Fisheries Depletion Examples of fisheries in decline Northern

Examples of fisheries in decline: • Northern cod – population collapsed, many areas now

Roots of the problem… • Human population growth • Increasing per capita consumption •

Landsat image of mud trails from bottom trawling – Gulf of Mexico off the

Longliners deploy up to 60 miles of baited hooks

The problem with bycatch: • Albatrosses are threatened by longline fishing • Driftnets and

More issues… Shark finning: controversial for its wastefulness and threat to slowreproducing sharks. About

Deep-sea fisheries: Deep water fish tend to be very slow growing and vulnerable to

Regulation strategies: • Shorten seasons • Decrease quotas per boat • Limit number of

Consumer campaigns: • Boycott of tuna due to dolphin bycatch • “Take swordfish off

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Fisheries Depletion

Examples of fisheries in decline: • Northern cod – population collapsed, many areas now closed • Giant bluefin and other large predators (such as swordfish) down about 90% • Orange roughy – A deep ocean species, very slow to mature and reproduce • Atlantic salmon – virtually extinct in North America • Menhaden down to 40% of earlier levels • California sardine fisheries peaked at 1. 5 billion pounds in 1936, closed by 1962

Fishing pressure…

Roots of the problem… • Human population growth • Increasing per capita consumption • Demand/high prices for some species • Fish finding and catching technology • Habitat loss (coastal breeding areas and wetlands; bottom trawling) • Bycatch/wasteful methods

Bottom trawling:

Landsat image of mud trails from bottom trawling – Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast Bar = 1 km

Purse seine

Longliners deploy up to 60 miles of baited hooks

The problem with bycatch: • Albatrosses are threatened by longline fishing • Driftnets and longlines catch/drown sea turtles, marine mammals, unwanted fish such as sharks • In some shrimp fisheries, the bycatch to shrimp ratio is 9: 1 • Bycatch may be composed of largely immature fish of desirable species

More issues… Shark finning: controversial for its wastefulness and threat to slowreproducing sharks. About 100 million killed annually

Deep-sea fisheries: Deep water fish tend to be very slow growing and vulnerable to overfishing. The Patagonian toothfish below is marketed as “Chilean seabass”

Can fisheries recover?

Regulation strategies: • Shorten seasons • Decrease quotas per boat • Limit number of permits issued • Individually transferable quotas (ITQs) • Limit fishing technology • Ban fishing in spawning areas/establish marine protected areas • Reduce/eliminate subsidies

Consumer campaigns: • Boycott of tuna due to dolphin bycatch • “Take swordfish off the menu” • Seafood wallet cards • “Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass”

“red” “green” “yellow”

Take A Pass On Chilean Sea Bass