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Author: Katherine Callahan

  • Pros and Cons of Implementing Sustainable Fishing Practices

    Pros and Cons of Implementing Sustainable Fishing Practices

    The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982, is a comprehensive agreement that defines the laws and regulations for the world’s seas and oceans. UNCLOS exists to ensure that as we move into the future, conversations are being had about our oceans and how to protect them, while still protecting the economies that rely on them. As the world population continues to increase and conversations around climate change encourage higher fish consumption, there is an increasing reliance on fisheries around the globe. Sustainable fishing practices are used to ensure that the environmental health of fisheries doesn’t diminish, while still utilizing them to feed the planet. The three tenets of sustainable fishing practices are sustainable fish stocks, minimizing impact on marine ecosystems, and effective management of operations. At the core of sustainable fishing practices is the desire to ensure longevity of fisheries and the benefits they provide to our global economy. “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, about 79 percent of seafood is sustainable. However, not all fishing practices are exemplary, and there is a limit to how much we can take from the ocean.” 

    The implementation of sustainable fishing practices under UNCLOS is crucial for global conservation efforts. While the United States is not a party to UNCLOS, its adherence to UNCLOS principles demonstrates a commitment to sustainable fishing. The collective efforts of all UN members in implementing sustainable fishing practices can significantly impact marine ecosystems. Despite past hesitations, the US has embraced sustainable fishing measures, aligning with UNCLOS values and regulations to promote marine conservation on a global scale.

    Pros of Implementing Sustainable Fishing Practices

    There are both economical and environmental benefits to implementing sustainable fishing practices. In 2013, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) report calculated the time it would take to fully restore over-exploited fish stocks, and found that if fishing in those areas was completely halted, they could be fully restored in five years, surpassing the 2013 fish supply levels in the EU in only four years. The result would be an initial economic loss, since fishermen would need payment during the transition to sustainable fishing practices. However, all initial costs would be recovered within 4-5 years, with “each year thereafter seeing a net benefit on the investment.”

    Implementing sustainable fishing practices is crucial for protecting marine ecosystems and preserving marine biodiversity. According to the 2018 Living Planet Report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the fishing industry has been a major contributor to the loss of marine biodiversity due to overfishing. Sustainable fishing techniques, such as selective fishing, can help minimize these impacts. Selective fishing targets only commercial value fish, reducing bycatch and allowing for the use of non-target species like fishmeal for livestock feed, thus minimizing food waste. By preventing overfishing and promoting sustainable practices, marine biodiversity can be preserved and even recovered, ensuring the viability of fishing industries for future generations. 

    Cons of Implementing Sustainable Fishing Practices

    Economically, there are many costs associated with implementing sustainable fishing practices. As previously mentioned, it could be years before there is a return on initial investments. In the meantime, the world still relies on fishing to feed the population, and to support economies of food systems. Socially, many coastal communities and cultures around the world have traditions that revolve around fishing. Implementing sustainable fishing practices as law may negatively impact these traditions, altering cultures that have been around for centuries. 

    Lastly, the World Wildlife Foundation critiques current sustainable fishing practices in the sense that funds have not been successfully allocated toward improving fishing practices and the health of the oceans. “The sustainable seafood movement has been very good at developing eco-labelling incentives and technical mitigation solutions yet poor at keeping track of, or adopting, leading-edge sustainable business practices.” A 2019 study at Bournemouth University found that while sustainable fishing is implemented with the intention of preserving marine ecosystems, “it requires ecological devastation in terms of fish numbers (a removal of up to 80% of the initial level) to reach a population capable of producing maximum sustainable yield.” Furthermore, their study found that the ocean’s capability to absorb greenhouse gasses may be decreased by current sustainable fishing practices, suggesting that current techniques that are used for sustainability must be reimagined in order to truly have a positive impact on global warming and ocean ecology. One suggestion is a return to slower, more traditional forms of fishing, like the hook-and-line method, taking only what is needed to feed a population and no more.

    Conclusion

    The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was initially designed to create a framework by which all countries knew the laws and expectations for how to conduct business pertaining to the global ocean system. Whether through implementing sustainable fishing practices, or not, we are all a part of one ocean, and UNCLOS hopes to create a unified approach to protecting this ocean, and the billions of people who rely on it.

  • Failures and Success of International Fisheries Management

    Failures and Success of International Fisheries Management

    International fisheries management is the combined efforts of nations across the globe to ensure long-term operational success of fisheries and marine resources. It depends on setting realistic policies and establishing regulations that take both marine conservation and the economies of fishing communities into account. International fisheries management is crucial to ensuring that the global ocean system remains healthy enough to sustain global fishery needs, from feeding citizens to maintaining conservation of natural resources.

    At the root of international fisheries management is the challenge of reducing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

    • Illegal fishing directly breaches international or regional fishing law. 
    • Unreported fishing is a lack of reporting or intentional misreporting of fishing activities to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).
    • Unregulated fishing is fishing that occurs in areas outside of the vessel’s nationality, or in areas where conservation and management measures are not in place. 

    IUU fishing threatens economic and environmental damage to the global ocean system and global fishing economy. Countries currently employ similar strategies to combat IUU fishing, and join forces to do so by forming Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). The European Commission writes that RFMOs are “open both to countries in the region (‘coastal states’) and countries that have interests in those fisheries (‘distant water fishing nations’).” Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) allow for countries to work together toward common goals in their fisheries.

    The European Union (EU), United States (US), and Canada are three big players in current management strategies, with similar strategies, policies, and regulations to combat IUU fishing. The EU verifies marine fishery products with catch certificates and the correct flag state—only these verified products are allowed to enter the EU. The European Commission acts as the governing enforcement body on behalf of the EU Member States of illegal fishing activities, carding countries and states that fail to regulate IUU fishing. The Interagency Working Group belongs to the US, and combines 21 government agencies for a cohesive and comprehensive approach to combating IUU fishing. The group is developing a five-year strategy to decrease IUU fishing through a combination of increased surveillance, encouragement of sustainable fishing practices, and assurance that only legal and reported seafood enters trade systems. Lastly, in Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is working to combat overfishing, with the long-term goal of creating and maintaining sustainable fisheries. They have stopped overfishing in the North Atlantic Ocean, and are working toward doing so in the North Pacific Ocean. The DFO is focused on increasing surveillance and monitoring at sea, specifically on traceability and certification. The fisheries enforcement agencies of the EU, US, and Canada have made surveillance, certification, and conservation the focal point of their approach to international fisheries management. However, through time, many have critiqued their management strategies. 

    Critiques of Fisheries Management Strategies

    The paradox of fisheries management is balancing conservation/environmental needs with social/economic needs. Much of environmental and public policy is dynamic, including international fisheries management—however, many critiques have remained consistent since fishery management entered mainstream public policy in the 1970s. These issues are “the innovativeness of fishermen in seeking ways to improve their harvests” and “changing social priorities that are largely unpredictable and outside the control of fisheries managers.” This suggests that the challenges faced nearly 50 years ago are still present today, and that there is a stasis in management strategies.

    Countries that fail to combat illegal fishing sufficiently in the eyes of the EU can receive a red or yellow card from the Commission. Failures include legal gaps, a lack of control over vessels, poor conservation measures and management structures, failure in cooperation with regional and multilateral bodies, and failures in traceability and fish processing. Individual countries have the responsibility to ensure that laws against illegal fishing are clear, and consistently enforce them through fleet surveillance. Furthermore, they must base conservation methods on scientific fact. 

    Conservationists argue that there are causes beyond overfishing and the environment impacting crises in the world’s fisheries. They argue that a conservationist approach that is “less sensitive to the inadequate results of fisheries science” must be employed to ensure future success of fisheries.

    Successes of Fisheries Management Strategies

    Clear and direct rules that outline best practices for transshipment (the transfer of catch between vessels at sea) will ensure that IUU fishing cannot occur, and the seafood supply chain can be monitored every step of the way, providing accurate data to countries about transshipment processes at sea. Global Fishing Watch’s Carrier Vessel Portal is a further success that speaks to the worldwide effort to increase transparency and surveillance at sea. This online tool uses “satellite data, machine learning technology and information provided by RFMOs to identify and display potential transshipment activity in near real time.” The challenge in regulating and encouraging best practices for transshipment is oftentimes the distance between land and the transshipment process, which is occurring out at sea. This tool provides surveillance and transparency in the transshipment process, removing some of that mystery. 

    Increased conservation measures are a success in international fisheries management. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has set a quota for blue sharks, which are often caught in tuna fisheries, and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) have completely prohibited capture and retention of manta and mobula rays in the Indo-Pacific ocean region.

    Successful international fisheries management depends on the collective effort and collaboration between nations in order to achieve a future ocean that is sustainable and healthy. Recent advances in technology have allowed for increased surveillance, thus decreasing IUU fishing. While many of the challenges that face international fisheries management strategies have not changed in decades, RFMOs and UNCLOS are making positive strides in creating legislation that acknowledges global dependence on fisheries, while also keeping conservation and longevity in mind.

  • Katherine Callahan, Colby College

    Katherine Callahan, Colby College

    Katherine Callahan is a rising senior at Colby College, studying Biology and Music. She is originally from Bailey Island, Maine, where she grew up going to the ocean daily, and what drew her to topics in ocean policy. Academically, she finds lots of overlap between her majors in the sciences and the humanities, and is inspired by creating accessible and interesting science writing for a wider audience. She has engaged in marine parisitology research in Dr. Fernández Robledo’s lab at Bigelow Laboratories for Ocean Sciences, and research on genetic testing being included in workplace wellness programs with a team from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency. It is within this intersection she finds herself writing in public policy– combining her passion for science with her passion to make a positive difference in the world around her. Outside of her academic and professional life, she enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, skiing, and creating music with friends.

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