The Major Players

In the past it was the fishing communities that reaped in al the benefits of fishing but today its moved away from the little man and it’s those that have the money to afford to buy the boats and the factory’s control fishing. In South Africa it is company’s like I&J that have the monopoly in the fishing world as they have huge fleets of fishing boats and its becoming harder and harder for local fishermen to catch fresh fish and enough of it to financially support their family’s and communities. Today the east (China and Japan) is the biggest members in over fishing; they don’t only fish in their own waters but all over the world. They have managed to do this by going to third world countries governments and giving them financial support to get fishing rights in their waters. They then go and strip the area dry of any marina animals that lived there, this causes major problems that are not only environmentally bad. This is found in West Africa a lot.

An unlikely player in fishing is a company called Mitsubishi, this is an automotive company that buys 60% of the blue fin tuna that is caught in the ocean, and they say it’s a great investment. I feel that this could be the films director’s view on framing as they put a lot of the blame on the East but it is up to the world to make a change. The blame could just as easily be looked at the countries that are selling their fishing space to the East to make a quick buck.

http://inforains.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/mitsubishi.jpg

Illegal Fishing

To explain what illegal fishing is I first have to explain the “un” of fishing. There is a committee where representatives of each country, fishing company and activist groups meet and determine how much of each fish may caught per year. They view how much fish is left and what should be a level to keep it sustainable. The activist groups and scientist who believe that the oceans are being depleted say that to keep the level of fish constant each year only fifteen tons should be caught and if we want to see sustainable growth it should be only ten tons. The governments have decided to let the fisheries cat thirty tons of fish a year (this is each type of fish, so it would be 30 tons of blue fin tuna, 30 tons of salmon, etc.) Now when I say illegal fish this is because the actual fishing that is happening is sixty tons of fish are being caught each year. This is double the legal amount and six times that of sustainable growth amount. This means that fifty present of the fish on the market has been illegally caught. This is a huge problem as it’s causing in accurate data collection because fifty present of the fish caught is not being recorded. This is also causing more and more fish to become endangered.

Endangered Fish

The South African sustainable seafood initiative has made some effort to stop the catching of endangered fish, they have done this by creating a table that demonstrates three colours, Red is very endangered and should not be eaten, orange is a warning that this fish is on its way to becoming endangered and green, this is fish that is sustainable and is causing little or no environmental damage in the way it is caught. They have also created ad campaigns to show the public the ordeal of overfishing. Movies have been created and may articles on the Internet have been put up to grab the attention of the public. The media is a major player in the change from over fishing to sustainable fish because the more the public is informed of the over fishing the more pressure gets placed on governments to start making a change. Here is the list of fish that are under the RED category in South Africa:
“This group includes unsustainable species as well as those that are illegal to sell in South Africa, according to the Marine Living Resources Act.
Some of these “no-sale” species are very important recreational species that cannot handle commercial fishing pressures, and may therefore only be caught for your own enjoyment and use, subject to the possession of a valid recreational fishing permit and other restrictions that may apply (such as daily bag limits, closed seasons and minimum sizes).
These are species that you should never buy.” (WWF, sassi, 2010)

BAARDMAN - NO SALE SPECIES BANDED GALJOEN - NO SALE SPECIES BLACKTAIL - NO SALE SPECIES BRINDLE BASS - NO SALE SPECIES BRONZE BREAM - NO SALE SPECIES CARPENTER - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL CATSHARK, STRIPED - NO SALE SPECIES DAGERAAD - LINEFISHERY ELF - LINEFISHERY (IN KZN) GALJOEN - NO SALE SPECIES GARRICK - NO SALE SPECIES GEELBEK - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL HAKE, ARGENTINE - BOTTOM TRAWLED JACOPEVER - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL JANBRUIN - NO SALE SPECIES KINGFISH - NO SALE SPECIES KNIFEJAW, CAPE - NO SALE SPECIES KNIFEJAW, NATAL - NO SALE SPECIES KOB, DUSKY - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL KOB, DUSKY - LINEFISHERY KOB, SILVER - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL KOB, SQUARETAIL - SHALLOW WATER PRAWN TRAWL MUSSELCRACKER, BLACK - LINEFISHERY MUSSELCRACKER, WHITE - NO SALE SPECIES NATAL WRASSE - NO SALE SPECIES POMPANO, LARGESPOT - NO SALE SPECIES POMPANO, SOUTHERN - NO SALE SPECIES POTATO BASS - NO SALE SPECIES

RIVER BREAM - NO SALE SPECIES RIVER SNAPPER - NO SALE SPECIES ROCKCOD, WHITE-EDGED - LINEFISHERY ROCKCOD, YELLOWBELLY - LINEFISHERY SAWFISH - NO SALE SPECIES SCOTSMAN - LINEFISHERY SEVENTY-FOUR SEABREAM - NO SALE SPECIES SKATES - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL SOUPFIN SHARK - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL SPOTTED GRUNTER - NO SALE SPECIES SPOTTED GULLEY SHARK - NO SALE SPECIES SPRINGER - NO SALE SPECIES STEENBRAS, RED - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL STEENBRAS, RED - LINEFISHERY STEENBRAS, WEST COAST - NO SALE SPECIES STEENBRAS, WHITE - NO SALE SPECIES STONEBREAM - NO SALE SPECIES STUMPNOSE, CAPE - NO SALE SPECIES STUMPNOSE, NATAL - NO SALE SPECIES STUMPNOSE, RED - LINEFISHERY STUMPNOSE, WHITE - INSHORE DEMERSAL TRAWL TUNA, ALBACORE (IMPORTED LONGLINE) TUNA, BIGEYE (IMPORTED LONGLINE) TUNA, BLUEFIN (ALL REGIONS) TUNA, SKIPJACK (IMPORTED LONGLINE) TUNA, YELLOWFIN (IMPORTED LONGLINE) ZEBRA - NO SALE SPECIES

http://static.yuppiechef.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SASSI-list-11.jpg

effects of overfishing

ECO-SYSTEMS
The natural habitat in the water and out is greatly effected due to over fishing, earlier I spoke of how bottom dragnets destroy the corral under the water but that is not the only thing effected. Many species are caught in the nest and die such as sharks, dolphins, birds and sea turtles. Many of these animals are killed in the nets. Seven million tons of the worlds catch gets thrown over the side, that’s a tenth of all the worlds catch that is wasted.
Other issues are that of depleting a natural predator from an area such as sharks or larger fish eating fish. A case of this is “in the USA in a bay millions of cow nosed rays have appeared, its been a complete boom in there numbers and this is because there is almost none of the predator sharks that eat them left. This means that the creatures that are eaten by the ray are also being depleted in the area because of the amount of rays. Another is shrimp and lobster in South Africa; they are also multiplying greatly in numbers due to the lack of predators. Some might say this is great because they are good money but soon they too will be over fished and we will be left with jellyfish and plankton, leaving the sea as an uninhabitable space of water”. (End of the line, Directed by Rupert Murry, national geographic, 2010)

But it is not only in the water. Here is a case study of how over fishing is affecting the Cape Gannet; “Cape gannet chicks are facing starvation as a result of overfishing of sardines and anchovies off the coast of southern Africa, as well as an increase in predation by other species affected by the food shortage
Overfishing on the western coast of southern Africa is leaving other species to go hungry, with wide-reaching implications for the future of the Cape gannet, whose young are starving and exposed to increasing predation.
2m wingspan and can live for 25 years. Family ties have no bearing when it comes to predation, though: pelicans are the main predator of gannet chicks, along with kelp gulls and seals, as fish supplies dwindle.
The findings were revealed in a study by biologist Ralf Mullers of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Mullers spent four six-month stints on the Namibian island of Ichaboe and the South African island of Malgas, both uninhabited.
Half of the bird’s six breeding colonies are in Namibia, half in South Africa. Namibian populations have been dwindling since the 1960s as a result of the overfishing of sardines and anchovies; the last decade has seen a drop in South African populations too as the fish have moved from the west coast of the country to the south and east.
Mullers studied the behavior of parents and chicks, fitting 646 birds with GPS tracking systems to discover that adult birds fly 280 miles a day in search of food. They do not make longer flights if there is less food available, a sensible choice in evolutionary terms, according to Mullers.
Pelicans, also protected birds, have learned to supplement their traditional fish diet with gannet chicks – some weighing as much as 2kg – and slaughterhouse waste from pig farms. The study reveals ‘entire colonies’ of gannets being destroyed by pelicans.” (Overfishing sends Cape Gannet’s ecosystem haywire, Ecologist, 19 June 2009)

SOCIAL

The overfishing also plays a role on the communities that rely on fishing to have financial backing. In western Africa many of the people rely on fishing for money, they go out everyday on small fishing boats and spend al day in the water and only catch a fraction in comparison to the major fishing boats. They then have to take their small catch and sell it at a market. They earn between eight and ten dollars a day. They then have to pay for water and the up keep of their boat and are left with sometimes two dollars to feed their family. They have been greatly affected in a negative way due to their governments letting the chines fish in their waters. This means that the locals only get the scraps that are left after the big fishing boats have gone out. It also means that more and more of these governments unemployment is growing meaning their homeless and informal settlements are growing out of control because the these fisherman have no money. This also results in not enough food to feed their families as 1.2 billion people rely on fish as their primary diet. All of these factors have lead to people migrating from these third world countries to Europe seeking work. What this means is that just from over fishing we can link illegal immigration and the unemployment rate growth. The fishermen go to Europe and try to make a living there, many of them die on the trip.An example of how commercial fishing has affected South Africa’s local fishing is the abandoned crayfish factory in misty cliffs and the one at Eilands baai up the west coast. The factory in Eilands Baai was once a very busy fishing village but now it’s just a small hotel for surfers that go there when the season is right.

                                                         damaged coral reed

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/images/reef-anchor-damage2.jpg

Advancements

Even though it sounds like after all this how can there be any good left in the world, there are a few areas that are trying to make a difference and stop the depleting of fish and start giving them time to re populate. Alaska is one of these places. They have a strict coast guard that patrols their waters for poaching. Every fishing boat in their waters has to have a fishing license and they have times when you can fish, you can call it like an open season that only lasts a week at most. Another example of great sustainable marina up keep is in the Caribbean. The lots of reefs around the islands have been declared no fishing zones; this does not apply to the locals that live there but to the fishing companies. This means that the locals can catch enough fish for sustainability and the reefs and fish can rebuild and re populate. The marine life there before was pretty much nonexistent, there were no fish, the reef was all gone or destroyed and the locals struggled for food but now it has almost grown back fully. These are both great starts to a sustainable fishing life style but the both share a common error and that is that 99.6 percent of the worlds ocean is fishable and fish don’t stay in one place so unless more governments adhere or copy these ideas, the fish move through the oceans, the migrate from coats to coast meaning they will leave the protected areas and go into commercial fishing waters and chancers are they will be caught by a fishing boat somewhere down the line.

                                                   Picture of the Caribbean reef

http://ecoforecast.coral.noaa.gov/index/0//caribbean-home

                                                               Alaskan coast guard

                                    http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Mellon717_1.jpg

Conclusion

My conclusion is that there really is a overfishing economic problem globally and that the articles and films all seem to be pointing at two things, one is that the eastern fishing companies need to stop over fishing and paying off small third world governments to fish their waters. With that, small governments must stop accepting the money from china and japan and should get mind on the matter.

Two is that South Africa should adopt one of the methods to overfishing, as it really is an issue in our country.

I also feel that the media is on the right track and they are making campaigns that are socially appealing to the public and the word is getting out but maybe just not enough and to all the right people. I feel un educated people should be the first to know about the problem as they can play a role in the amount and what fish they eat and where they get it from.

Reference

A film made by national geographic on over fishing and the effects it has on the environment and people. Title: End of the line, (End of the line, Directed by Rupert Murry, national geographic, 2010)

Gonçal Marion John Furtado Liliana Proaño Lucia Corridoni Majeda Al Musalli Marina Blanca. (2010).Overfishing and the case of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. Available: http://www.upc.edu/sostenible2015/menu3/Seminaris/Seminari_STD_10/docs/presentacions/grup%206.pdf. Last accessed 23 april 2012. 

Enviroadmin . (2011). Methods to Help South Africa's Overfishing Problem. Available: http://www.environment.co.za/wildlife-endangered-species/methods-to-help-south-africas-overfishing-problem.html. Last accessed 22 april 2012.

Article on overfishing and how this is killing off the cape gannet
Ecologist. (2009). Overfishing sends Cape gannet ecosystem haywire. Available: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/271652/overfishing_sends_cape_gannet_ecosystem_haywire.html. Last accessed 23 april 2012.