Recent news that the FAO has successfully negotiated a new international agreement on port state measures to combat landings of illegally caught fish is welcome. However, tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing will require further efforts.
Finally, we have to change completely the approach to ocean management. It is possible, through technical measures to reduce by-catch in many fisheries and through careful consideration to avoid management measures that encourage discarding of unwanted or low-value catch. However, the adoption of marine protected areas on a large scale across the oceans offers the greatest opportunity not only to improve fisheries, but also to maintain the species diversity and function of marine ecosystems and prevent the catastrophic collapses like the disappearing Atlantic cod that we are witnessing.
Studies have demonstrated that such protected areas rapidly lead to the recovery of fish populations and increased survivability of fish to a large size. The improved reproductive capacity of such populations soon leads to an “overspill” effect whereby fish stocks outside of the protected zones increase, benefiting fishers by increasing catches. The benefits to the marine environment are profound with recovery of seabed habitats from the impacts of bottom fishing and increased abundance and diversity of marine species. Such effects have been seen in marine reserves from the tropics, for example in St Lucia, and in temperate regions, such as George’s Bank in the Gulf of Maine.
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Life began in the oceans and it behoves us to do our best to protect the life-sustaining oceans and their riches.
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