9. Fishing and the Future

March 27th, 2020

Since 1950, the global fishing effort has multiplied by 7.4. In the last two decades, catches have plateaued between 80 and 100 million tons per year, despite increasing effort. We are pushing the effort and fishing less on each expedition. The oceans are depleting, and the IPBES report shows that fishing is the primary cause of this collapse. One-third of global stocks are overexploited, according to the latest FAO statistics (SOFIA report). Marine biodiversity supports a fisheries and aquaculture production that provides 60 million direct jobs. Climate change, following the current trajectory, will alone be responsible for a 20% reduction in available fish biomass. The migration of this biomass towards the poles leads to depopulation in the intertropical zone, often poor and heavily dependent on fishing. In Africa, 73% of fisheries production is exported off the continent (37% to Europe), not counting catches by foreign fleets through fishing rights purchases.

How can we change course in such a situation?

Fishing is one of the last activities of "hunter-gatherers" where we directly harvest nature's products without participating in its production. As fishermen share the same resources, it is essential to apply regulations to avoid the famous tragedy of the commons. The main problem in global fishing remains illegal or unregulated activity. For areas where regulations are effective, the goal is to ensure resource sustainability. A widely used definition of sustainable fishing is the "Maximum Sustainable Yield" (MSY), maximizing catches per stock over the long term. However, MSY often involves reducing the stock to one-third or one-quarter of its potential biomass. Maintaining exploited stocks is just a step toward real sustainability. Neither the environment nor the effects of species interactions are considered in this truncation. How can we ensure the balance of an entire ecosystem and guard against the abrupt decline of a resource? Three concepts are presented here to aid in this reflection: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF), and Fishing-Ecology. These approaches aim to integrate fishing into a sustainable framework for both society and ecosystems.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) aim to eliminate or significantly reduce anthropogenic impacts in certain areas, particularly by alleviating fishing pressure. This situation is undoubtedly beneficial for ecosystems. As Joachim Claudet of CNRS emphasizes, strict MPAs benefit fishing in adjacent areas, functioning as biodiversity reservoirs. However, their establishment faces resistance as it restricts access to a resource that has so far benefited society. In response, less restrictive MPAs are being implemented, but their effects are often unproven. MPAs become highly criticized management tools due to their maintenance costs, with benefits not always apparent. They imply spatial heterogeneity in protection levels, creating inequality between coastal zones. The function of some MPAs is diverted for the benefit of countries or activities other than fishing. This phenomenon is referred to as the privatization of these zones. In the current situation, the presence of strict MPAs adhering to their primary function guarantees against the total desertification of the oceans.

The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF), presented by Philippe Cury at the Marine Biodiversity conference, is an emerging concept from the 1990s and 2000s. EAF incorporates biodiversity, aiming to reconcile the conservation and exploitation of marine species. An example is the Benguela system (Namibia and South Africa), where small pelagic stocks (5 million tons of anchovies and sardines) largely collapsed and were replaced by 12 million tons of jellyfish. This regime shift resulted in a loss of fishing and seabirds unable to feed. EAF considers all species that depend on or interact with the exploited species. It seeks to define the exploitation threshold below which all these interactions are maintained. These thresholds are more cautious than MSY, aligning with theoretical European environmental objectives for a healthy and productive ocean. In South Africa, EAF was eventually implemented by choosing indicators based on available data for each species in collaboration with all stakeholders, from fishermen to NGOs. The involvement of multiple parties emerged as the main factor for the success of this policy. EAF is an applicable tool in social situations where stability is established and there is a willingness for consensus. Indicators for EAF are not defined once and for all; this work must be done for each ecosystem.

In this context of EAF, we can hope for cautious fishing in 100% of the oceans. Similar to agroecology or permaculture, Fishing-Ecology, introduced by Didier Gascuel, seeks to maintain sustainable fishing practices. It particularly advocates for considering trophic levels in the distribution of effort. The catch thresholds are lower than those set by an MSY approach to ensure the capacity of each stock to fulfill its function in the ecosystem, preserving a portion of the productive part for trophic interactions. In this approach, the most selective fishing gears (line, trap, pot) are favored to avoid bycatch and discards. This involves ending fishing subsidies, theoretically reducing it to essential subsistence fishing activities. The short-term risk is the cessation of many industrial fishing companies that supply the seafood market with large volumes at a low cost, thanks to high efficiency. This would lead to a scarcity of products on the markets as demand increases. A significant price increase in a globalized market would make fish a luxury food inaccessible to the majority of the planet. In the current situation, this solution is another guarantee of biodiversity maintenance and presents the advantage of a probable increase in the number of direct jobs provided by fisheries resources. Locally, it promises benefits to coastal populations developing fishing activities.

It can be concluded that there is no miracle solution to the decline of marine biodiversity. Fishing regulation is the most powerful lever and is essential for maintaining both the resource and the activity itself. Conserving ecosystems involves redefining the concept of sustainable fishing. The concepts developed in this direction demonstrate their effectiveness locally, and documented successes are based on targeted knowledge. They need to be deployed, and the implementation of effective policies requires widespread mobilization of stakeholders.

1 See 8. The IPCC of Biodiversity

2 See 7. Small Island Developing States