50 Stories: Smart fishing

WWF Canada



On April 29, 2011, WWF celebrated 50 years of environmental conservation. Join us as we highlight 50 stories in 50 days, looking back at what we’ve achieved together and looking forward to another 50 years.
“There’s plenty more fish in the sea.”
Not as true as it once was. All over the world, fisheries are on the point of collapse. Not because we’re eating too much fish – but because the way we’ve caught them over the last few decades has been wasteful and short-sighted.
We need to fish responsibly so that we can continue to fish, maintaining jobs, communities and food security. We need to fish smarter.

WWF Indonesia introduce C-hooks to long-ling fishermen (c) Jurgen Freund/WWF-Canon
What’s at stake?
Illegal, unregulated and wasteful fishing has pushed our waters to the limit.
Overfishing has left many species, such as bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod and orange roughy, at dangerously low levels. Indiscriminate fishing practices mean fishers catch billions of fish and other creatures they don’t even want. This “bycatch” is often thrown back to sea dead or dying.
The story so far
 
We’ve done a lot to make fishing more responsible – but there’s still a long way to go…
Our Smart Gear competition challenges the industry to design fishing equipment that’s less destructive – like circle hooks, which reduce bycatch of critically endangered sea turtles.
 
We’ve worked with our partners to promote these hooks to fishing communities. In Latin America, for example, over 600 vessels now use them. In 2009, the president of the Philippines committed the country’s tuna fishing fleet to using circle hooks. This will save around 1,500 turtles each year.
The Marine Stewardship Council, which we established with Unilever in 1997, certifies fisheries that are able to prove they fish responsibly. Almost half the world’s whitefish catch comes from fisheries that are either MSC certified or in the certification process.
For other tuna fisheries, we helped set up the International Sustainable Seafood Foundation, which brings together 70% of the world’s canned tuna market to look for ways to make tuna fishing sustainable.
Did you know?
IUU (illegal, unreported, unregulated) fishing costs an estimated US$10-23 billion a year. IUU fishing is one of the biggest threats to fisheries’ sustainability.
Facts and stats

  • 85% – proportion of stocks that are “fully exploited, over-exploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion”, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
  • 3 billion – people worldwide who depend on fish for at least 15% of their animal protein
  • 540 million – people who depend directly or indirectly on fishing for their livelihoods. That’s 8% of the world’s population
  • 40% – proportion of all the world’s fish caught that’s discarded or wasted, or comes from unmanaged fisheries

What you can do
 
As a consumer, you’re one of the most effective and influential marine conservationists!
Buying MSC-certified fish is a simple way you can help fish stocks to recover. Ask questions about where seafood comes from, and request sustainable products.
 
Be part of the celebration!