State of Global and Caribbean Fisheries Rainer Froese
State of Global and Caribbean Fisheries Rainer Froese GEOMAR Kiel, Germany rfroese@geomar. de & Maria Lourdes ‘Deng’ Palomares UBC, Sea Around Us, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Vancouver, Canada m. palomares@oceans. ubc. ca Presentation at OECS High-Level WTO Fisheries Workshop 24 February 2021
State of Global Fisheries
Official FAO Graph I The graph looks reassuring but masks the decline in marine capture fisheries Source: FAO SOFIA 2020
If Corrected for Over-Reporting, Global Catches are Declining Since 1988 Watson and Pauly (Nature), 2001.
Official FAO Graph II While the classifications can be disputed, the trends are correct
Out of New Stocks in 2020 Froese et al. 2008, Marine Policy
In Summary • Global fisheries have drastically reduced the size of their target stocks since 1950 • Global catches are declining since the late 1980 s • This decline was masked by fisheries exploiting previously ‘underfished’ species • However, the number of such ‘underfished’ species is going towards zero
Quick Reminder of the MSY Concept
Legal Considerations • The binding Law of the Sea defines the “biomass that can produce the maximum sustainable yield” (Bmsy) as reference point • Stocks that are smaller than Bmsy need to be rebuilt • Harvest levels that reduce the stock below Bmsy (= overfishing) are incompatible with the Law of the Sea • Financing overfishing through subsidies is incompatible with the Law of the Sea
Habitat Destruction is also Incompatible with Numerous Laws Here: shrimp trawlers in the Gulf of Mexico Photo courtesy of Dr. Kyle van Houten (Duke
Fisheries Management Basics MSY MEY € € Cost of fishing € Growth overfishing Economic overfishing
Role of Subsidies MSY MEY € Cost of fishing = Value of catch € € Subsidies ! Actual effort
State of Caribbean Fisheries
Some Preliminary Data on 16 Stocks in the Eastern Caribbean • About 56% of the stocks are subject to ongoing overfishing (F > Fmsy) and all stocks are smaller than required to produce MSY • Recent catches are, on average, 86% of MSY, however, but several are not sustainable • Sustainable catches (95% of MSY) could be 170 tonnes higher after stocks have recovered • Average time to recovery is 2 years (0. 1 - 14) without fishing, longer with reduced fishing. Rebuilding can be done stock at a time.
Conclusions • Fish stocks are declining worldwide and in the Caribbean • Overfishing is harming marine ecosystems • Overfishing is driven by mismanagement and subsidies • Fisheries can produce more food, livelihood, profit and taxes if done properly • Decimated stocks are prone to be harmed by climate change. Rebuilding stocks also rebuilds their resilience
Thank You Rainer Froese GEOMAR Kiel, Germany rfroese@geomar. de & Maria Lourdes ‘Deng’ Palomares UBC, Sea Around Us, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Vancouver, Canada m. palomares@oceans. ubc. ca Presentation at OECS High-Level WTO Fisheries Workshop 24 February 2021
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