World's fishing fleets face ruin as catches disappear
The Times
27 July 1994
Nick Nuttall
Commercial fishermen and their communities face extinction as pollution, habitat destruction and over-exploitation deplete the world's fish stocks, an international research group has claimed.
A report by the Worldwatch Institute estimates that nine out of ten fishing jobs, or the livelihoods of up to 19 million people, will have disappeared within 20 years unless governments act to curb the destruction of fish stocks.
The group is calling for an end to the mismanagement and subsidies that are fuelling the destruction of the marine environment and endangering the food supplies of millions of people.
The Washington-based think-tank blames a doubling in the size of the world's fishing fleet since 1970.
Modern fishing vessels, able to travel further and process catches at industrial rates, are also denuding the seabed by trawling up the plants and tiny sea creatures that live there. The report shows that all but two of the world's 15 big fishing areas, including those in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and the Black Sea, are suffering a serious decline in catches.
Some countries, including members of the European Community, have schemes to cut the number of trawlers but other nations plan to expand. Vietnam, for example, aims to double its boats.
The report, written by the Peter Weber of the institute, says pollution and bad management of coastal areas have accelerated the decline. In Indonesia the destruction of coastal habitats has eliminated up to 80 per cent of important fish species.
But the impact of over-fishing is the key, Mr Weber claims. Atlantic cod, traditionally the British staple fish, may now be commercially extinct, the report says. In 1968 3.9 million tons were caught but the catch fell to 1.2 million tons by 1990.
Similar falls are being logged for herring, pilchards, haddock, mackerel and other fish. The biggest percentage fall is in catches of polar cod, down 94 per cent from its peak of 350,000 tons in 1971. Species such as blue and yellow fin tunny are becoming rare.
Mr Weber claims the decline in numbers is increasing the likelihood of conflict as nations compete for stocks.
The report says a moratorium is needed on the fishing of many species to allow stocks to improve and the huge subsidies which fuel the factory fishing industry must be cut.
The world marine fish catch in 1989 sold for $70 billion but catching the fish cost $124 billion, with the shortfall coming from subsidies.
