EcoMerge Project at Portland State University

The Effects of Overfishing has on the Coral Reef Ecosystem

2012-06-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Coral reefs are the homes of some of the most diverse ecosystems and biologically productive habitats. One of the largest biological organisms in the world is the Great Barrier Reef. Considering that the Great Barrier Reef’s ecological system is so vulnerable that even the slightest influence by human activity can intensify the level where coral reefs are threatened globally. This activity has not only affected the coral reefs, but also the surrounding biodiversity that coexist within these systems.

The major disruptions to the food web as had a negative domino effect due to aggressive overfishing. The over exploitation of marine life has disrupted the entire stability of oceanic life due to over depletion of keystone plant and animal life. This happens in the following ways:

· Overfishing – reefs suffer directly and indirectly from the increasing pressure of mans’ resource exploitation. This has been a devastating impact on coral reefs. It damages many coral reefs around world, specifically to the Great Barrier Reef and has caused a shift in the reef ecosystem. This affects the ecological balance and biodiversity of the coral reef.

· Overfishing of important herbivores has only been increasing over the past few decades. Direct overexploitation of different fishes and invertebrates by recreational, subsistence, and commercial fisheries has resulted in the rapid decline in populations.

· Overfishing effects fish size, abundance, species composition and genotypic diversity. Also, overexploitation of marine organisms contributes to the degradation of coral reef ecosystems as a whole. (Puglise, K.A)

http://see-the-sea.org/topics/commerce/overfishing.htm

Effects of Overfishing on the Food Chain

· Plant and animal species have an important role in the coral reef ecosystem, which requires certain environments, nutrients and dependency on other organisms, which is crucial for their survival.

· Food chain organization.

o Producers, which are photosynthetic organisms.

o Zooxanthellae – plant like organisms that photosynthesis for the reef.

o Producers are eaten by consumers, which are either herbivores or carnivores.

· Fishing for a particular species affects that species directly, but it also affects the animals and/or plants in both directions along the food chain - the predators and the prey of the fish will both be affected, and changes to them will also affect their predators and prey, and so on.

· Overfishing of grouper in some cases has led to an increase of damselfish, which is a major food supply for the Grouper fish. Damselfish help create pockets in corals that are important for coral reef life.

· If the damselfish population isn’t controlled by natural predation, these algae can take over a reef, eventually killing it. Overfishing of other herbivorous fishes can also lead to high levels of algal growth in different cases.

Impacts of Overfishing

· Destructive fishing techniques can have direct physical impacts on reef environments or create a deceit of certain species in the ecosystem.

· Unauthorized fishing causes further destruction to coral reefs.

· The vulnerability of coral-reef species is partly because of their life-history adaptations to uncertainty in survival of recruits and juveniles in diverse communities where predation and competition are intense. With low rates of survival of recruits, multiple attempts at reproduction are favored through longevity and large size. These traits lead to low rates of population turnover and special vulnerability to overfishing.

· Overfishing can devastate the marine ecology of the coral reef. Since certain amounts of nutrients, oxygen and salt content the fishes in the coral reef ecosystem help maintain the balance needed by the corals, without these fishes the coral reef will collapse.

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gc2sec7labgroup3/over-fishing

2012-06-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs, are aiding in the fight to combat the problem of overfishing. These areas are set aside by local governments around the world, much in the way that a national park on land is reserved, in order to protect and conserve the ecology and environment of an ocean area. A list of almost 6,000 such protected environments can be found at the World Database on Protected Areas, and they currently cover 1.17% of the world’s oceans.

MPAs help in the fight against overfishing by protecting a species natural environment and regulating the amount of fish, if any, that can be caught in that area. Problems that come about from overfishing include depleting a species to the point that it can no longer reproduce, or fishing a species caught before maturity, leading to a smaller and weaker species. MPAs combat both these problems by allowing the ocean species to grow and develop in its natural environment. These mature and stable populations then produce an abundance of fish that will migrate to other areas of the ocean where they can be caught. The “Ocean Conservancy Project” compares it to capital and interest. As long as you build up the capital (fish population under protection) and leave it alone to become stable, then you can spend the interest (the fish that migrate out of the MPA). A healthy reserve will produce a healthy return.

Consumers can do their part to support Marine Protected Areas by respecting the rules and regulations laid out by their government and by calling on their government to create more MPAs throughout the world’s oceans. MPAs do work. Their success rate at re-growing a depleted population is outstanding. Studies have shown a “1,000 percent increase in biomass and population density of heavily fished species.” For more information on one such successful MPA, check out the Tortugas Ecological Reserve off the Florida Keys where they have been instrumental in helping to recover depleted lobsters and reef fish in the area.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Marine Protected Area. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 17 May 2012. Web. 1 Jun 2012.

Ocean Convservancy: Start a Sea Change. Ocean Conservancy, 2012. Web. 1 Jun 2012.

World Database on Protected Areas. World Commission on Protected Areas, 2010. Web. 1 Jun 2012.

Tortugas Ecological Reserve. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 1 Jun 2012.

Fish to Lookout For When Consuming

2012-05-30T09:34:00.001-07:00

I found this website very relevant to the cause of over fishing. When ordering at a restaurant and you want to know which types of fish are appropriate to eat, then this list will help. It shows fish that are near extinction or poorly managed and absolutely shouldn't be consumed, fish that are being threatened and should be thought about before consuming, and fish that are okay to consume because they are well maintained. It also goes on to briefly describe how that fish is currently doing and what its status is. This is the quickest and a very effective way to start change and help a cause. Enjoy!!!

The Fish List

No-No Fish -- Why you shouldn’t eat these fish:
Beluga Sturgeon (Beluga caviar). Overfished and unmanaged.
Chilean Seabass (Patagonian Toothfish). Reaches sexual maturity very slowly; long-line fishing results in deaths of tens of thousands of albatrosses.
Clams, dredged. Harvest methods cause habitat destruction.
Groupers. Most species overfished; in many species, large adults are all males.
Lingcod. Okay if from Alaska; overfished off West Coast.
Monkfish. Overfished.
Orange Roughy (Slimehead). Overfished; reaches sexual maturity very slowly.
Oysters, dredged. Harvest methods cause habitat destruction.
Rockfish (Pacific Red Snapper, Rock Cod). Overfished; slow-growing.
Salmon, Atlantic. Wild stocks overfished; farmed escapees dilute gene pool; farms pollute oceans; wild fish populations depleted to feed farmed fish.
Scallops dredged. Harvest methods cause habitat destruction.
Sharks (shark cartilage, shark fin). Many species overfished; slow-growing; produce few young.
Shrimp and prawns, farmed. Farming destroys mangrove forests, pollutes the environment with antibiotics and waste, and wild fish populations depleted to feed farmed shrimp.
Shrimp and prawns, trawled. Trawling damages the seabed; massive bycatch.
Sturgeon, wild. Many species endangered by habitat loss and overfishing.
Swordfish, Atlantic. Severely overfished.
Swordfish, Pacific. Stocks heavily fished.
Tuna, Bluefin (Maguro). Overfished.

So-So Fish -- Why you should think twice before eating these fish:
Crab, Alaskan King. Managed, but becoming overfished.
Crab, Snow. Managed, but heavily fished.
Lobster, Northern (clawed, American, Maine). Managed, but heavily overfished.
Lobsters, spiny (langoustines, crayfish). Slow-growing; overfished almost everywhere except Cuba and Australia.
Snappers, tropical (huachinango). Most species overfished; larvae die in shrimp trawl nets.
Sole, Petrale, English, and Dover. Most soles and flatfishes are caught by trawl fishing, an ecologically destructive practice that often results in excessive bycatch.

Go-Go Fish -- Why these fish are okay to eat:
Anchovies. Fast-growing; abundant.
Bluefish, Atlantic. Fast-growing; abundant.
Catfish, farmed. Fast-growing; herbivorous; raised in ponds.
Cod, Pacific. Abundant; well-regulated fishery.
Crayfish (crawfish, crawdad). Appropriately farmed.
Crab, Dungeness. Well-regulated fishery.
Herrings & sardines. Abundant in certain seas.
Halibut, Pacific (Alaskan). Abundant; well-regulated fishery.
Mackerel. Fast-growing.
Mahi-mahi (Dorado, Dolphinfish). Fast-growing; mature rapidly.
Mussels, farmed. Can be farmed without major environmental impact.
Oysters, farmed. May help clean waters; those raised in nets don’t disturb seabed.
Pollock, Pacific (Surimi, Krab). Not overfished, but fishery competes with declining northern (Steller) sea lions.
Prawns, California Spotted. Captured by trapping; no bycatch.
Salmon, wild (Alaskan and Californian). Many stocks sensibly managed.
Scallops, farmed. Abundant.
Shrimp, Atlantic Northern Pink. Abundant; captured without environmental damage.
Squid (calamari). Abundant; most die after one year.
Striped Bass, farmed. Inland ponds have little environmental impact.
Sturgeon, farmed. Controlled inland rearing ponds with little environmental impact.
Tilapia, farmed. Fast-growing; eat plants, not other fish.
Trout, farmed. Raised in freshwater ponds with little environmental impact.
Tuna, Pacific Albacore (Tombo Tuna). Well-regulated fishery causes little or no bycatch.
Tuna, Yellowfin (Ahi). Abundant; fairly well-managed fishery; “dolphin safe” labeling and monitoring program reduces dolphin kills.

Information courtesy of Dr. John McCosker and the California Academy of Sciences.

http://www.enature.com/articles/detail.asp?storyID=509

How can governments help with overfishing?

2012-05-29T15:13:00.002-07:00

One remedy for overfishing would be global adoption of and compliance with the United Nations’ voluntary Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, developed in 1995. The code provides a detailed consensus for responsible and equitable use of fishery resources, however evaluations of the behavior of the 53 countries who fish the majority of the global marine catch shows poor compliance with this code. Research of the 53 top fishing countries, involving surveys about adherence to the code measuring intent to comply, ratings of conservation versus economic aims, and the effectiveness of day to day compliance measures show many problems with expecting voluntary compliance with a code of conduct. Only six countries of the 53 surveyed exceeded the failure to comply threshold, and even those receive fail grades on some of the topics surveyed on. Most countries fail most at introducing ecosystem based management, controlling illegal fishing, reducing excess fishing capacity and minimizing by-catch and destructive fishing practices.

Although many countries claim the intent to comply, the actual compliance falls below the intent by 9% on average. North America (Canada and the United States) scores high on intent to comply, but only in the mid-range on actual implementation of fishing policies. Developing regions such as Africa, Asia and Latin America fail in nearly every category, and the European Union has mixed scores among its member nations, showing the low priority given to improving fisheries management, even though the resources and knowledge exist to do so.

Cost for enforcement of the code and local legislation of fisheries management can be prohibitive. Code compliance seems to correlate with the countries scores on the World Bank governance index, showing that parameters such as political stability, violence, corruption and accountability impact the levels of voluntary compliance. Some developing nations such as Malaysia, South Africa and Namibia score more highly than several European Union member countries, showing that good management is not entirely resource dependent.

The voluntary nature of the current Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries means that there is no recourse for enforcing this code. Individual nations, especially developing nations, rarely address all of the areas of concern in their legal codes or do not have the resources for enforcement. Now that there is widespread scientific consensus on the impacts of overfishing and broad agreements on policy issues such as limiting illegal catches, creating an international legal instrument that is enforceable should be the next step in protecting the marine ecosystems and future generations access to seafood.

Pitcher, T., Kalikoski, D., Short, K. (2009) Not honouring the code. Nature 475(5) pp658-659

Archival Tags On Blue Fin Tuna

2012-05-26T16:55:00.002-07:00

I wanted to fully under stand the procedure that NOAA uses to track and calculate stocks of species and what I found was a tag method used on Blue Fin Tuna in the Atlantic. The trackers are quite valuable so rewards are offered for retrieval of the tags.

What are archival tags? Archival tags are electronic data-logging devices that provide location estimates by measuring light intensity through a light sensor. They also provide data on swimming depth, water temperature, and body temperature of the fish. This information is collected on a daily basis and stored in the tag for several years.

How do you determine that a blue fin tuna has an archival tag? Archival tags are implanted in the body cavity of the tuna and only the light sensor protrudes out of the body. However, these specially equipped blue fin tuna also carry unique external conventional streamer tags, with two-tone coloration, to help fisherman recognize these fish and return the archival tags. The external tags are placed about an inch off the dorsal midline on each side of the fish. On the white portion of the streamer tag it says “electronic tag inside cavity” and on the green side it says “Big $$$ reward”. The reward offered is a $500 to $1,000 reward, and special instructions must be followed because research depends on the successful recovery of these tags. This is critical that these tags are recovered because it stored useful information on stocks like the blue fin tuna that can accurately measure the impact of overfishing or rebuilding.

The tag referred to in this article is B in the picture.

NOAA Results Are Encouraging ...

2012-05-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) recently published its Annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries for 2011. Given that fisheries play a large role in the U.S. economy, NOAA (of the U.S. Department of Commerce) seeks to end overfishing and rebuild our fisheries. This annual report documents progress toward that end. And for 2011 the news is positive:

Stocks at a Glance
Overfishing status

222 stocks (86%) are not subject to overfishing
36 stocks (14%) are subject to overfishing

Overfished Status

174 stocks (79%) are not overfished
45 stocks (21%) are overfished

Rebuilt Status

6 stocks declared rebuilt, totaling 27 stocks rebuilt to date
51 stocks in rebuilding plans, with 6 additional plans in development

Summary of Stock Changes
Subject to Overfishing

2010 40 (16%)
2011 36 (14%)

Overfished

2010 48 (23%)
2011 45 (21%)

Rebuilt

2010 21
2011 27

Overfishing is when the rate of removal from a stock is too high. A priority for the U.S. is ending overfishing so that all stocks can rebuild and be sustained at rebuilt levels.
Overfished is when the population is too low, or below a prescribed threshold. A population can be overfished but be managed under a rebuilding plan that over time returns the population to health.
Rebuilt is when a stock has increased to its target population level after falling below the critical overfished level.

*taken from 2011 Status of Fisheries Fact Sheet

But be careful not to get too giddy with the good news. This applies to U.S. Fisheries only, where fish stock data is reliably used. Other countries around the world use catch data and the two are apples and oranges and subject to much debate. Stay tuned for more ...

How Commercial Fishing Works

2012-05-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Some sea fish live in the upper parts of the water. They are called ‘pelagic’ fish, and are caught by drift netting. This is where a net suspended from floats is stretched between two boats so that fish swim into it. Fish are unable to swim backwards, so once they are caught in the net, there is no escape unless they are small enough to fit through the net’s mesh.

Fish which live lower down – mid-water and bottom-feeders – are caught by trawling, which involves dragging a large net through the water, catching whatever happens to be in the way. The size of the net holes is again very important, and it is vital for the conservation of fish stocks that nets with a very small mesh are banned, as these catch young fish before they have even had a chance to breed.

URL: http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/over-fishing/29

Accountability Measures that Govern Overfishing in the US.

2012-05-22T19:19:00.002-07:00

Some might say that unsustainable fishing practices began to change in 2006 when congress amended the Magnuson Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act to require annual catch limits.

Annual Catch Limits or ACL’s are defined by congress as – The amount of a particular fish species, stock or stock complex that can be caught in a given year (usually measured in weight).

In order to end overfishing in U.S. waters the ACL’s required implementation by fisheries managers by December 31, 2010 on all stocks subject to overfishing, and for all remaining stocks by December 31, 2011. So how are we doing on these deadlines? As of December 31, 2011, 40 of the 46 fishery management plans had ACL’s and corresponding accountability measures in place. The remaining six management plans will have ACL’s in place that are affective in the 2012 fishing season.

This implementation process of monitoring the fisheries in the U.S. has become a model for international fisheries to use to create ecological and economic sustainability within the global fishing industry. In the U.S. there are 38 fish stocks and 25 that are subject to overfishing. ACL’s and were not required on all 38 due to international exemptions, but I suspect within a few years there will be more stocks subject to ACL’s because of the research and growing efforts to stop overfishing.

This step by congress started the change and now we must build on it globally taking all actions possible for the sustainability of ocean ecosystems.

Myth: There are plenty of fish in the sea

2012-05-22T10:33:00.002-07:00

People often think that someone else is the one to blame. We forget to take accountability for ourselves, and our own actions that can be irresponsible. Most people have heard, or even been told once after a break up that there are plenty of fish in the sea, meaning there is an endless supply if one relationship doesn't work out, and to not give up hope. We take that into literal form, and begin to believe that in fact there are plenty of fish in the sea, and we don't need to worry about overfishing because it's not really a problem. We believe that maybe for some people it is a problem, but because we still have many different options available at the supermarket that the problem doesn't exist for us. In reality it does. The population of fish has decreased immensely throughout history. According to NPR people base things on what is considered normal, and normal changes over time. A study revealed drastic changes in the ecosystem number of marine stock, or the population decreased over the past 100 years (Christensen, Guenette & all, 2003). It takes decades for fish species to rebuild their population once on the verge of extinction. The study sought out to find fish populations in the North Atlantic. They estimated "that the biomass of the high trophic level fish species in the North Atlantic declined by two-thirds during the second half of the twentieth-century" (p.17). This study indicates that fishing at great intensity is not sustainable. The fish populations can't sustain the fishing industries demand to supply more and more. The populations will continue to decrease until we notice that it is in fact a myth that there are plenty of fish in the sea, and we need to acknowledge there is a problem from the facts.

Christensen, V., Guenette, S., Heymans, J., Walters, C., Watson, R., Zeller, D. & Pauly, D.
Hundred-year decline Of North Atlantic Predatory Fish. http://data.fisheries.ubc.ca/references/pdfs/faf103.pdf

Officials: 40 fish populations being overfished

2012-05-22T09:10:00.002-07:00

Federal officials say 40 stocks of fish populations are subject to overfishing in U.S. waters but say progress is being made to rebuild them.

An annual report on U.S. fisheries from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the number of overfished populations at the end of 2010 was up by two from 2009. But officials said Thursday that key stocks have been rebuilt and that the country is "turning a corner" in rebuilding fish populations.
Some stocks subject to overfishing include cod in the Northeast, red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific bluefin tuna off the West Coast. Overall, about 16 percent of all fish stocks were subject to overfishing.
NOAA fisheries Chief Eric Schwab says 21 stocks of commercial fish populations have been rebuilt since 2000.

According to the Report on the Status of U.S. Fisheries for 2011, here is a list of several stock that have overfished status per region:

--

Sources:

"The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington." Officials: 40 Fish Populations Being Overfished. The Columbian, 14 July 2011. Web. 22 May 2012. <http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jul/14/officials-40-fish-populations-being-overfished/>.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2012/05/docs/status_of_stocks_2011_report.pdf

Biggest Barrier to Implement Changes

2012-05-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

Ecological and Economical problems from overfishing are prevalent. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that 80% of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted in some way by industrial fishing. This causes major problems including the loss of species which translates into the loss of entire ecosystems and a risk of losing food for ourselves which affects aspects of our culture such as social, economical, and dietary reasons. All three are connected and a balance must be accepted in order to maintain an equilibrium. This is a challenge. In order to implement change, three things are essential to transformation which is scientific understanding of the ecosystem, funding for the transition, and sound management. The actions that must be done are safe catch limits, controls on by-catch, protection of pristine and important habitats, and monitoring and enforcement. Restrictions and observations must be put in place.

In order to implement these changes and make them effective, the fishermen must be accepting because the backlash is the biggest concerns. Fishermen do not want to adapt to changes as they would create less of a haul and less of a profit, so the risk and cost of a walkout, strike, or quitting is high. Without their approval, shady habits would certainly continue. Since there is no incentive for fisherman to adapt, enforcement would be pivotal. The cost of enforcing would be expensive because the fishermen who are affected are not going to be on board. They desire a situation from the government that is short-term profit with long-term health of the resources.

What you can do to help: Support your local fisherman. Support fish that are easily sustainable and have high populations. Support other foods that are not animals in danger. Support the cause and dedicate. Fish are in danger and continually depleting our sources will eventually lead to extinction.

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16979976

http://www.chron.com/sports/outdoors/article/Pike-How-to-fix-overfishing-isn-t-easy-2001242.php

http://overfishing.org/pages/what_can_I_do_to_help.php

http://overfishing.org/pages/why_is_overfishing_a_problem.php

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/06-07/fishing-cycle.gif

2012-05-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Restaurants: Making a Difference in Overfishing

Many restaurants around the country have dedicated themselves to buying and serving sustainable fish. They are committed to helping combat overfishing and preventing further depletion of the most popular ocean species. Guidelines used by the Bon Appetit Management Company in its sustainability program Fish to Fork, for example, include using fish caught or farmed within 100 miles of the ocean distance to the restaurant, or within 500 miles from ocean to truck to restaurant. Other restaurants follow the guidelines put forth by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, and will not serve anything that does not have a green or yellow rating. This includes promoting local seafood and using lesser-known species and those lower down the food chain, such as oysters or scallops, in order to maximize flavor while minimizing environmental and ecological impact.

Three such restaurants around the United States are Bamboo Sushi in Portland, Oregon, Restaurant at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and Turner Fisheries in Boston, Massachusetts.

Bamboo Sushi

Bamboo Sushi’s motto is “Sustainable. Delectable. Possible.” In addition to using only sustainable fish in their sushi, they are dedicated to marine protection and help to fund The Berry Islands Marine Preserve in the Bahamas. Among their core values is to “Be Adaptable: Adaptability is the most important trait for the survival of a species…so why wouldn’t it be an important trait for a restaurant, or a sushi chef, or a server?”

Bamboo Sushi. 310 SE 38^th Avenue. Portland, OR 97214. 503-232-5255.

Restaurant at the Getty Center

Restaurant at the Getty Center is one of 400 restaurants around the United States managed by BAMCO, Bon Appetit Management Company. With the formation of their new “Fish to Fork” program, all of BAMCO’s restaurants will prioritize “fishing and aquaculture practices that are small-scale, biodiverse, and energy conscious, and that offer great flavor.”

Restaurant at the Getty Center. 1200 Getty Center Drive. Los Angeles, CA 90049. 310-440-6810.

Turner Fisheries

Turner Fisheries is a restaurant “dedicated to supporting sustainable fishing practices that avoid over-fishing and environmentally destructive methods.” Local seafood is a feature of their menu which includes “New England Bouillabaisse,” “Island Mussels,” and “East Coast Oysters.”

Turner Fisheries. 10 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02116. 617-424-7425.

All of these restaurants have been rated by the website www.fish2fork.com. This website works to promote and provide seafood-sustainability ratings for some of the most popular restaurants around the world. To find more seafood-sustainable restaurants in your area, visit their website and search for restaurants by name or location.

Sources

“New Fish to Fork Program is an Industry First.” n.a. 20 Sep 2011. Bon Appetit Management Company. Web. 20 May 2012.

Bamboo Sushi. 2012. Web. 20 May 2012.

Turner Fisheries Restaurant and Bar. 2012. Web. 20 May 2012.

Fish2Fork. Frontmedia: 2012. Web. 20 May 2012.

Overfishing Awareness at Restaurants

2012-05-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

I found this to be an interesting little tidbit of information...

Have you ever heard of the Ocean Wise program? It is a program, based in Vancouver, Canada, that helps create awareness in consumers regarding overfishing as well as sustainable seafood. On their website they describe themselves as "Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood". What's more, Ocean Wise now has over 2,000 restaurant partners in Vancouver that display the Ocean Wise logo on their menus. These logos, sported by the menus, can help raise consumer awareness whenever a customer looks to place an order.

According to their website, an estimated 90% of large, predatory fish are gone from our planet's oceans.

"Sustainable seafood can be defined as species that are caught or farmed in a way that ensures the long-term health and stability of that species, as well as the greater marine ecosystem" (Ocean Wise).

Perhaps it's time that some of America's restaurants started showing support for such issues.

For more information on Ocean Wise, visit their website at: http://www.oceanwise.ca/

Why should we worry about overfishing?

2012-05-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Why worry about overfishing? Why work on developing aquaculture and fish farming? To keep up with world appetites the global fish-farming industry will have to increase its growth. The reason is simple, current projections suggest that by 2030 the world’s population will have exceeded 8 billion people. Maintaining today’s consumption rates, of around 17 kilograms per person per year would require an extra 29 million tons of fish. Meanwhile, around half of all fish stocks have been deemed “fully exploited” by the FAO, with those deemed “over-exploited, depleted or recovering” now around 30%.

Studies by the University of British Columbia Fisheries Center show that globally we have run out of room to expand existing fisheries, due to past systematic expansion by industrialized fishing. The study showed that since 1950, fisheries expanded at the rate of one million sq. kilometers per year from 1950-1970, and tripled in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Reduction in the growth rates during and after the 1990’s reflects a lack of space to grow in, rather than a greater awareness of the ecological impact. Chris Costello and Steve Gaines of the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed a method to gauge the health of fishery stocks and applied it to more than 7000 fisheries. They estimate that the fisheries are gravely depleted and have less than half the biomass they need to maintain their maximum annual yield. They also estimate 2% of fisheries have fully collapsed, with less than a 10th of the historical levels of biomass and that incidents of collapse are rising.

So not only have we run out of places to find fish, but the places we do have are already losing the ability to keep up with our current needs.

Sources:

Cressey, D. (2009) Future Fish. Nature 458(26) pp398-400

The world's fisheries are in an even worse state than feared, The Economist

Safeway, Whole Foods, Wal Mart, Costco, Kroger? How does YOUR grocery store stack up?

2012-05-18T01:21:00.000-07:00

Since 2008 Greenpeace has produced an annual seafood retailer scorecard - a report entitled Carting Away the Oceans - measuring supermarket sustainability. In 2008, 100% of those evaluated failed. This year, for the first time, two retailers have earned 'green' ratings - marks of good - out of 20 evaluated.

Carting Away the Oceans VI - See full report, graphs, charts, & criteria here.

Safeway and Whole Foods take the #1 and #2 spots for having embraced sustainability practices. These are the only two that received 'green/good' marks. Wal Mart comes in at #12, Costco #13, Trader Joes #15, Kroger #16 - each of whom 'passed'. Which supermarket failed? BI-LO/Winn Dixie at #20.

There's been progress since 2008. Where all failed in 2008, 2010 saw 50% failing and 50% passing; and now in 2012 only 20% failed, 70% passed, and 10% reaching the 'green/good' level. As more and more supermarkets adopt progressive policies and seek to rid their shelves of unsustainable seafood inventory, we should see more edge up in to the green/good mark. Until that time, consumers are armed with a tool to help these companies get there - let your voice be heard. Demand sustainable products. Do not purchase unsustainable seafood, and let your favorite supermarket know why.

2012-05-17T19:55:00.001-07:00

The Impact t of Overfishing on the extinction of ubiquitous species of tuna

The National Geographic article “Overfishing: Plenty of Fish in the Sea? Not Always” provides useful information regarding the negative impacts of the Ocean overfishing. In particular, the article affirms concerns about the risk of extinction of some of the ubiquitous species of tuna as a result of the high demands on the Japanese sushi in global market. The article traces back the earliest attempts of overfishing to the 1800s when humans decimated the whale population. By the mid-1900s, some fish that we eat, including Atlantic cod and herring and California's sardines, were also harvested to the brink of extinction. According to the article a scientific report in 2003 estimated that industrial fishing had reduced the number of large ocean fish to just 10 percent of their pre-industrial population. The article cites some studies that alarm against the impact of overfishing on the lives on the ocean. A study of catch data published in 2006 in the journal Science grimly predicted that if fishing rates continue apace, all the world's fisheries will have collapsed by the year 2048. To read more about this article, please visit the page http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-overfishing.

Ahmed Raeisi

Catch Share Programs – An Effective Way to Managing Fish Stock

2012-05-17T14:33:00.002-07:00

What is Catch Share? Simply put, it is an innovative approach to help fish and fishermen rebuild, recover and renew.

The Catch Share Program works on the following principles:

Managers set a scientifically determined catch.
The privilege to harvest a given percentage of the catch limit is granted to an individual, a group,or a community.
Fishermen are held accountable for fishing only their given percentage in exchange for this secure access to the fishery.

Implementation of Catch Share Programs:

According to the European Commission in 2008 they changed the European Common Fisheries Policy to include a “Catch Share Program.” The Catch Share Program replaces complex rules dictating how fishing will be practiced, holding fishermen directly accountable for meeting vital conservation targets. Under the Catch Share Program, fishermen, (including individuals or in cooperatives) are granted a percentage share of the total allowable catch. They are given territorial rights to a particular fishing zone. The only condition is to the number of fish caught, allowing more flexibility to fish when market conditions are at their best. Their share grows in value as the overall fishery improves, providing them a greater financial stake in sound resource management. By instituting the incentive to protect the stock, it also reduces the collapse of fisheries.

The Alaskan Halibut Fisheries are a good example of how the Catch Share Program can revitalize fisheries. Prior to 1995, the season had shrunk so low as to only allowing about 3 days a year for fishing. With only three days to catch all the Alaskan Halibut, the waters were overcrowded with boats and overloading their boats to the point of hazardous conditions. After the Catch Share Program was implemented, the season now last eight months, and fishermen can better store and manage their catch, and are seeing improved profits.

Taking into account what has been accomplished by the Alaskan Halibut Fisheries, I think it is possible to regulate, while improving fisheries, and sustaining a healthy profit.

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/how-bad-is-overfishing-what-can-we-do-to-stop-it.html

http://www.edf.org/oceans/catch-shares

A Big Achievement for Fisheries and the Fish Population!

2012-05-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

NOAA released a report on May 14, 2012 which indicated that a record 6 fish populations had been declared rebuilt to healthy levels! This means that 27 fish populations have been rebuilt in the last 11 years!

“With annual catch limits in place this year for all domestic fish populations and the continued commitment of fishermen to rebuild the stocks they rely on, we’re making even greater progress in ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks around the nation,” said Samuel Rauch, acting assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Healthy and abundant fish populations and marine ecosystems support seafood for Americans, create lasting jobs, and enhance saltwater recreational fishing opportunities.”

The six now healthy fish populations are the Bering Sea snow crab, Atlantic coast summer flounder, Gulf of Maine haddock, northern California coast Chinook salmon, Washington coast coho salmon, and Pacific coast widow rockfish.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter/2012/05/15_statusofstocks.htm

Safeguarding UAE fish

2012-05-16T20:18:00.001-07:00

Choose Wisely Campaign

This video does well in demonstrating the concerns of overfishing to another culture, showing this is a global problem that we all face. It shows on a real level a situation in which fisherman are catching less fish translating to less to sell and feed with and the population is noticing...

I found the "Choose Wisely" campaign is a great resource to get facts and recommendations to better this situation. More info at http://www.choosewisely.ae/index.php

"Eat your vegetables!"

2012-05-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

Putting an interesting twist on what you can do to help with the problem of overfishing, Washington, DC Chef Barton Seaver provides new meaning to what your mom has always told you: "eat your vegetables!". Seaver is author of For Cod and Country: Simple, Delicious, Sustainable Cooking and he focuses on issues of ocean sustainability starting right at the dinner table.

Take a moment to watch this short video from the TED Conference in April 2010 as Seaver talks through his ideas.

TED Conference - Barton Seaver - April 2010

Overfishing - The Consequences

2012-05-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

I came across this video on the Internet, which is the first major, feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans. The film won the PUMA Creative Impact Award and is well worth your time to watch it. Here are just some facts that you will see:

· The imminent extinction of bluefin, tuna are a result of demand for sushi;

· The impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.

· Prediction that the end of most seafood by 2048.

· Consumers purchasing endangered fish, politicians failing to act and fishermen who break quotas and fish illegally have led to the pending global fishing disaster.

· Together we can take actions and solve this global problem by reducing the number of fishing boats, limit fishing and educate consumers to purchase fish from independently certified sustainable fisheries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxacxShp3LY

Swimming Deeper into Overfishing

2012-05-13T09:23:00.002-07:00

There are many different opinions on what the causes of overfishing has on individuals, and also what really is cusing a decline in fish populations. "It is often suggested that many serious problems facing the world’s living marine resources stem in part from the failure of management and governance structures to adopt a holistic ‘ecosystems approach’" (Murawski, 2000). Ecosystems are managed with the idea of sustainability and biodiversity (Murawski, 2000). Traditional overfishing paradigms are focused mainly on single species of fish, and how the population increase or decrease effect the ecosystem negatively or positively. Fish that have or have had economic importance to build revenue and make a profit for companies have become main targets of overfishing for the increased demand of these species of fish. Management of these species have been trying to build the population back from the current depleted one as a trade off. This may seem like the population is under control, however, large fishing companies who want to create a larger profit from the popular fish speices, continue to fish without acknowledging the impact this mass fishing has on the ecosystem. "Overﬁshing and depletion of some stocks may become so severe that they may be regarded as economically extinct" (Muraski, 2000). Commercial fishing fleets are exceeding the ecological limits to sustain the fish population (Gissurarson, 2000). The large fishing companies are more focused on making a profit than the damage they are causing to the ecosystem. If the commercial fleeting companies continue to overfish, they fish population will decrease to where the species will become extinct. In Iceland's fertile waters fish were abundant and thriving while fisheries were making a large profit of the sales of fish to the public. Once the population started decreasing government tried to limit the access to fishing limits. Iceland fought over the fish with Great Britain to gain rights to the fishing ground (Gissurarson, 2000). Iceland won the battles over the fish, and began overfishing which depleted the population. The species of threatened from mortality, and needed to be restricted. Attempts to restrict commercial fleets to stop fishing and the fisheries try and catch as many fish as possible in the time allowed. Which still lead to overfishing the area. It seems that everywhere we turn there are more overfishing problems, and it's not just locally, but globally. Starting locally we can make a difference and begin to change.

Murawski, S. A. (2000). Deﬁnitions of overﬁshing from an ecosystem perspective. –
ICES Journal of Marine Science, 57: 649–658.

Gissurarson, H. (2000). Overﬁshing: The Icelandic Solution. The Institute of Economic Affairs.

Overfishing Ends In The U.S.

2012-05-12T09:52:00.003-07:00

Eric Schwaab, the administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced the end of overfishing in U.S waters is an enormous milestone and reachable with the help of one of the biggest changes to fisheries law in the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act which impose the strict annual catch limits in 2010. The Act has also distinguished the difference between the act of “overfishing” and the fact that some fish populations remain “overfished.” Overfishing means taking more fish out of the ocean than natural reproduction rates can replace. NMFS priorities are based on provisions with Congressionally-mandated deadlines which include:

•Fishery management plans meet annual catch limit requirements
•Revise procedures for compliance with NEPA and MSA
•Establish a program to improve the data generated by the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey
•1st international report and certification procedures
•Establish a Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program
•Publish guidelines on limited access program referenda for New England and Gulf Councils

With a 2011 deadline to end overfishing in U.S. waters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration utilizes a management system designed to end the race for fish that has resulted in dozens of ocean species in trouble. The agency has been given a set of recommendations to build support among fishermen and break through the bureaucracy that has held up wider adoption of catch shares. The system gives individual shares of the catch to fishermen, cooperatives or even communities, as well as responsibility not to over fish protected stocks. Each permit holder has a specific quota of fish they can catch, ending the race to gather as many fish as possible. The Environmental Defense Fund praised the recommendations, saying that catch shares have restored fish populations while improving the livelihoods of fishermen.

Conathan, Michael. "Fish on Fridays: The End of Overfishing in America." Fish on Fridays: The End of Overfishing in America. Center for American Progress, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 12 May 2012. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/03/fof_032511.html>.

"NOAA Endorses Catch Shares to Reverse Overfishing." The Oregonian. Oregonlive.com, 10 Dec. 2009. Web. 12 May 2012. <http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/12/post_10.html>.

The Costs of Overfishing

2012-05-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

The costs associated with overfishing are not just economical; they are environmental and social as well.

The World Bank released a report in 2009 showing that commercial fisheries lose $50 billion a year, because of overfishing. The lack of fish is reducing commercial profits. Also, It is estimated that all countries could cumulatively offer 100,000 more fishing jobs today if it were not for overfishing (1.) Tourism in some coastal areas is being affected economically by overfishing as well (2.)

The lack of fish in some coastal regions has caused jellyfish population to move in. For example, Jellyfish have invaded tourist destinations in the Mediterranean from France to Greece and have remained since the beginning of the 21^st century. In 2004, there were 45,000 people stung by jellyfish in the French Riviera. When beaches close, coastal businesses are affected by the lack of foot traffic (2.)

The greatest environmental costs associated with overfishing include the destruction of ocean habitats by trawls and dredges and the rapid depletion of fish populations. Often times fish are caught before they have a chance to fully grow and reproduce, which further reduces fish populations. Also, when fisheries target certain fish species it affects the predator/prey relationships that exist, causing some non-targeted fish populations to die from lack of food (3,4.)

The social costs of overfishing can be seen when communities that depend on local fishing collapse. The fishermen that lose their jobs may have to out-migrate in order to find employment. On a global scale, overfishing has lead to the undernourishment of 20 million people a year (5, 6.)

How can you help?

It is important to be informed. Becoming education on the issues of overfishing is the first step toward ending it (7.) You can begin reading through some of the articles on this Ecomerge blog.

When shopping for seafood be careful to purchase those with the lowest impact. Review the guide for good fish choices in your area (7.)

Share your knowledge about overfishing with others. This can be done by word of mouth, through social media sites, on personal blogs/websites, etc. You can also submit a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or write elected officials to voice your concerns about overfishing (7.)

Works Cited

1.) NEF, Economics as If People and the Planet Mattered. Jobs Lost at Sea, Overfishing and the Jobs That Never Were. NEF. PDF.

2.) "The Battle for Ocean Supremacy: The Jellyfish Conquests." OCEAN2012 Publications. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://ocean2012.eu/publications/35-the-battle-for-ocean-supremacy-the>.

3.) "Exploitive Fishing." Welcome. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://www.coral.org/node/130>.

4.) "FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture - Impacts of Fishery Activities." FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture - Impacts of Fishery Activities. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/12273/en>.

5.) "TRADE-WEST AFRICA Overfishing Linked to Food Crisis, Migration." TRADE-WEST AFRICA Overfishing Linked to Food Crisis, Migration. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43514>.

6.) Dowd, Allan. "World Pays High Price for Overfishing, Studies Say." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 14 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/14/us-overfishing-idUSTRE68D4J020100914>.

7.) "What Can I Do to Help." Overfishing. Web. 11 May 2012. <http://overfishing.org/pages/what_can_I_do_to_help.php>.

Overfishing Threatening Ocean’s Predators

2012-05-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

Man carrying Bluefin Tuna

Paul Watson once said that when the oceans die, we die. Let’s hope that’s not true because large predator fish, from bluefin tuna to cod to Atlantic salmon, are disappearing at an alarming rate, overfished around the world. Read what can be done to stop the clear-cutting of our oceans and restore the fish stock. – Global Animal

Marc Kaufman, Washington Post

Over the past 100 years, some two-thirds of the large predator fish in the ocean have been caught and consumed by humans, and in the decades ahead the rest are likely to perish, too.

In their place, small fish such as sardines and anchovies are flourishing in the absence of the tuna, grouper and cod that traditionally feed on them, creating an ecological imbalance that experts say will forever change the oceans.

“Think of it like the Serengeti, with lions and the antelopes they feed on,” said Villy Christensen of University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Centre. “When all the lions are gone, there will be antelopes everywhere. Our oceans are losing their lions and pretty soon will have nothing but antelopes.”

This grim reckoning was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting Friday during a panel that asked the question: “2050: Will there be fish in the ocean?”

The panel predicted that while there would be fish decades from now, they will be primarily the smaller varieties currently used as fish oil, fish meal for farmed fish and only infrequently as fish for humans. People, the experts said, will have to develop a taste for anchovies, capelins and other smaller species.

That the oceans are being overfished has been documented before, and the collapse of species such as cod and Atlantic salmon is also well known. The new research attempts to quantify the overall decline in larger fish, based on data from more than 200 ecological systems studied since 1880. Those results were then modeled across the globe.

One startling conclusion: More than 54 percent of the decrease in large predator fish has taken place over the past 40 years.

“It’s a question of how many people are fishing, how they are fishing, and where they are fishing,” Christensen said. A majority of the catch, and now of the decline, involves East Asia, which has witnessed dramatic overall economic growth.

In describing the likely explosion of small fish, Christensen’s team differed with a 2006 report in the journal Science that warned of an ocean without fish for humans by mid-century.

But they say that absent predators, the fisheries will be out of balance and more subject to mass die-offs from disease and from boom-and-bust cycles that, over time, can lead to algae or bacteria blooms that take the oxygen out of the waters and make them uninhabitable.

Jacqueline Alder from the U.N. Environment Program suggested that the number of fishing boats and days they fish have to be restricted.

The full article can be found at the following URL:
http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/02/28/overfishing-threatening-oceans-predators/31375/