Hey everyone!
Throughout this blog, I use “fish” and “seafood” synonymously, because I’m following FAO’s definition of fish, which refers to “fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals, but excludes aquatic mammals, reptiles, seaweeds and other aquatic plants” (2018).
So, let’s talk about marine overfishing!
The ocean is teeming with fish… so much so that it’s hard to visualise! Surely, with such a seemingly endless pool of fish, there would always be enough for seconds at dinner, even for generations to come, right? Well, after doing some research, I would probably retract that notion. The prospect of our seafood supply running low isn’t unthinkable, and here’s why:
In the past 70 years or so, our catch has increased exponentially, especially in the late 20th century. But near the turn of the 21st century, it showed signs of decrease. This is unfortunately NOT due to us curbing our fishing practices, but because fish stocks were overwhelmed and less fish were being hauled up (Steffen, Broadgate, Deutsch, Gaffney, & Ludwig, 2015).
So that’s overfishing – when the fish can’t reproduce fast enough to replace those caught. No ocean is spared, though they don’t all face the same fishing pressure. The fish in the Mediterranean, for example, are under the heaviest (FAO, 2018).
Just how bad is overfishing right now? Well, a third of fisheries are overexploited (FAO, 2018). Some say that’s not so bad, it’s not even half. Yet, we shouldn’t be complacent – given how our overall fish consumption has been increasing at a rate double that of our population growth for the past seven decades, what’s at stake here is a major food source (FAO, 2018). Moreover, about 6 in 10 fisheries are “maximally sustainably fished”, which means we are fishing as much as we can without depleting the population (FAO, 2018).
While it’s understandable that fishery managers strive for this standard, from another perspective, these fisheries are on the verge of being overfished! Considering how our population is likely to keep increasing, that’s bad news. In 2017, the UN projected the addition of a billion people from then till 2030 (UN, 2017). Do we have the capacity to feed so many more mouths in a decade, when the majority of fisheries today are already being pushed to their limits?
Seafood shortages could happen in the near future, especially if we don’t enforce stricter regulations. Still, I think many would find that hard to accept, because on the individual level, there doesn’t seem to be any impact, at least that’s how it is for me who’s a privileged citizen of a highly developed country. If I wanted to, I could be eating fish three meals a day.
Back to fishing… it’s not wrong to fish, since seafood is an important part of our diet, making up 17% of global animal protein consumption (FAO, 2018). It only becomes problematic when we fail to keep checks, because not only are we destroying the ocean, we are also threatening our own survival by putting livelihoods and food security at risk (FAO, 2018).
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
Sea ya!
References:
FAO. (2018).The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 – Meeting the sustainable development goals. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf
Steffen, W., Broadgate, W., Deutsch, L., Gaffney, O., & Ludwig, C. (2015). The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration. The Anthropocene Review, 2(1), 81–98.
UN. (2017, June 21). World population projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html
WWF. (2018). Living Planet Report – 2018: Aiming Higher.
e0425046
September 13, 2019 — 10:22 am
Hello Vera!
What an interesting read!
I’ve never really given overfishing much thought as it is a problem that most of us in Singapore are rarely affected by. I really liked that you addressed this nearer to the end about how our privilege alienates and distances us from this problem. In fact, this segment reminded me about how Dr Coleman mentioned that the burden of environmental issues is unequal and that we are too spoiled by our environment to notice the pains of others.
I like that you brought up the pressing issue of rising global demands on fish due to overpopulation and our struggles to meet this demand while remaining sustainable. When I was in the South China Sea, I encountered many fishing vessels and Fishing Aggregating Devices but never thought about the sustainability of their actions. In the future, one of my blog posts will be about these fishing vessels and overfishing so I hope you will check it out!
In the meantime, what else do you think can be done to reduce the burden on fisheries? Should we opt to reduce our intake fish and replace them with other protein sources? Would stricter guidelines issued with regards to minimal fish size to ensure the younger fishes have a chance to reproduce be sufficient?
Tell me what you think!
Willis
vera
September 13, 2019 — 7:17 pm
Hello Willis!
I totally agree with you on the part of environmental injustice. I may explore this concept in one of my future posts on the impacts of overfishing on human societies. No promises though – as I carry out more research, I keep stumbling upon new information, and there’s only so much content a blog post can contain! This just goes to show how complex the issue of overfishing is.
Regarding the possible mitigating actions on overfishing, I’ll be going over them in my future blog posts too, so do keep a lookout! For now, I’ll just say that regulations on fishing gears; enforcing more Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which are parts of the ocean where anthropogenic activities are restricted; as well as international efforts to crack down on illegal fishing are just some of the many possible ways to curb overfishing.
As for whether we should choose to cut down our fish intake, I would say that it differs according to who the ‘we’ refers to. Developing nations such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, and small island developing states (SIDS) rely very heavily on fish for animal protein, due to the relative affordability compared to other types (FAO, 2018). So, for these people, it’s hard to do so. On the other hand, for affluent nations like Singapore, I believe that we should indeed choose to cut down on, if not completely remove, fish from our diet.
However, I am sceptical as to how effective this would be in combatting overfishing… Oftentimes I feel like our behavioural changes can only change so much. However, I recognise that this is a key challenge in many environmental issues – getting individuals to believe that their actions do have an impact on the larger problem at hand. Personally, the pessimistic devil in my head has to be consciously shut away, so that I can have more faith in the power of collective individual change. My difficulty in believing could be a part of eco-anxiety too, but I’m digressing! I believe that together with individual action, governmental action is also crucial towards the efforts of developed nations to curb overfishing, such as refusing to import fishes that have been unsustainably fished.
Concerning your last question, Minimum Landing Sizes (MLSs) are a way to manage the sustainability of fishing practices, as fishes that fall below the MSLs are released back into the sea to allow them to grow. In a way, MLSs partially deals with the indiscriminate nature of some types of fishing gear, such as driftnets and trawls. However, I do have my reservations on the effectiveness of MSLs in curbing overfishing by allowing younger fishes a chance to grow and reproduce. Once landed, the prospect of the fishes surviving doesn’t seem too great. They could die before they are released, or they could sustain physical damage from being entangled in nettings or being hooked, which reduces their chances of survival once released. Complementing this measure could be the stricter enforcement on fishing vessels to change their fishing gear to more selective ones, such as having larger mesh sizes. These are just some things I can think off the top of my head, and I don’t think I’ll be going into detail regarding this in any of my blog posts, but we could discuss more in person.
Wow, your comment was really challenging to answer.
Vera
References:
FAO. (2018). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 – Meeting the sustainable development goals. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf
Dennis
September 13, 2019 — 4:50 pm
Hey Vera!
Very timely topic, and it does indeed pain me to hear about the state of our world’s aquatic animals! 🙁
You mentioned that the Mediterranean is facing the heaviest fishing pressure. I was wondering – is there any specific reason why? And what are some factors that may influence fishing pressure?
-Dennis
vera
September 13, 2019 — 7:14 pm
Hey Dennis!
That’s a good question right there! I wondered it myself too but found that I really didn’t know why. Below is what I got after looking up online and racking my brain!
There are various factors of overfishing, and perhaps a confluence of them has made fisheries in some places more susceptible. One reason could be due to the types of fish that reside in the Mediterranean. There could be many commercially important species present, such as anchovies and sardines. Given how these are fishes that feature commonly in our global diet, it’s not too surprising they are being overfished. Take this with a pinch of salt though, as I could be wrong! I think the countries fishing in these seas matter too, depending on whether fish is an important part of their culture. Additionally, the extent of illegal fishing likely plays a big part too, because from what I’ve researched so far, it seems to be a key factor in explaining rampant overfishing (check out here). Insufficient enforcement and government inaction could contribute to the fishing pressures of the Mediterranean Sea as well, as mentioned in this article.
Gaining a comprehensive idea of the exact reasons why the Mediterranean Sea is under the heaviest fishing pressure is definitely not a simple task, due to the many possible factors involved!
Vera
ENV3102
September 18, 2019 — 11:44 am
Vera, you’re doing an awesome job responding to your peers’ questions ! One thing you could do (rather than essentially write a whole blog post in reply) is… wait for it… turn it into a blog post ?! I mean, that reply to Willis – so intelligent and well-researched.
Please feel free to post this feedback on your blog – it helps your peers to open their minds to new possibilities.