By Jennifer Curtis

The Seafood IndustryOver one billion people

rely on fish as an important source of protein. – WWF

Seafood is a billion dollar industry, providing markets all over the globe

2 main approaches: Wild Caught Seafood Aquaculture (farm-raised)

*Although many modern practices are environmentally detrimental, there are some fisheries that are sustainable. In order to save the world’s oceans, we need to improve the practices of the remaining fisheries and solve the most pressing issues*

Human Impact on World’s Oceans

Wild Caught Seafood- OverfishingOcean fish are the last

creatures we hunt on a large scale

Although the oceans cover 71% of Earth’s surface, many signs that we have reached their limits

Advanced technology developed for industrial-scale fishing since the 1800s has made fishing an unfair fight

Science, FAO

The State of the Oceans - Overfishing “75 percent of the world's fisheries are either

fully exploited, overexploited or have collapsed. The global fishing fleet is operating at 2.5 times the sustainable level—there are simply too many boats chasing a dwindling number of fish”.

~ Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

Overfishing – Large Fish Long life spans, slow

reproduction rates; vulnerable Large predatory fish have been

reduced to just 10% of their original population size

Unfortunately, these include some of our favorite seafoods.

“17% of all shark species are endangered or threatened.” ~ Monterey Bay Aquarium

Rockfish, a west coast species that can live to be over 100 years old, were severely depleted by years of overfishing.

“As many as 90% of all the

ocean's large fish have been

fished out.” – WWF

Tuna

Overfishing “down the food web”Over the past 30 years, fishermen have

transitioned from high-level predators to lower-web species

Wild Caught Seafood- Illegal and Unregulated Fishing International fisheries management agencies report that at

least a quarter of the world's catch is illegal, unreported or unregulated.

Illegal fishing is worth up to $9 billion a year. - Illegal Fishing.info

Management plans are often ignored. Fishermen take undersize fish, fish in closed areas, fish during seasonal closures, use illegal gear, and take more than is allocated

Developing economies also suffer from this, as they are denied revenue from this resource. A Greenpeace report states that

40% of the worlds oceans should

be placed in nature reserves. –

MSNBC

Japan has caught $6 billion worth

of illegal Southern Bluefin tuna

over the past 20 years. -

Australian Broadcasting

Corporation

Not just what we fish, but HOW we fishFishing methods:

Wild Caught Seafood- Habitat Damage and Bycatch

Many fishing practices destroy ecosystems By selecting the right gear for the job, the fishing industry can

drastically reduce the affect on the world’s oceans

VS.

Longlining

Gillnetting

Purse Seining

Traps and Pots

Trolling

Pole/troll

Effects of Bottom Trawling

Types of Fishing Gear Used in U.S. Fisheries

Most seafood in the U.S. is caught using nets dragged behind boats, such as purse seines, trawls and dredges (NMFS, 2009).

Wild Caught Seafood- Bycatch1 out of every 4 fish caught is discarded as

bycatch“For every pound of seafood that goes to market,

more than 10 pounds, sometimes even 100, may be thrown away as bycatch.” ~ Sylvia Earle

What can we do? Management Issues and Solutions:

Overfishing: Choose seafood widely – pocket guides, require and enforce catch limits

Illegal and Unregulated Fishing: Create more and expand existing Marine Protected Areas

Habitat Damage: Push policy to reduce bottom dredging

Bycatch: Push to promote more selective fishing gear, implement streamer lines on longline vessels and other innovative devices to release unwanted catch

“The End of The Line” Extract from ABC's Nightline programme, with Cynthia McFadden. Nov 17, 2009 on Rupert

Murray’s documentary based on the book by Charles Clover “The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat”

Aquaculture – “Farmed” FishCan be a good solution for lessening pressure on oceans½ our seafood comes from farms, and this number is growing

fastHowever, many farming practices are environmentally

detrimental. This depends on the species farmed, where the farm is located, and how they are raised.

We can create sustainable aquaculture that limits habitat damage, prevents the spread of disease and non-native species, and minimizes the use of wild fish as feed.

How We Farm – Farming Methods:

Aquaculture – Wild Fish FeedCarnivorous fish require fish to eat themselvesTakes over 3 lbs of wild fish to farm 1 lb of salmonMillions of tons of wild fish such as sardines and

anchovies are caught and processed into fish meal to feed these farmed species

Aquaculture – Pollution and DiseaseIn open pen nets,

byproducts released directly into environment.

Includes fish waste, uneaten food, parasites, pesticides, and antibiotics

Aquaculture – Escapes

Aquaculture – Habitat DamageRich coastal waters have been polluted by

open net farms and thousands of acres of mangrove forests have been lost by conversion to shrimp ponds.

Large farms = large impactClosed systems prevent effluent damaging

waterways

Aquaculture – Innovation for the Future

“Eat a Ray, Save the Bay” “The Virginia Marine Products Board is the marketing

arm for Virginia's seafood industry. We are promoting the Chesapeake Ray through a Grant offered by the Marine Fishing Improvement Fund.

The seafood industry, especially the Oyster industry, has asked that the Virginia Marine Products Board look into developing the Chesapeake Ray into a fishery to help control the Ray's population.

The Ray population has greatly increased because of the decline in coastal sharks, and it has never been a fishery. The Rays are feeding on young oysters which are now being caged to protect their survival. Studies have shown that they also feed on young crabs, clams and fish. The method that the ray uses to get oysters is by flapping its wings to uncover it's meal, when doing this large areas of under water grass beds are destroyed. 

Our objective is to develop the Ray into a sustainable fishery by which it's numbers can be reduced.  Hopefully this will allow more oysters and grass beds to survive which the bay needs in our efforts to help in it's recovery.”

~Joe CardwellSeafood Marketing Specialist Virginia Marine Products Board

“What state officials and scientists want to

avoid is the fate of the Chilean sea bass

and, even worse, the Chesapeake ray's

sister species, the Brazilian cownose ray.

After achieving popularity, it was quickly

overfished into endangered species status”

~Robert Fisher, Virginia Institute of

Marine Science fisheries specialist