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50% of Global Fish Stocks Recover Due to Sustainable Fishing
A freshly published study by the PNAS concludes that roughly half of the world’s oceans’ fish stocks are recovering or have recovered and are now at proposed target rates. This marvelous increase is due to highly effective fisheries management methods. It shows that efforts of sustainable fishing can yield awesome results.
In the recent past, various analyzers and news stories have reported ever increasing overfishing and decreasing fish stocks all over the world. As a result, public concern has grown over depleting fish populations in our oceans. At the same time, many large scale fisheries management efforts have been put into place, in order to counteract this development. The yielded results are breathtaking and All Good Newz is happy to report that there is good indication for further recovery down the road!
Sustainable fishing according to the Marine Stewardship Council
According to the MSC – the Marine Stewardship Council, sustainable fishing equals upholding sustainable levels of fish stocks in the oceans, protecting natural habitats and ecosystems and ensuring that people who depend on fishing can continue to have fishing as their livelihoods. In order to assess the level of sustainability, these three main principles are applied:
- Sustainable Fish Stocks – making sure that there are always enough fish in the sea and that stocks can remain healthy and productive
- Minimizing Environmental Impact – ensuring a carefully managed fishing activity that minimizes impact on the ecosystem and other species within it
- Effective Fisheries Management – controlling that operations are well managed, and making sure that fisheries are able to adapt to changing environmental circumstance
The road to more sustainable fishing methods
Effective fisheries management is exactly what the research report highlights as the main reason for fish stock recovery. The researchers explain that for fish stocks to remain at a constant sustainable level, all that needs to be done is to apply sustainable fishing methods. Pretty simple, isn’t it!
The problem was that this was not at all applied to the fisheries of the world. Up until 1995, fishing pressure had increased drastically, while the overall biomass rates had decreased sharply. Around this time, the first efforts of a more sustainable fishing culture were born. Overall fishing pressure suddenly decreased, as people wanted to see what would happen to stocks if extraction rates would be lowered somewhat. Only 10 years later, in 2005, biomass rates had increased. The thought experiment had turned into a successful real-life implementation.
By 2016, fish stocks’ biomass in the researched areas, including North and South America, Europe, Japan, Russia, Northwest Africa, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, had surpassed the estimated maximum sustainable yield rate. This means that there were suddenly more fish than expected, while at the same time fishing pressure was below that rate. The stocks had recovered, fishing activity had been reduced, and still enough fish to uphold consumer demand was caught. A level of totally sustainable fishing was reached!
The recipe for success and ongoing satisfying catch rates
The researchers’ conclusion is rather simple; if you set clear and reasonable stock levels and catch rates that can ensure a sustainable future for fish populations, and if you then keep your catch quota just below that rate, then fish stocks will recover and become more plentiful. Of course, there can be other factors that might influence the stock rates, but generally, this is what needs to be done.
The scientific evidence is clear and cannot be doubted. Compared to regions that apply intensive fisheries management, regions and waters with less-developed, or nonexistent sustainable fishing methods show catch rates that tend to be 3-fold greater. But they also show only half of the abundance of fish stocks. In other words, they are catching as much as they possibly can and in the process, they are heavily depleting stocks.
On the other hand, the regions that do use implemented methods of sustainable fishing show amazing recovery rates and experience much higher abundance rates. This means that they can catch as many, or even more, fish, while being able to fish less. This, in turn, saves the fisheries time and money. It really is sustainability news at its best!
Fish stock recovery does not have to take long at all
The paper also mentions previous studies that have examined the recovery rates of over 150 fish species with depleted stocks. All of those managed to recover to sustainable biomass rates in only 10 years! For those with heavier depletion, naturally, recovery rates are more extensive, but still far from impossible to achieve!
This is especially positive news for the Arctic and Atlantic cod, a species that has long suffered from severe overfishing. The general perception regarding this fish has long been that it is basically lost. Hence, efforts and moves to more sustainable fishing for cod was regarded not worth it. Fisheries just kept going and going, until the last cod would be caught.
But the research paper on the awesome effects of fisheries management should put an end to that. The presented cases from all over the world show that sustainable fishing is possible and that it is extremely rewarding.
The paper concludes that the improving status of fisheries all over the world was made possible by the countless efforts and hard work of thousands of managers, fishermen, scientists and NGOs, as well as the Marine Stewardship Council. It is their awareness and call to action that have turned the tide. All Good Newz wants to thank them all for a job well done. You rock!
Källor: PNAS, MSC, https://allgoodnewz.com/sustainable-fishing/
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