Fish Resources

TOTAL GLOBAL fishing capacity has risen, according to FAO estimates, to over 3.8 million vessels (1995). The world�s fishing fleet displaces an enormous 30 million tons. Most decked vessels and many smaller boats now carry a sophisticated array of electronic equipment to aid in the location and capture of fish. So, as in industrial activity in general, there has also been a quantum leap in the capacity of fishing effort.

China�s fleet has increased to over six million tons of vessels. When Spain became a full member of the European Union its fleet was then entitled to �equal access to a common resource�, but its fleet was so large it practically doubled the size of the then EU fishing fleet.

There has not been a corresponding increase in the world�s marine fish catch, which has stabilized at around 80 to 90 million (metric) tons. Once seemingly inexhaustible fisheries like those of the Peruvian anchovy, the South African pilchard, the north Atlantic herring and capelin, and now the north Atlantic cod, have all succumbed to over-harvesting.

Management efforts by governments and bodies like the European Union have in many cases failed to conserve stocks; rather, they have added to the destruction.

A classic case would be the single species quotas applied to demersal fish management in the EU Common Fisheries Policy. Since no trawl net can capture mixed species in the precise proportions required by such a measure, the end result is �discards�. Mature fish are dumped overboard, dead or dying. These edible and marketable fish are lost both to the fish stock and to consumers. The amount of discards in the North Sea alone is estimated at over 600,000 tons a year (an amount almost equal to the total annual production by British vessels).

The Chief Executive of the largest fish producer�s organization in Britain testified, in a submission to the Scottish Parliament European Committee, that the �scientific� basis on which Europe set its total allowable catches (TACs), was extremely flimsy. He claimed that in response to the weakness of the scientific advice, the EU resorted to the �precautionary principle� which enabled the setting of TACs without any scientific input. Taking the average catches of previous years as a reliable indication of stock size was �a scientific nonsense�. This nonsense was compounded in the case of species like nephrops (Norway lobster or �scampi� prawns), which scientists are unable to age at all.

Fish Demand

IN 1999 FAO reviewed the rates of fish consumption together with predicted population increase. If consumption trends continued as at present, and if population increase rates remained as predicted, the global demand for fish protein would, by 2030, require double the current fish supply. Such an increase is impossible. But the figures illustrate the increased pressure for more fish that the next three decades will bring.

Every corner of the ocean is exploited, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Vessels are now trawling and long-lining down to depths of 600 or 700 fathoms in search of hitherto unharvested stocks. It is recognized by both scientists and fishermen that further catch increases are very unlikely. But we could increase the fish food supply by reducing waste. Here are three ways:

0 Halt all discarding of fish, as countries like Norway and Namibia have done. The FAO estimates that this would save a total of over 20 million tons of fish each year, either to continue to grow and reproduce, or to provide much needed food.

0 Reduce the amount of fish we feed to pigs, cows and chicken. Each year, up to 30 million tons of fish is reduced to meal and oil, and is used in the feeding of dairy animals and more expensive farmed fish.

0 Tackle post-harvest spoilage and waste, chiefly in underdeveloped parts of the world where it averages over 20% of fish landed (5 to 10 million tons).