More than 3 billion people obtain onefifth or more of their animal protein from fish North American fisheries The Aquacalypse Depletions are the norm worldwide The era of wild fish and seafood is ID: 804292
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Slide1
The ocean as food
Fish comprises 16% of world’s total animal protein intakeMore than 3 billion people obtain one-fifth or more of their animal protein from fish
Slide2Slide3North American fisheries
Slide4Slide5Slide6The Aquacalypse?
Depletions are the norm world-wide
Slide7The era of wild fish and seafood is
ending. Aquaculture to the rescue?
Slide8A short history of marine defaunation
Slide9Slide10Slide11Slide12World War 2, the US-Russian ‘Cold War’ and the start of the ‘war’ on fish
Sonar used to track submarines during WW2 and Cold War repurposed to hunt fishHigh-powered diesel engines used in war boats outfitted into larger and larger factor trawlersInnovations in synthesizing plastic led to new, stronger nets and lines
GPS and satellites developed for spying used to track fish
Slide13Super trawlers – fishing factories at sea
Slide14Slide15Cold chains
Slide16Subsidizing the global industrialization of fishing during the Cold War
Cold War era nations used fishing
fleets to
exercise their sphere of influence – sending fishing trawlers out to sea was a way to show territorial
power
Government subsidies were given to fishing industry so they could evolve from coastal inshore activity to a global industry
Even today, world
spends $80 billion buying fish that cost $105 billion to
catch
Slide17Types of fisheries
Industrial fisheries – factory trawlers, corporate fishingRecreational fisheriesTraditional fisheriesCommercial versus subsistence (fish not traded of sold)
Slide18Salmon fisheries in Pacific
Northwest
Pre-European settlement:
traditional
Native American fisheries
Subsistence
fisheries, although fish likely traded
First
commercial
European fisheries
began in early 1800s.
Declines from the 1920s
onward
Slide19Overfishing led to programs to establish hatchery releases
Hatchery stocking led to larger catches, and more investmentSmaller less productive natural stocks declinedWild salmon now dependent on restocking as a commercial fisheryWhen you eat salmon labelled wild, it is probably hatchery raised
Slide20Slide21Industrial salmon
farms (labelled farmed salmon at the grocery)
Slide22The Great American salmon
swap
Farmed and wild (hatchery released) salmon is exported
because
it is cheaper
to clean and package
it in China
Then some of this salmon, mostly farmed, is reimported back to US
Two-thirds
of the salmon eaten
in US is farmed-raised imported from Chile, Canada, Scotland (Faroe Islands) and reimported from China
Our wild caught salmon exported to countries willing to pay more
Slide23Commercial versus
recreational fisheriesRecreational fishing can have a significant ecological impact in some regions but not all.
Recreational fishing equipment has improved Number of anglers increasing Local aggregations for feeding or spawning may convey abundance, but this can be an illusion of plenty
Slide24In certain marine fishes, individuals travel vast distances to breed within immense spawning aggregations that occur at specific times and locations over brief periods and may represent the only opportunities to
reproduce.
Slide25Researchers discovered in a 2011 study that the populations of barred sand bass and kelp bass, two popular recreational species in Southern California. had declined by 90% since 1980 and have now collapsed. Their tendency to cluster while spawning created an
illusion of plenty
, which kept anglers coming back for more. They did not realize that they were pushing the total population to unsustainably low levels
Slide26Slide27Legal framework for fisheries
The cannon shot rule defined a country’s legal waters (up to 1800’s)Beyond that distance, freedom of the seas (mare liberum) concept heldWorld War 1 and 2 led to realization of need for legal definition of sovereign waters
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 designated offshore economic zones of countries (EEZs) of 200 nautical miles, or approx. 230 milesIn North America today, fisheries management plans mandated by Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA). In Europe, the Common Fisheries Policy
Slide28Fishing regulations
Restrictions on accessRestrictions on where fishing is allowed Limits on the number of fishing licensesSeasonal closuresRestrictions on effortRestrictions on fishing vessel size
Restrictions on the length, mesh size and number of netsLimits on the number of hooks usedRestrictions on catch
Slide29Total allowable catch (TAC)
Limit set for a particular fishery, generally for a fishing season. Usually expressed in live-weight equivalent, but are sometimes set in terms of numbers of fish.Limits negotiated among regulatory groups, government entities, biologists, and fishermenWhen TAC met, fishery may close for the season
Slide30Slide31This
is the TAC for the European Common Fisheries Policy group members.
Slide32Fishing
“derbies”TAC met in mere hours or days after the opening of the seasonBoats rush out all at once to catch as much as they can before the season's TAC gets met and the fishery is closed
When catch arrives at the same time, prices fall because of oversupply.
Slide33Neoliberal market mechanisms for fisheries management:
ITQsIndividual transferable quotas (ITQ)ITQs allow a portion of a TAC can be bought, sold and leased; they are
transferable among individuals, corporations, or governmentsOwning an ITQ makes you invested in the fishery – if the fishery collapses, your ITQ is worthless
Slide34Neoliberal market mechanisms for fisheries
management: catch sharesIn a catch share, fishermen are allotted a portion of a TAC that they can harvest whenever they want
, or trade or sell their shareFishing no longer restricted to short fishing seasons, can fish when they choose. A remedy for fishing derbies Boom/bust market cycles disappear More independence for fishermen to set their own policies over many seasons
Slide35After the 2005 season, the Alaskan crab industry transitioned from a derby-style season to a
catch share system.
Slide36Catch share fisheries
Slide37Slide38Catch shares are criticized for their concentrated ownership in a few corporations or wealthy fleet owners that were initially given shares
or could afford to buy them. The high
cost of shares limits their purchase by small
operators in the US and abroad
Slide39Slide40“The dust hasn't settled yet in this program, but for those of us who have made it this far, I think catch shares will bring some stability. I do think the future's going to be better,
but a lot of people had to go away for the last few of us to see a better future, and that's sad.” (Catch share participant, Monterey, California)
Slide41"That's the hardest time I ever had in my life – watching my own family move out of
town," says Kadake, who was born in Kake 1944 and is now the
mayor as well as a board member of the tribal corporation, which is separate from the town's government.
Kake (Tonka Seafoods), mostly
native Americans
St Petersburg, predominantly Anglo
Slide42Summary: criticisms of neoliberal market mechanisms
Privatization of fishing stocks disadvantages small-scale fishermen who may not have received many shares with initial allocation and lack finances to buy moreFishing industry becomes concentrated in a few communities – others declineITQs and catch shares are not one-size fits all mechanisms to improve fisheries. They may work better in some situations and times than others.