  
Summary: In the years between 1950 & 2007, human population has begun a trend of overfishing that could decimate the world's oceans. Reprinted w/o permission.
To view original article, click link at bottom of page.
WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF SEAFOOD, SCIENTISTS SAY
By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post
The world will run out of seafood by 2048 if steep declines in marine species continue at current rates, scientists are predicting, based on a comprehensive analysis of ocean ecosystems worldwide.
Click on image to enlarge.
The scientists, who report their findings today in the journal Science, conclude that overfishing, pollution, and other environmental factors are wiping out important species around the globe, hampering the ocean's ability to produce seafood, filter nutrients and resist the spread of disease.
"We really see the end of the line now," said lead author Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University. "It's within our lifetime. Our children will see a world without seafood if we don't change things."
The 14 researchers from Canada, Panama, Sweden, England and the United States spent four years analyzing fish populations, catch records and ocean ecosystems. They found that by 2003 -- the most recent year fo which data on global commercial fish catches are available -- 29 percent of all fished species had collapsed, meaning they are now at least 90 percent below their historic maximum catch levels.
The rate of population collapses has accelerated in recent years: as of 1980, just 13.5 percent of fishing species had collapsed, even though fishing vessels were pursuing 1,736 fewer species then. Today, the fishing industry harvests 7,784 species commercially.
"It's like hitting the gas pedal and holding it down constant level," Worm said. "The rate accelerates over time."
The report is one of many in recent years to identify severe environmental degradation in world's oceans and to predict catastrophic loss of fish species. But experts said it was unusual in its vision of widespread fishery collapse so close to hand.
Some American fishery management officials, industry Representatives and academics questioned the team's dire predictions, saying countries such as the United States and New Zealand have taken steps in recent years to halt the depletion of their commercial fisheries.
"The projection is way to pessimistic, at least for the United States," said Steven Murawski, scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service. "We've got the message. We will continue to reverse this trend.
Worm's team did find cause for optimism. Drawing conclusions from 48 protected habitats, they said that when overfishing is stopped and other actions is taken, both fish species and broader marine ecosystems are able to recover.
"It looks grim and the projection into the future looks even grimmer," Worm said. "But it's not too late to turn this around. It can be done, but it must be done soon. We need a shift from single species management to ecosystem management. It just requires a big chunk of political will to do it."
Larry McKinney, coastal fisheries director for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said he hasn't read the Science article but knew it was coming.
"We certainly need to look at this," McKinney said. "The issue we'd be concerned with in Texas would not be trout and redfish or other near-shore fish. We would be concerned about the pelagic (far off-shore) species, such as sharks, swordfish and red snapper."
Over the years, Texas and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reduced limits and harvest seasons on a species such as redfish, king mackerel, flounder, shrimp and oysters.
"Some of these species are over fished, and some are responding to other pressures. Overfishing is sometime just a symptom of other things going on such as population and water pollution."
Beyond Texas, the possible collapse of commercial fisheries could have a serious impact on the world economy, said Geral Leape, vice president of the advocacy group National Environmental Trust. The industry generates $80 billion a year, Leape said, and more than 200 million people depend directly or indirectly on fishing for their main source of income. Worldwide, a billion people eat seafood as their main source of animal protein.
"This should be a wake-up call to out leaders, both internationally and domestically, that they need to protect our fish stocks." Leape said.
The paper's authors looked at nearly three dozen controlled experiments and crunched the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's worldwide catch data going back to 1950. They also surveyed some ecosystem records -- including sediment cores and archival data -- going back a thousand years.
(Additional material from wire services and staff writer Mike Leggett.)
|