The Trouble with the Ocean

The oceans are under enormous stress from human activities, many of which link back to the practice of fishing. The oceans have long been considered a bountiful, inexhaustible resource, however we now know that that is very much not the case.

Over the past century as technology has developed, fishing boats have become larger, can travel further and stay at sea longer. Onboard refrigeration, refuelling boats, and floating fish processing plants mean that some fishing fleets rarely need to return to land. The use of stronger and lighter plastics and polymer materials have allowed fishing lines to be sunk deeper and nets to be sprawled out wider. The use of GPS, echo-sounders, and fishfinders are tipping the balance further in favour of the fishermen, leaving marine species nowhere to hide.

Fisheries on the scale we see today are simply not sustainable. 

The majority of people have never seen, with their own eyes, what lives in the ocean. This has led to a huge disconnect between humans and life under the sea. As green living and conservation of the natural world is becoming more mainstream, people are choosing to reduce their meat intake. However, seafood is too often left out of the picture. People talk about deforestation for raising cattle far more than overfishing and bycatch from fisheries.

So what can we do?

Fish Free February is a movement that encourages people to reduce the amount of seafood they eat, learn about the impacts of fisheries, and ensure they choose sustainable options when they do buy seafood. They use the month of February to encourage people to cut seafood out from their diet completely as a way of bringing attention to the topic.

So if you want to do something meaningful for the ocean, and are in a position to choose an alternative source of protein other than fish, why not switch out seafood for a month and help bring attention to some of the issues that our oceans are facing?

Find out more at fishfreefebruary.com or read more below

BYCATCH

Bycatch is the term used to describe animals which are caught unintentionally in a fishery. It is estimated that bycatch may amount to as much as 40% of the world’s catch each year. Around a quarter of this bycatch is discarded back into the ocean dead or dying.

Unfortunately, few fishing techniques are selective. Though fisheries may be targeting only a single species, most fishing gear still traps and kills many other animals in the process. Bycatch is either of a different species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juvenile individuals of the target species. These unwanted animals may sometimes be retained and sold but more often they are thrown back to the ocean dead or dying. Bycatch is a widespread problem that happens in most fisheries and in all seas. Delicate corals, gigantic whales, and everything in between, are all caught and killed every day as bycatch.

Several factors exacerbate the bycatch issue including:

A high demand worldwide for seafood. In the last 50 years the world population has more than doubled and the average person is now eating twice as much seafood as they did half a century ago, increasing fishing pressure on stocks around the world. 

The disproportionate consumption of a small number of marine species. Consumers frequently opt for the same popular species such as tuna, salmon, cod, and prawns. This demand means that some species are worth far more than others. Many perfectly edible fish that are caught and killed by fisheries, are thrown back to the ocean because there is no market for them.

Poor fisheries management. Lack of enforcement or political will means that devices or gear designed to reduce bycatch are not used as often as they should be. Ironically, some policies put in place to protect marine species actually create incentives to discard unwanted fish. For example, in some regions fishers can only land species for which they have a quota, or animals that are over a certain size, and so are forced to dump bycatch to avoid fines.

The ever-increasing scale of indiscriminate fishing-methods used by commercial fisheries. Modern fishing gear and technology is terrifyingly efficient at catching and killing wildlife, but frustratingly inefficient at targeting only the desired catch. For example, the largest trawler nets are large enough to enclose 13 jumbo jets and will trap everything in their path. A single boat can tow a longline over 60 miles long, with over 5000 baited hooks; the bait is to attract target species like tuna and swordfish, but it also entices sea birds, turtles, sharks, dolphins, and any other curious and hungry creatures to bite on these hooks

OVERFISHING

Overfishing is the act of removing more fish (or other marine species) from a population than can be naturally replenished. As a result, the population (also known as a stock) starts to decrease. Technology has advanced greatly in recent years enabling fishermen to travel greater distances, find fish more effectively, fish deeper waters, store their catch on ice and thus stay at sea longer, and hold bigger catches in their boats. Coupled with the ever-growing size of fishing fleets, more and more fish stocks are being overfished. In the 1970’s only around 10% of the world’s fish stocks were overfished. This number has been steadily increasing and now according to the UN FAO 34% of fish stocks are overfished.

There are numerous examples of overfished stocks from around the world. North Sea cod, a favourite in British fish and chips and which was once plentiful, was over fished perilously close to collapse up until the early 2000’s. After a short recovery, again the North Sea cod stock is being overfished and in 2019 scientists recommended the total allowable catch (quotas) be reduced by 70% to prevent further declines in the population. Pacific bluefin tuna populations have been fished to less than 5% of their pre-fishing population, with other overfished species including Atlantic wild salmon, Indian Ocean swordfish, orange roughy, and Atlantic halibut.

The good news is that many of these fish stocks can rebound relatively quickly when the fishing pressures are reduced! This has been seen in the Atlantic bluefin tuna populations, although stocks are still far off what they once were.

GHOST FISHING NETS

All plastic waste is a huge problem in our oceans, but ghost fishing gear is especially problematic, as it continues to entrap marine species preventing them from breathing or feeding. But entanglement of marine animals is not the only problem with ghost gear; consumption by marine animals can be fatal, nets wrapped around corals cause physical damage, increase disease prevalence, and prevent fish from grazing algae all of which can lead to the death of reefs.

The strength and longevity of plastic fishing gear is a double-edged sword. As a result of these properties ghost gear persists in the ocean, on reefs and on beaches for hundreds of years. When it does finally break down from wave action and sunlight, it breaks up into micro plastics which can enter the food chain, a concern for human health too. Ghost nets can also have socioeconomic impacts, as they cause problems for navigation, negatively impact tourism, and are expensive, difficult and time consuming to remove.

Read more about these and other issues affecting our oceans at  fishfreefebruary.com

Images courtesy of Free Fish February/Carla Di Santo