October 22, 2013 — On the 17th October, in San Francisco, CA the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today launched the world’s most comprehensive toolkit for designing and implementing management systems that can restore the resiliency, sustainability and profitability of fisheries around the world.
“Global overfishing is a 21st century problem that people have been trying to fix with 20th century solutions,” said Kate Bonzon, Director of EDF’s Catch Share Design Center. “Our toolkit provides low cost, cutting-edge and highly replicable solutions to help fishermen and fishery managers achieve economic and ecological recovery, even in fisheries lacking adequate data.”
According to a recent study in Science, 80% of global fisheries lack important data for stock assessments, a critical first step toward sustainable fisheries. EDF’s toolkit includes a guide dedicated to bridging this gap, providing fishermen and managers with key resources and expertise.
Developed in conjunction with more than 80 global experts, the toolkit reflects the experience of successful and diverse fisheries around the world. It highlights pragmatic solutions to pressing problems and provides guidance that fishermen and managers can use to navigate the administrative hurdles they often face.
“Each year, poor governance costs the global fishing industry as much as $50 billion,” said Michael Arbuckle, Senior Fisheries Specialist for the World Bank. “EDF has developed a valuable tool that can help fisheries managers create economic and social benefits for the many fishers and communities dependent on the resource for their future."