Fish – a disappearing food resource
Survival in the oceans is becoming more difficult for Nemo & friends. The fishing industry and their treasured catch are important to millions of people and animals. The reality now is that 50% of the fish population is close to its biological regeneration limit and a further 25% is already being overfished. The demand for fish is growing along with the world population. Nowadays, over 82 million tons of fish are taken from the oceans every year. In 1950 it was only 17 million tons. If we expect to continue "plundering" this valuable resource without any thoughts of sustainability, there will hardly be any fish stocks left at all by the year 2048. This would mean an important source of protein for people and animals would be lost. Fish would disappear from the supermarkets as well as all cat food varieties "with fish". Should this resource disappear altogether, a complete industry that many people depend on for a living would also be gone! Even though fish are a renewable resource, we must allow them plenty of time to regenerate on their own.
How did overfishing the oceans happen?
Ecologically sound management of fisheries at the global level has so far failed to take hold. Inefficient fishing methods, for example beam trawls and drift nets, are still widespread all over the world. These fishing methods are damaging the fish stocks. Beam trawls plow up the ocean's bottom creating havoc with the entire marine eco-system. Drift nets result in large numbers of by-catch. Every year about 300,000 porpoises and dolphins end up as by-catch in such nets. An even bigger problem is fish piracy. Uncountable boats and even large ships are fishing without a license, are illegal, unregulated and undocumented! Fish valued up to 10 billion dollars is estimated as having been taken "illegally" from the seas each year.
What can be done to prevent fish stocks from being depleted?
One solution to the problem of overfishing the seas is to raise more fish in so-called artificial fish farms. This would mean certain areas or bodies of water would be designated for breeding different species of commercial fish. Already 63% of the salmon sold today is being raised on such fish farms. However, this also poses other risks, as every artificially raised salmon requires three kilos of wild fish to reach its marketable growth. Moreover, these salmon are being fed with antibiotics, which in similar factory farms have caused health risks to society. Also the excrement of confined fish puts additional burdens on the surrounding ecosystem. Aquaculture could offer solutions as long as they are being operated following ecologically-sound criteria. An official seal of approval has so far only been authorized for sustainable fisheries that obtain their catch on the open seas. This is the MSC Seal.
