to realization of need for legal definition of
sovereign waters• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in
1982 designated offshore economic zones of countries (EEZs) of 200 nautical miles, or approx. 230 miles
• In North America today, fisheries management plans mandated by Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA). In Europe, the Common Fisheries Policy
Fishing regulations
• Restrictions on access• Restrictions on where fishing is allowed • Limits on the number of fishing licenses• Seasonal closures
• Restrictions on effort• Restrictions on fishing vessel size• Restrictions on the length, mesh size and number of
nets• Limits on the number of hooks used
• Restrictions on catch
Total allowable catch (TAC)
• Limit set for a particular fishery, generally for a fishing season.
• Usually expressed in live-weight equivalent, but are sometimes set in terms of numbers of fish.
• Limits negotiated among regulatory groups, government entities, biologists, and fishermen
• When TAC met, fishery may close for the season
Individual transferable quotas• A portion of a TAC, called a ITQ, can be allocated to
individuals, corporations, or governments• ITFs can typically be bought, sold and leased; they
are transferable• However, if overall TAC is met in a season, cannot
honor ITQ
Fishing “derbies”
• TAC met in mere hours or days after the opening of the season
• Boats rush out all at once to catch as much as they can before the season's TAC gets met and the fishery is closed.
• These also produce a market glut: when catch arrives at the same time, prices fall.
Catch shares• A remedy for fishing derbies • In a catch share, fishermen are allotted a share of a TAC that
they can harvest whenever they want, or trade or sell their share
• Fishing no longer restricted to short fishing seasons, can fish when they choose.
• Boom/bust market cycles disappear • More independence for fishermen to set their own policies
over many seasons
After the 2005 season, the Alaskan crab industry transitioned from a derby-style season to a catch share system
Catch shares are criticized for 1) their concentrated ownership in a few corporations or wealthy fleet ownersthat were initially given shares and 2) the high cost of shares limits their purchase by small operators
Catch share fisheries
