Group 6: Commercial Fishing and Who Owns the Sea? Marine Science Period: 5 Giselle Alvarez Lauren Batista Koset Fabrias Mariam Mesa

Commercial Fishing Methods  Primarily 5 methods: (Question 26)  Gill nets: fisherman deploy to entangle either pelagic or ground fish  Drift net: destructive and made of fine and invisible mesh. Can be as long as 80 kilometers, capturing every organism in its path. The use of these nets has been outlawed internationally, but some private fishers still use them illegally. 1980s there was 40,000 kilometers of drift nets stretched throughout the ocean  Longline fishing: uses hooked up lines up to 20 or 30 kilometers long to capture target species such as swordfish. Most selective but still produce by-catch  Purse seine nets: capture pelagic fish and tuna. Fishing vessels deploys the net around the school, closes the bottom and hauls up the net. Usually catch dolphins as by-catch and sometimes catch the entire school and leave no survivors  Trawling: old fishing technique used in midwater and on the bottom. Problem is that the bottom consist of sensitive and easily disrupted benthic organisms and ecosystems that are crucial to the environment

Pictures of methods

The Economics of Commercial Fishing How is it that the fishing industry thrives as a business despite estimates that the annual fish catch sells for less than it costs to catch?  The fishing industry survives because of global government subsidies. These subsidies take the form of grants, low- or no-interest loans, free or low-cost fuel, tax incentives, and price controls. In effect, taxpayers cover the overhead so that the fishing industry makes a profit.  Fishing employs millions of people; therefore, a sudden loss of their jobs would destabilize many regional economies. It’s not a simple task to train millions of people for a sudden career change or force them into doing something different.  However, with fish stocks declining, eventually many people in the fishing industry will have to find other work. It can happen either because there are no more fish or by a planned transition. In the latter case, governments would withdraw fishing subsidies in steps. This would allow economies and people to adjust over a period of years. Instead of subsidies, the money would go toward developing new industries and skill training for workers. It would also give fish stocks a chance to recover for a healthy environment and a sustainable resource.

Question 27  Explain how the fishing industry survives despite estimates that it costs more to catch fish than they sell for. Why does this situation exist? What recommendations have been made to restore and preserve US biological marine resources?  Answer: The fishing industry thrives as a business despite estimates that the annual fish catch sells for less than it costs to catch because government subsidies make up the difference. This situation exists because the worldwide fish catch sells for less than it costs to catch. (See third bullet point for last portion of question.)

Origin of Territorial Waters  What was the significance of Mare Liberum? What seaward boundary recognized by international law grew out of Mare Liberum?  The control of coastal waters have been an issue between nations for almost as long as there have been ships.  Pope Alexander VI in 1493 after the Treaty of Tordesillas, divided the ocean between Spain and Portugal. 100 years later England and Holland took over some of the territories leading to the “freedom of the seas”  17th century dutch jurist Hugo Grotius, wrote De Jure Praedae (On the Law of Prize and Booty). He defended free access of the sea by all nations, a legal tenet that remains today.  In 1609, Grotius’ principle of free access was reprinted as Mare Liberum (latin for A Free Ocean) and by the early 18th century it was internationally recognized. Nations had a limit of territorial waters at most 5 kilometers from shore.

Origins of Territorial Waters  Territorial waters: the areas of ocean over which coastal nations have control.  Beyond 5 kilometers the ocean belonged to no one and was considered international waters, defined as the “high seas”.  The concepts of territorial sea and high seas became legal conventions accepted for more than 200 years and are still the basis of international sea law, after the kilometers, whatever acts occur such as military and fishing would be considered done in international waters.  The accepted territorial limit today is 19.2 kilometers (12 miles)

The Truman Proclamation  The Truman Proclamation was issued after World War 2 by President Harry Truman. This declared that the U.S regards the natural resources of the subsoil and seabed of the continental shelf between the high seas. The proclamation changed the concept of international waters by widening the concept of territorial waters (Answer to Question 29).

Exclusive Economic Zones  In 1953, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act solidified the Truman Proclamation. This legislature was a response to a Declaration of Maritime zone signed by Chile, Peru and Ecuador in The declaration asserted their jurisdiction over the sea, seabed and subsoil for 350 KM from the coastline.  In the 1960’s Iceland extended its exclusive fishing zone by 50 miles, then more, to protect its cod fisheries – which led to the Cod War conflicts with Britain.  In 1958, the United Nations (UN) began a conference in Geneva to settle the issues. The negotiations for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) strove to find a balance between maintaining freedom of the seas and control over natural resources (Answer to question 29).