Ocean Health and Conservation:

Safe and Sustainable Fishing as a Solution to OverFishing

Kallie Horton
Colorado State University
kalliebh@colostate.edu
Table of Contents:

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..4

Overview of Positions…………………………………………………………………………..4

Side A………………………………………………………………………....……………...5

Side B………………………………………………………………………………....……...7

Conclusion………….…………….……………………………………………...…...………...8

Recommendation………….……....………………………………………………...…….……9

Reference List……………….…….……………………….………………..…...…...………10

Appendix……………………………………………………………………….……………..12

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List of Illustrations:

Figure 1: Global Trends in the World’s Marine Fish Stocks, page 5.

Figure 2: U.S. Commercial Fisheries and the Seafood Industry, page 6.

Figure 3: Overfishing By the Numbers, page 8.

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Introduction

Overfishing is proving to be the most serious threat to our oceans, not only to marine life

but to the populations that rely on them as well. Regulatory sustainable fishing could be the

solution to this problem; by addressing both sides of regulatory sustainable fishing we will

understand the incentives that lead to overfishing and find out if sustainable fishing is a viable

option for long-term ocean health.

The purpose of this report is to investigate the threat that overfishing poses on our oceans

and how the implementation of regulated safe and sustainable finishing may be the solution to

create long-term ocean health. My audience ranges from the general population, to fishermen, to

environmental and political public policy makers. This research will provide important

information at multiple levels of the fishing and environmental sustainability industries because

this issue not only affects marine life but humans that depend on fish as a main protein source,

fishermen who make their living off the industry, as well as the general population who will feel

the effects of a dying ocean . It is incredibly important to write this report because the future of

our ocean’s health depends on how we treat it now.

Overview of Positions:

The problem is the demand and financial incentives that drive fishermen to overfishing is

leading to the rejection of regulation on fishing. This can be seen in up to date numbers collected

per species of fish caught as well as up to date revenues, market, and trade. Consequences of

overfishing not only affect fish populations, but all other marine life and human life as well. The

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solution to this problem may be the implementation of safe and regulated sustainable fishing

practices and management.

Within this issue, ‘Side A’ will be examined from the fisherman’s perspectives, focusing

on the current regulations, practices, and issues, as well as subsidies and economics. ‘Side B’

will be examined from the perspective of ocean health and conservation, focusing on overfishing

at the commercial level, the marine ecosystem, and the cascading effects of overfishing.

Side A: Current Practices, Fisherman, and fish as a commodity

The current commercial fishing industry practices and methods include aquafarming,

nets, lines, and traps (Commercial fishing methods 2019). Each of these methods has its own sets

of consequences, some more invasive and destructive than others. Aquafarming produces toxic

water conditions as the result of pilling and breeding fish in small confined areas. This method of

fish production also leads to more fishing since the farmed fish are often predators who must be

fed smaller fish. For example, it takes 5 pounds of ocean fish to produce 1 pound of farmed

salmon. As for ocean fishing, nets are used in different ways, midway and bottom trawling are

the most destructive but result in the biggest catch. Consequences of trawling include bycatch,

where many other species of marine life are caught by mistake and discarded, as well as the

destruction of the ocean floor. Lines are used to fish as well, long lines up to 50 feet are dragged

from boats with multiple hooks, these lines often result in bycatch or are lost in the ocean and

never retrieved.

Figure 1:
Global Trends in the World’s Marine Fish Stocks
Show that over one third of fish stock is fished at an
unsustainable level.
(Beyond Seafood Team | May 11 et al.)

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 The ocean has long been viewed as a sustainable resource, therefore regulations and

management have been limited. In addition to limited regulations, inadequacies among fishery

conservation and management, such as “failure to identify and regulate the development and

growth of fishing industries and failure to reduce fishing capacity and effort in response to

conservation needs and environmental changes” contribute to the present condition of U.S. fish

stocks. (Improving the Management of U.S. Marine Fisheries 1994). Capitalization, optimal

yield, and the institutional structure of fishing management drives the incentives for fisherman

and industries to continue to overfish. As the market demand for fish has increased over the

years, the financial incentives have driven fishermen and industries to catch and produce more.

This Overcapitalization allows for the excessive means by which to produce and explote fish.

“Optimum yield is defined in MFCMA Section 3 (21) as “the amount of fish a) which will

provide the greatest overall benefit to the Nation, with particular reference to food production

and recreational opportunities; and b) which is prescribed as such on the basis of the maximum

sustainable yield from such fishery, as modified by any relevant economic, social, or ecological

factor.” (Improving the Management of U.S. Marine Fisheries 1994). Because this definition of

optional yield is so broad it can be used to justify any catch of fish. Subsidies are also given to

the fisheries by the government to incentivise vessels to catch and remove more fish. This

increases the amount of fish caught at a rate by which they cannot replenish (Tipping et al., 25

Reasons Why the WTO Must End Subsidies That Drive Overfishing).

Figure 2:
U.S. Commercial Fisheries and the Seafood Industry
Shows revenues from marine species in the U.S.
(Fisheries of the United States, 2016)

According to a study, bottom trawling

produces net economic benefits thanks to subsidies

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that would otherwise be non-profitable due to the high labor and equipment costs. (Sala et al.,

2018). All of these factors work together to incentivise fishermen and industries to continue to

catch more and more fish from the oceans with very limited regulations and management.

Side B: Ocean Health and Conservation

According to marine ecologists, “(1). Overfishing occurs because fish are captured at a

faster rate than they can reproduce (2). Advanced fishing technology and an increased demand

for fish have led to overfishing, causing several marine species to become extinct or endangered

as a result” (The Threats of Overfishing: Consequences at the Commercial Level 2012). Long

term effects of overfishing will also have a devastating impact on ocean communities as the

ecosystem and food chain is destabilized and ocean habitats are destroyed. At the commercial

level, many fishing practices such as longline fishing and trawling (practices that were examined

earlier) result in high bycatch volume (up to 50-90% of what is accidentally caught in nets) and

irreversible destruction to habitats. Commercial fishing and fisheries are an important aspect of

the global economy, in addition to trade and jobs, fish provide a primary and consistent protein

source for more than 35% of the world's population (Link & Watson, 2019) which is why it is

becoming increasingly important to practice sustainable fishing methods. According to the same

study above “approximately 30 to 35% of fish populations are fished unsustainably, with an

additional 60% fully fished” (Link & Watson, 2019).

The effects of overfishing extend far beyond the collapse of exploited fish stocks but can

also be seen in marine communities. According to a study done off the Canadian east coast,

shows how the elimination of large predatory fish cause cascading effects on the food web.

(Scheffer et al., 2005). We have now seen that the effects of overfishing extend to all marine life,

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marine ecosystems, food chains, and habitats, as well as human populations who rely on fish as a

main protein source. Safe and sustainable fishing practices have never been more important as

the growing threat of overfishing increases.

Figure 3:
Overfishing By the Numbers
Statistics of species overfished and the state of the
ocean.
(Ocean Issues: Overfishing)

Conclusion

A study done on sustainability assessment for fishing effects (SAFE) uses a new

quantitative ecological risk assessment method to examine bycatch in an Australian trawl fishery.

(Zhou & Griffiths, 2007). What they found was that this method could be used to manage

targeted species as well as be incorporated to existing fishery management strategies.

Overfishing is becoming increasingly prevalent today due to financial incentives and poor

regulation and management. The effects of overfishing prove to be disastrous for not only fish

populations that face extinction but to all marine life and habitats and humans as well. The

ocean is not a renewable resource and we cannot treat it as such. Fishing management and

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policies must give more attention to ethical, economic and social aspects of commercial fishing

to ensure the health of our oceans, marine life, and ourselves.

Recommendations

The implementation of trade, market, and fishing regulations and management measures

is the single best way to control the overfishing issue and strengthen the relationships between

trade policy, fisheries management, and sustainable development objectives. This can be done by

implementing “policies and practices that are used to monitor and track seafood products from

the time the fish are caught through to when it is sold to final consumers, including related

border controls that allow countries or territories to regulate, restrict or prohibit trade.” (Roheim

& Sutinen, 2006).

In addition to policy and management, public communication on ocean health must be

improved as well. A recent study on public perception of ocean issues shows high concern but

limited knowledge. Due to psychological distance (out of sight out of mind mentality) on the

perception of the ocean and ocean issues, it is important to create outreach to the general public

to educate and gain public support for environmental policy. (Schuldt et al., 2016).

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Reference List

Aguado, S. H., Segado, I. S., & Pitcher, T. J. (2016, January 9). Towards sustainable fisheries: A
multi-criteria participatory approach to assessing indicators of sustainable fishing communities:
A case study from Cartagena (Spain). Marine Policy.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15003942.

Beyond Seafood Team | May 11, 9, G. B. | D., 1, A., 25, A. S. | N., 5, A. S. | M., 17, S., 15, D. P. |
A., 15, J., 24, D. P. | O., 1, A. S. | A., 31, A. S. | D., 17, R. S. | N., 9, O., 30, S., & 12, A. (n.d.).
Sustainable Seafood. Greenpeace USA.
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/issues/sustainable-seafood/.

Commercial fishing methods. Sustainable Fisheries UW. (2019, August 8).

https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/seafood-101/commercial-fishing-methods/.

Fisheries, N. O. A. A. (n.d.). Fisheries of the United States, 2016. NOAA.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/fisheries-united-states-2016.

Improving the Management of U.S. Marine Fisheries. (1994). https://doi.org/10.17226/9045

Link, J. S., & Watson, R. A. (2019, June 1). Global ecosystem overfishing: Clear delineation
within real limits to production. Science Advances.
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/6/eaav0474.

Ocean Issues: Overfishing. ReefCI. (n.d.).

https://reefci.com/2017/12/17/ocean-issues-overfishing/.

Roheim, C. A., & Sutinen, J. G. (2006, March 8). Trade and Market-Related Instruments to
Reinforce Fisheries Management Measures to Promote Sustainable Fishing Practices.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cathy-Roheim-2/publication/268001366_Trade_and_Marke
t-Related_Instruments_to_Reinforce_Fisheries_Management_Measures_to_Promote_Sustainabl
e_Fishing_Practices/links/54b3bbb50cf26833efceb27b/Trade-and-Market-Related-Instruments-t
o-Reinforce-Fisheries-Management-Measures-to-Promote-Sustainable-Fishing-Practices.pdf.

Sala, E., Mayorga, J., Costello, C., Kroodsma, D., Palomares, M. L., Pauly, D., Sumaila, U. R., &
Zeller, D. (2018). The economics of fishing the high seas. Science Advances, 4(6).
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat2504

Scheffer, M., Carpenter, S., & Young, B. de. (2005, September 8). Cascading effects of
overfishing marine systems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534705002752.

Schuldt, J. P., McComas, K. A., & Byrne, S. E. (2016, March 5). Communicating about ocean
health: theoretical and practical considerations. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society
of London. Series B, Biological sciences.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4760144/.

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The Threats of Overfishing: Consequences at the Commercial Level. Dartmouth Undergraduate
Journal of Science. (n.d.).
https://sites.dartmouth.edu/dujs/2012/03/11/the-threats-of-overfishing-consequences-at-the-com
mercial-level/.

Tipping, A., Tipping, A., Irschlinger, T., Verbeek, M., Lamy, P., Kwedja, N., Sumaila, R.,
Thomson, P., Attenborough, S. D., Cousteau, A., O’Riordan, B., Belhabib, D. D., Florizone, D.
R., Lagos, R., Lea, P., Denton, J., Bertarelli, D., Michel, C., Burton, J., … Grenier, A. (n.d.). 25
Reasons Why the WTO Must End Subsidies That Drive Overfishing. International Institute for
Sustainable Development.
https://www.iisd.org/articles/25-reasons-wto-stop-funding-overfishing.

Zhou, S., & Griffiths, S. P. (2007, November 17). Sustainability Assessment for Fishing Effects
(SAFE): A new quantitative ecological risk assessment method and its application to
elasmobranch bycatch in an Australian trawl fishery. Fisheries Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783607003141.

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Appendix

“The Alasken Success Story”

Alaska has found major success in regulating bottom fish, salmon, and crabs in their waters.

Total Allowable Catches (TAC) and Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) have been unsuccessful

at making fisheries sustainable, except for in Alaska. This may be due to the higher

environmental-justice concerns expressed in Alaska, but nevertheless, if it can be done there, it

can be done everywhere. (A Tale of Two Fisheries: Fishing and Overfishing in American Waters:

Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective).

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