Inquiry 4
Slides
Report
Introduction
From the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sea commercial fishing is everywhere. There are hundreds of problems caused by commercial fishing like overfishing and fishing gear being thrown away into the ocean, around 70 species are extinct BECAUSE OF THIS DISRESPECT FOR THE OCEAN!!!. We need to stop these problems, there is a right and a wrong way to fish. In our Inquiry we will cover the negative and positive effects of commercial fishing, we will talk to an expert about the problems and solutions and what is the best solution, so that we can fish sustainably with very low environmental impacts and impacts on fish numbers.
What is commercial fishing?
Commercial fishing started in the year 800 when Vikings started selling dried cod to places in Europe like Italy and Spain. “It's an activity of catching fish and other sea creatures for commercial profit, it's very popular and provides lots of jobs and food to people all over the world”. "In the early 21st century about 250 million people were directly employed by the commercial fishing industry, and an estimated one billion people depended on fish as their primary source of animal protein". They used different gear for different fish species, these ranged from trawling, to using nets or lines.
What are the benefits of commercial fishing?
As well as negative there are positive outcomes to commercial fishing. It has a huge impact on the economy, on average commercial fishing worldwide makes around 80 billion dollars a year. It also employs 250 million people around the globe. As a result, commercial fishing is a major economic activity, but it comes at a huge cost to the ocean and the environment, and it can not continue to happen if we don’t change our methods now!
Does commercial fishing pollute the ocean?
Yes commercial fishing does pollute the ocean damaging habitats and killing sea life. One of the worst problems is fishing gear or ghost gear being dumped into the ocean. More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year, the same weight as 55,000 double-decker buses. Ghost gear also contributes to the Great pacific garbage patch, "A recent study of the “great Pacific garbage patch”, an area of plastic accumulation in the north Pacific, estimated that it contained 42,000 tonnes of mega plastics, of which 86% was fishing nets". Pretty much every sea creature is also affected by ghost gear, "In 2016 there were 71 reported cases of whales caught in abandoned fishing gear off the U.S. Pacific coast.
What are the regulations regarding where you can fish?
There are lots of different rules when catching fish. There are different places where you can and can't catch fish. The places you can, are anywhere past the 200 metre mark off the coastline, or the high seas, "In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Pauly explains why ending fishing on the high seas — defined as all waters outside of the 200-mile territorial limits of the world’s coastal nations — is not as radical as it sounds". Therefore places where there are limits, are anywhere inside 200 metres of the coastline.
What effects does commercial fishing have on people and animals?
Not only are our oceans harmed by commercial fishing but so are many species you would never expect, for example Grizzly Bears who in some places rely on salmon for a food source so they can survive through the winter. So it is very obvious that as these sea creature numbers drop it will not only affect the sea creatures but it will affect many other species as well. Many people are also impacted having relied on fishing for an income for generations but are now struggling as fish numbers drop, this can affect the environment in other ways too, as people start to buy food, a lot of it wrapped in plastic, rather than fishing for their own which has a very low impact on the environment.
Affected sea creatures in New Zealand
Maui’s dolphins are New Zealand's third most endangered species after Kiwi and Kakapo, they are the most endangered sea creature with around 63 adults alive today. Hector's dolphins are also very endangered although they have a much bigger population then the Maui’s dolphin with a population of between 7,000 - 15,000 in 2020. Many of New Zealand's Whale species are highly affected by commercial fishing as they often get entangled in fishing gear much of which is discarded over the side of the boat. Their numbers have increased by a small amount as conservation groups spread awareness and restrictions are introduced on the types of nets used and the areas that fisheries are allowed to fish.
What this Graph shows
This graph shows that sharks are the most affected sea species by commercial fishing, followed by small whales, dolphins and sea birds. Although this graph only shows a small percent of all of the different species that are affected by commercial fishing there are thousands of different species that have been wiped out or are on the verge of extinction as many boats illegally do not chart all of their non targeted catches. These species are only getting closer to extinction as we fish the oceans until there is nothing left.
Is recreational fishing better than commercial?
The difference between commercial fishing and recreational fishing is that commercial fisheries provide many people with fish because they catch so many. This is also one of the reasons commercial fishing is having negative effects on the ocean as catching so many fish is not at all good for the ocean, but it is still providing people with jobs and food, whereas recreational fishers only catch fish for themselves and close family. But there must be a way to reduce the amount of bycatch from commercial fishing by using some recreational fishing techniques and modifying them to suit commercial fisheries.
While researching we found that some commercial fisheries are using fishing poles and lines to catch fish. This has Zero percent bycatch and keeps lots of people employed as you need more people to operate a large number of fishing rods. As recreational fishing has a much lower effect on the ocean in our opinion it is better both sustainable and environmentally. So for commercial fishing to be equal they need to lower their catch numbers and minimise bycatch. But people will need to expect to pay more for fish that is caught in this way as it costs more to do it.
What organizations are protecting sea creatures from commercial fishing?
There are many different organizations whether they are online or are real organizations and groups who are spreading awareness and physically putting a stop to these harmful methods and protecting sea life.
Amongst these organizations are LegaSea they are spreading awareness through their website, and are on the job managing and preserving fish numbers in New Zealand. Their goal is a fully sustainable ocean by keeping an eye on all targeted fish species and not taking too many of one species. They also keep an eye on non-target species making sure that they are not affected, and if they are, changing the fishing techniques to stop it. Another one of these organizations is WWF which is doing a lot more than just protecting the ocean, they are spreading awareness and trying to stop many other terrible problems such as Global Warming, Poaching and nearly anything else to do with wildlife.
What are fishing methods commercial fisheries use to catch fish?
There are many different methods commercial fisheries use to catch fish, these are the methods they use according to Sustainable Fisheries and British Sea Fishing.
Pelagic Trawling
Pelagic Trawling is where a net is dragged through the middle of the water catching all the fish feeding in that area. Pelagic Trawling can catch around 400 tons of fish everyday.
Otto Trawling
Otto Trawling is the most common kind of trawling, the net is held open by large boards and is dragged along the bottom of the ocean by a boat. The fish will find themselves stuck in the net, they may try to escape but just eventually give up, the net moves so fast through the water so when the fish get stuck it lets water flow in but forces the fish backwards and stops them from swimming out.
Beam Trawling
Beam Trawling has two nets which are lowered to the ocean floor, beam trawling is designed to catch flatfish.
Pulse Trawling
Pulse Trawling sends an electrical pulse through the net shocking all the fish into the ocean floor which are then scooped up by nets.
Pair Trawling
Pair Trawling is where two boats drag one net big or small through the water, it's designed to catch mackerel in the open sea. Some nets are so big they can fit 10 Boeing 747 inside them.
Purse Seining
Purse Seining is for catching pelagic fish like mackerel, herring and sardines in a school, how it works is a boat pulls the net around the school and then it is closed around the bottom so it can be pulled out of the water.
Dredging
Dredging is for catching seafood like mussels and scallops, metal cages drag across the ocean floor. Claws scrape across the seabed and catch the seafood in the nets, some boats can drag 20 nets across the ocean floor.
Long lining
Long lining can catch all kinds of fish, some lines can stretch for up to thirty miles long and small live fish are used as bait.
Gill nets, Drift nets and Tangle nets
These nets hang from the Boats like a wall, fish get trapped in the net and can’t get out. They try to swim through but when they try to pull themselves back out their gills get stuck in the mesh, so they are stuck there until the net is pulled up, when they reach the surface the fishermen remove the fish from the net usually dead as they have already drowned.
Lobster and Crab pots
Lobster and crab pots are metal or wooden cages and are lowered into the water, when the lobsters and crabs see the cages they are baited into them with dead fish. Inside the cages the crabs and lobsters are stuck unable to escape.
Are these methods sustainable or not?
No, most of the methods commercial fisheries use are unsustainable.
Beam trawls can leave a ten metre deep track on the seabed which has a terrible effect on the environment, "It is estimated that for every 1lb of marketable fish caught by a beam trawler, 16lb of marine life has been killed". Another is Pulse trawling, it isn't as bad as beam trawling but studies have found masses of untargeted dead fish in the nets. Purse Seining does horrible things to species like sharks, dolphins and turtles (bycatch) which are stuck in the net until when they are brought aboard. They are then thrown back into the ocean dead. Dredging is probably the worst method used by commercial fisheries, it wrecks shellfish beds and does lots damage to coral which takes years to grow back. And finally there is Long-lining which often catches non targeted species like turtles, sharks and albatross.
What are possible solutions to these harmful fishing methods?
There are many different options to stop these harmful fishing methods including many different types of nets that have very little bycatch. But this is only a small part of the problem as it is not just the species of fish that matter, another very important thing is the numbers. Catching too many fish is a huge problem when it comes to commercial fishing, so putting a limit on catch numbers would substantially affect fishing for the future. This means keeping a closer eye on fishing boats, making sure they do not take too much and making sure their nets are designed to catch the least amount of bycatch. We think this is the best option because it will keep fishing going for many more years.
Interview with Expert - Scott Macindoe
Scott Macindoe is a great guy, he works at LegaSea as fisheries management and alignment specialist. “He is actively doing good for the ocean, his vision is to have more fish in the ocean for our future, he is the backbone of LegaSea his mind is miles ahead of everyone else”. He lives in Auckland with his wife Judy Gilbert, we chose him as our expert as Jacob met him once at Great Barrier where he found out his connection with the ocean and its wildlife. “Up at his house we looked out over the great big ocean and heard his stories and opinions about what should be done to stop some of the problems of commercial fishing”. Below is a summary of our key points from our interview with Scott...
The biggest issues from commercial fishing
Anything that is dragged across the seabed is the worst as “it is ruining the ocean floor” things like trawling and dredging are causing terrible problems as they destroy ocean ecosystems. We also need to look into how we anchor our boats “we have been completely disrespectful to the ocean floor, that's the single biggest problem of commercial fishing” as all fish depend on the ocean floor in some way or another.
Is recreational fishing better than commercial fishing?
“It depends how you look at it, in terms of economy recreational fishing is much better, it is approximately 10 times greater when a fish is caught by the public rather than the fishing industry, however recreational fishermen are part of the problem. Commercial fishing is essential. We must have healthy commercial fishing. We want to buy fish when we go out to dinner so stopping them is not an option.
What should be done to stop the negative effects of commercial fisheries in the ocean?
“Eliminate mobile bottom contact” and address the failing quota management system, identify the problem and address it squarely, this is what we believe is part of the answer to restoring the abundance of our inshore fisheries.
Commercial fisheries -what should be done to stop the negative effects of this in our oceans?
There are many different solutions to solving the negative effects of commercial fishing but we narrowed it down to the three best solutions, they are Monitoring Fish Numbers, Sustainable Fisheries and Specially Designed Nets. We will cover each different topic and discuss which solution is better and worse in each category.
Monitoring Fish Numbers
Monitoring fish numbers requires people to keep a close eye on fish species making sure that their numbers do not drop due to commercial fishing and giving them a break from fishing if their numbers get too low. This is usually done locally, the monitors will tell the fisheries organisations where not to fish so certain areas can have a break from fishing and the fish numbers can come back up.
Sustainable Fisheries
Sustainable fisheries are one of the best options as it means putting more restrictions on the amount of fish that are allowed to be caught and the areas they are allowed to be caught in, so that bycatch is reduced and fish numbers do not drop. It also means being more environmentally friendly, not throwing nets overboard or any other thing that can decrease the longevity of fishing and make fish numbers drop.
Specifically Designed Nets
Specifically designed nets are nets that are designed to only catch their targeted species such as purse seine nets which are placed over a school of a certain fish species. Using these nets with a FAD “(Fishing Aggregating Device) which is a floating station made of buoys which attract certain fish”. This increases the amount of bycatch so fishing without them would decrease it to less than 1%. These nets are designed to catch the targeted species and work best in the areas they are designed to catch fish in. If they are used responsibly and sustainably the bycatch levels will be very low.
Cost
The cost of different methods is an important part of deciding which is the best solution to reduce the negative impacts of commercial fishing, we don't want to spend too much money on the wrong solution so we need to get it right the first time, so we do not unnecessarily waste millions of dollars on the wrong fishing method.
Monitoring fish numbers : This has quite a lot of money involved, you need to buy the fish monitors, which can be very expensive at around 12 thousand dollars per monitor.
Sustainable fisheries : Having sustainable fisheries is definitely the most expensive solution so is it worth while? It is the most expensive as it would mean changing entire fishing methods such as drift nets as they often are left behind in the ocean floating around catching non targeted fish species on their way. It would cost a lot of money to stop these methods and find other ones.
Specially designed nets : Having specially designed nets would have a large cost, you would have to redesign pretty much all the nets so there would be less bycatch.
Bycatch
Bycatch is a very important thing when it comes to commercial fishing. Minimising it is very important as this can affect whole ocean ecosystems as both predators and prey are needed to maintain balance in certain ecosystems. If a single species becomes extinct this can negatively affect the whole ocean ecosystem.
Monitoring fish numbers : Monitoring fish numbers will definitely reduce bycatch, the monitors will know when there are non intended fish species there, so they can avoid those species, which will slowly decrease bycatch.
Sustainable fisheries : Having sustainable fisheries would mean we would need specially designed nets, it would do the same thing as having specially designed nets and will hugely decrease bycatch.
Specifically designed nets : This will definitely decrease bycatch because the nets will be made by experts and will minimise bycatch and only catch the intended species of fish.
How long will it last ?
Looking at the long term is a very important concept of commercial fishing as it means not taking too many fish from one area or too many of one species as this could dramatically decrease the numbers of fish for future generations and could even push entire ocean ecosystems into extinction.
Monitoring fish numbers : Monitoring fish numbers shows that the organisations doing it care about numbers of fish that will be around in the future, As monitoring fish numbers means to look after the populations of fish in certain areas and not taking too many at one time, in doing so ensures that fish stocks last a little longer.
Sustainable fisheries : Sustainable fisheries means to look into the long term picture of sustainable fishing all over the world. It is definitely the best option for this criteria as it follows much stricter rules than many other fishing techniques as it looks at the bigger picture how what they do can not just affect them, but also thousands of other marine land based creatures that rely on fish for food.
Specifically designed nets : Specifically designed nets are nowhere near as sustainable as the other options as they are all about reducing bycatch but not the amount of targeted fish they are taking out of the ocean, as the numbers of fish such as cod, mackerel, tuna and thousands more targeted species all play a part in keeping the balance in the ocean.
Environmental impact
The environmental impact is important, if the environment is damaged then you know we are doing something wrong, that is why the environmental impact plays a huge role and plus we only have one Earth so we need to use it wisely.
Monitoring fish numbers : Monitoring fish numbers will have a low environmental impact because they are Monitoring the fish methods like dredging and beam trawling will be spread out and cause no permanent damage.
Sustainable fisheries : Sustainable fisheries will definitely have a positive environmental impact having all three solutions combined the damage will be unrecognizable.
Specifically designed nets : Specifically designed nets will still damage the ocean but not as much as the nets we use now. For example beam trawls they drag across the seabed leaving a ten meter deep hole in their path, if we could redesign them so that they wouldn't deal as much damage to the habitat.
People involved
How many people are involved is another important part of commercial fishing, as commercial fishing is a very high employer of people all over the world. If some of the methods were to lower the amount of people employed it would leave thousands of people living off government benefits and needing other financial help.
Monitoring fish numbers : Monitoring fish numbers would take a lot of people as you need people to watch the monitor, manage the boat, and manage the databases that hold all the information about fish numbers and in what areas they are in. This would employ lots of people and help to keep many countries that rely on fish for a major part of their economies to survive.
Sustainable fisheries : Sustainable fisheries would keep many people employed as it would be the longest lasting fishing method. It would take millions of people to manage all of the different areas such as data management, managing the fishing boats and many more of the jobs that are required to have a fully sustainable fishing organisation.
Specifically designed nets : Specifically designed nets would need thousands of people. Working on the fishing boats organising the fish and designing the nets to have optimum catch with minimum bycatch.
Conclusion
In our opinion developing Sustainable Fisheries are all things considred the best options as it means putting more restrictions on the amount of fish that are allowed to be caught and means keeping a closer eye on certain species numbers and giving them a break from fishing if their numbers get too low. It also will have the smallest environmental impact posible.
The other two possible solutions that we discussed in our report included different fishing methods such as Specifically Designed Nets that will only catch their targeted species such as purse seine nets which are placed over a school of a certain fish species. The other solution we discussed was Monitoring Fish Numbers. We believe neither of these other two options are as good as the Sustainable Fisheries option as they do not do anything about bycatch or the environment and are too expensive to set up. So we conclude that developing Sustainable Fisheries are the best options for the ocean, the planet and us!