Chapter 16: Fisheries and Aquaculture
Fish in a Warehouse? How One Baltimore Fish Scientist Could Change the Way We Eat
Story Abstract and Additional Information
This chapter explores the fact that although the oceans are vast, many fisheries are in serious jeopardy
due to overfishing. Aquaculture may allow us to raise fish for harvest, taking some pressure off wild
stocks.
Here are some of the key points in the story for this chapter:
How are fisheries important for humans?

For more than four hundred years, the Atlantic cod—a demersal fish, or one that feeds along
the ocean floor—supported not just a fishing industry but an entire culture down the
northeastern coast of North America. But in the early 1990s, cod catches declined rapidly. By
1992, when the Canadian government closed the Grand Banks area to fishing completely, the
annual catch had dropped to just 2% of its historic high. Twenty years later, with the
moratorium still in place, the fisheries have yet to recover. Now, the United States is considering
shutting down or severely limiting cod fisheries in the Gulf of Maine:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/28/us/fishing-life-threatened/index.html.

Simply put: humans need fish. We consume more seafood every year than we do beef, pork,
and chicken combined. In fact, more than 15% of the world’s population relies on fish as their
main source of protein. More than two hundred million people around the world also earn their
living in the fishing industry, which generates some $130 billion annually in global revenue.
Author Mark Kurlansky details the rise and fall of the cod fishing industry in his book Cod: A
Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. Watch this video to learn more about Kurlansky's
thoughts on teaching the next generation about sustainable fishing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4kkfZuPzGk.
How are global fisheries threatened?

Today, the oceans—not to mention the fish themselves—are in grave danger. More than half of
the world’s fisheries are at their maximum sustainable yield (fully exploited), the amount that
can be harvested without decreasing the yield in future years. Another 32% are overexploited
fisheries, meaning they are being harvested at an unsustainable level, or depleted fisheries,
meaning that the population size is very low compared to historic levels and there are not
enough fish left to support a fishery. The Marine Trophic Index tracks the average trophic level
(food-chain level) of fish caught each year:
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/environment/marine-trophic-index.aspx.

Though 68% of global marine fisheries are sustainably fished, the percentage that is overfished
has increased threefold since the 1970s and is a major concern for fishers and fisheries
managers. One fishing practice that threatens fish populations is called "bycatch," in which
marine species that live in the same waters as cod and are caught in nets that were meant to
capture cod. Bycatch seriously threatens many species today, including small whales and
dolphins (more than 300,000 taken per year), sea turtles (more than 250,000 taken per year),
and even sea birds (more than 300,000 taken per year). Read more about bycatch and other
global fishing threats at
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/24/eco.aboutfishing/index.html.
How can we protect our fisheries?

Dr. Yonathan Zohar, who works at the University of Maryland's Center of Marine Biotechnology
(COMB), is testing one possible solution: a recirculating aquaculture system. Aquaculture, or fish
farming, has already been used for centuries to grow freshwater fish like tilapia. But most fish
farms are family or village operations—just big enough to provide a few dozen people with a
steady food supply. Zohar wanted a fish farm that could feed a modern city, or even a country.
He also wanted one that could raise large marine species. Watch this video to see the COMB
facility: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M68S26UtyQ4.

Fisheries managers have created more than 1,500 marine protected areas (MPAs)—discrete
regions of ocean that are legally protected from various forms of human exploitation. Many of
these MPAs protect only specific elements with the area—certain species of fish or a discrete
portion of the habitat (like a spawning ground). But at least some of them are fully protected
marine reserves, or no-take zones, where absolutely nothing may be disturbed by human hands.
Sea life is recovering in many MPAs, giving us reason to be encouraged. Read more about the
role that marine reserves might play in ocean conservation efforts:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/02/marine-reserves-help-fish-recove.html.
Additional information about other topics from this chapter:
Marine Stewardship Council Seal

You can play a role in conservation as well. When purchasing prepackaged fish in a grocery
store, look for the Marine Stewardship Council seal, which labels products sourced from
fisheries that have been certified as sustainable: http://www.msc.org/cook-eat-enjoy/fish-toeat. So far, there are 147 certified fisheries: http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/certified.