Global fisheries are in a major crisis, and the
problem is growing rapidly
[survey of 1500 worldwide commercially fished species]
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
1951
1956
1961
Undeveloped
1966
1971
Developing
1976
Fully exploited
1981
1986
Overfished
1991
Collapsed
Analysis by R. Froese, IfM, Kiel, Germany
1996
(t/km2)
Biomass of table fish in 1900
(North Atlantic)
(map:Christensen,
V. Christensen,
SAUP SAUP)
Biomass of table fish in 1999
Christensen, SAUP
 The Atlantic cod
stocks off the east
coast of Newfoundland collapsed in
1992, forcing the
closure of the fishery
 Depleted stocks
may not recover
even if harvesting is
significantly reduced
or eliminated entirely
S.E. Asian Waters: similar story
1960
2000
Christensen et al. (in press)
Over 90% of the world’s “large fish” have
disappeared since the 1950’s [sharks, swordfish,
sailfish, bluefin tuna, marlin…]
In less than one human lifetime!
The giants
of yesterday
are no longer
encountered…
When one fishing ground
is fished out…
…the world’s fleets
move onto the next one…
…with predictable results…
In this way the world’s
fishing grounds are
being fished out one after
another.
Christensen et al. (2002). Dakar
Conf. Proceedings (in press)
Fisheries catches would be declining faster,
were it not for the expansion of fishing into
deeper areas and further offshore, especially in
the Southern Hemisphere…
Decade
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
Scientists predict that all
the world’s commercial
fisheries will be exhausted
by 2048, at current rates
of fishing
"Unless we fundamentally change the way we manage all the
ocean species together, as working ecosystems, then this
century is the last century of wild seafood.”
Steve Palumbi, Stanford University
In HK Waters:
• More species of coral (85) than the
Caribbean
• 1,000 species of fish (>320 tropical)
• 3 of world’s 4 species of Horseshoe
Crab (“living fossil”)
• Breeding beaches for Green Turtle
• Finless Porpoises
• Chinese White Dolphin
Reason: HK’s wide
diversity of habitat.
“In sum, the diversity of
Hong Kong’s marine
habitats could be said to
be unique in the world
for such a small area.”
HK’s Marine Habitat in Critical
Condition:
•
•
•
•
Reclamation
Pollution
Dredging
OVERFISHING
“The marine ecosystem of the South China
Sea is one of the most heavily affected by
human fishing in the world. In Hong Kong…
the effects of uncontrolled trawling on
benthic [sea bottom] structure and fauna
have been immense, catches have declined
markedly over the past 10 yrs, and fishing
mortality rates are extremely high in seven
gear sectors. Trawling has large effects: for
example in Tolo Harbour each square meter
may be trawled three times a day.
Consequently, the biomass of long-lived,
high value demersal [bottom-dwelling] fish
species has been greatly reduced, if not
eliminated from many areas, and the species
composition has shifted toward low-value,
short-lived pelagic fish, a dismal example of
“fishing down the food web”…
“EFFECTS ON THE BENTHIC FISH FAUNA
DURING AND AFTER LARGE-SCALE
DREDGING IN THE SOUTHEASTERN
WATERS OF HONG KONG”
Albert Leung, AFCD
“…ecological stresses brought on by the
dredging activity seemed to be transient and
less severe than that brought on by
uncontrolled fishing. Diversity, evenness,
fish size and fauna seemed to suffer more
from an overfishing situation that has
persisted over the years.”
“The average weight of individuals caught
were only 10.3g, 6.1g and 9.2g in 1992, 1995
and 1998, respectively.”
10g fish….
GOV’T-COMMISSIONED REPORT of
1998:
• HK’s fish stocks in “critical state”
• “Urgent action required to rescue
fish stocks from overexploited state”
• Extreme destructiveness of inshore
trawling well-recognised: bans in
CHINA, Malaysia, Thailand,
Philippines…
‘Fishing down’
marine food webs
occurs everywhere.
SOS: “Save Our Seas”
拯救海洋大行動的目標
Objectives of the SOS Campaign
•於本港大部份水域禁止底拖網捕魚
A ban on bottom trawling in most of Hong Kong
waters
•闢建具適當面積的禁捕區
Creation of sizeable no-take zones in Hong
Kong
TRAWLING…
Undisturbed soft-bottom
community
Soft-bottom community in
nearby trawled area
NO-TAKE ZONES…
NO-TAKE ZONE:
A geographical area where all
fishing is banned
Increasingly popular and
successful fishing
management tool around the
world
BASIC IDEA:
Fishing outside the reserve will
improve as a result of the
fishes protected inside the
reserve.
Theoretical Fisheries Management
Benefits of No-take zones
NO-TAKE ZONES: how large
do they need to be?
Daniel Pauly: 20% of world’s oceans
just to return our fisheries to 1970s
levels
Bill Ballantine: 10% for science &
education, …20% for proper
conservation of species, …30% for the
general good of fishing, …50% if the
sea were to be intensively used
WWF Proposal on
No-Take Zones:
1. 30% of HK waters no-take by
2016
2. “Immediate” no-take in Tolo,
Port Shelter and Marine
Parks (9.8%)
Goat Island Reserve, New Zealand
“In the 547 hectares of the reserve, the largest snapper
are eight times the size of the snapper outside. They are
also 14 times more numerous… Hidden in holes and
crevices in the rock ledges, are crayfish, much larger
than those in the commercially fished waters outside…
Although excluded from the reserve itself on pain of a
NZ$50,000 fine, fishermen are happy because they catch
as many crayfish on the reserve boundary as they
would on many more miles of coastline… Snapper are
estimated to produce 18 times more eggs on reserves
than in other parts of the sea… egg production on 8 km
of marine reserve is equivalent to egg production on 145
km of unprotected coastline.”
The Vision:
1. New Economic Model, based on
recreation and responsible tourism
development:
•
•
•
•
Commercial pleasure craft
Water taxis
Snorkelling safaris
Scuba diving
2. Find allies among community leaders and
existing operators for this vision.
3. Reassure fishing community that
Government will initiate multidepartmental effort to ease migration of
fishermen into this new model: fishermen
have priority in new jobs created.
This New Economic Model is
far more valuable to the local
community than the current
model based on declining
fisheries.
Save Our Seas Seminar for
Fishers
Ocean Conservancy, NOAA | MAP: Mary Kate Cannistra,
The Washington Post - June 15, 2006
General opinions on marine environmental issues
I think more effort should be made to protect threatened marine life and habitats in Hong Kong.
Strongly agree
46%
Somewhat agree
48%
Who or which organizations, do you think, should take
responsibility in protecting HK’s marine environment & species?
Government
A great majority agree that
more effort should be made
to protect threatened marine
habitats in Hong Kong.
52
11
NGOs
While about 1 out of 2 believe the government has
the main responsibility of protecting Hong Kong’s
marine environment & species, 25% don’t know
whose role it is to safeguard Hong Kong’s marine
environment.
10
HK Population
9
Business Community
8
Don't Know
25
0
10
20
30
40
D
I
S
A
G
R
E
E
Bottom 2 Boxes: 1%
Top 2 Boxes: 94%
Everyone in the world
Neither
Somewhat
agree
don’t
nor
like
disagree
9%
3%
50
60
Awareness of marine conservation issues
Despite thinking that Hong Kong
fisheries are still sustainable,
almost everyone claimed “no-take
zones” are nonetheless reasonable.
Opinion on “no-take zones” are
similar across recreational fishers
and non-fishers; both groups
believe no-take zones are
reasonable.
Awareness of marine conservation issues
When it comes to deciding on the % of Hong Kong waters that
should be designated as “no-take zones”…
The HK population in general differs on
what percentage of HK waters should be
designated as “no take zones”
Mean = 46.8%
Mode = 50%
Mean
Mode
Recreational
fishers
Nonfishers
42.8%
50%
47.9%
50%
Recreational fishers generally gave lower %
figures for no-take zones than non-fishers.
At the moment, the actual % of HK waters designated as a no-take zone is less than 1%.