Sustainable Fishing By: Robert Crombie ( ); IMS3 (Sustainability Module, March 2010) Fishing Cycle Fishing Methods To maintain a sustainable fishing industry restrictions on certain fishing methods are required. Some methods are very destructive to marine environment whilst others have huge impacts on non target species. What you can do Alternative species to eat Species to avoid -black bream -Atlantic cod -Pilchards -Atlantic halibut -Pouting -Dogfish -Carp -Plaice -Pollack -Skate -Gurnard -Bottom trawled Seabass Sustainable fishing is essential for the continuation of the fishing industry million tons produced million tons produced With some fish stocks already struggling this predicted increase in demand clearly shows the requirement for sustainable fishing 52% fully exploited 24% over exploited, depleted or recovering from depletion 24% under exploited + moderately exploited Organisations FAO – UN Food and Agriculture Org Code of conduct -Stock status regularly assessed -Management based on sound science and can adapt to stock fluctuations -fishing operations should ensure habitat or ecosystem is maintained Various organisations in place to improve sustainable fishing. They follow the FAO code of conduct for sustainable fishing. Marine Stewardship council- recognise and reward sustainable fishing Seafish- promotes good quality sustainable seafood Friend of the sea- provides certification of sustainable seafood Is Fish Farming the Answer? Farmed fish contributes 45% of the global fish consumption. With increased demand, fish farming could be the answer to sustainable fishing. For this to be successful strict regulations would have to be in place to create economically viable and environmentally responsible farming Environmental impacts - Release of nutrients from fish feed enhance growth of marine plants and algae - Waste feed and faeces collect on seabed changing the nature and chemistry of sediments effecting the diversity of animals living there -Medicines used to improve fish health can be toxic to marine invertebrates -Sea lice on farmed fish can be transferred to wild fish Improvements -Effective vaccination programmes have reduced amount of medicines and chemicals used -Seaweeds used to sponge up dissolved nitrogen waste -Mussels used to reduce solid waste deposits on seabed Continued research into fish farming will result in improvements allowing for more sustainable fishing. It just need more investment. References _us/SeafishGuidetoSustainability_ pdfhttp:// _us/SeafishGuidetoSustainability_ pdf events/news/news-2002/new- breakthrough-in-sustainable-fish- farming.aspxhttp:// events/news/news-2002/new- breakthrough-in-sustainable-fish- farming.aspx ments/AE01EnvironImpact.pdf ies/documents/fisheries2027achieving.p df Hello! Help! Essential for sustainable sea fishing -Monitoring of fish stocks -Strict regulations on areas for fishing -Ensure fishing methods are sustainable -International agreement in fishing laws Non-sustainable methods Dredge-Scallops Bottom trawl (deep corals) Explosive - illegal Chemical – illegal Hydraulic or suction dredge Sustainable Fishing methods Dive caught - Scallops Rod and line - Trout Troll - Tuna, Swordfish Bottom long line - Cod, Haddock Fixed or grill net – Hake, Turbot Buy fish with sustainable labels on the packet Taking sustainable fishing forward -Continued setup and expansion of organisations -Stricter laws and regulations -More government subsidies to make up for stricter laws -More awareness of the sustainable fishing issue