Saving Seafood

Global Overfishing Could be Helped by New Indicators

August 12, 2019 — In a new paper published in “Science Advanced,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers Jason Link and Reg Watson from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine Antarctic Studies suggested new ways of monitoring and managing overfishing.

They suggest a broader, whole ecosystem-focused approach to monitoring and research, rather than the population-by-population, smaller scale approach that most management uses now.

“In simple terms, to successfully manage fisheries in an ecosystem, the rate of removal for all fishes combined must be equal to or less than the rate of renewal for all those fishes,” said Link.

Link is the senior scientist for ecosystem management at NOAA Fisheries and a former fisheries scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Researchers Map Global Fishing Patterns From 1869 to 2015

June 28, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Researchers at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Maine and Antarctic Studies have mapped the scale and patterns of change in global marine fishing for the last century and a half.

Led by Reg Watson, Professor of Fisheries and Ecological Modelling at the University, the study takes a look at global marine fishing from 1869 to 2015. The data was able to not only document entire catch by country and associated fishing gear, but also estimate the illegal, unreported and discarded catch.

“Compared to the previous blurry maps, the new techniques have provided a sharp image of the fishing patterns providing valuable wild-caught seafoods,” Watson explained.

For Watson, the data dating back to 1869 is “invaluable to get an all-inclusive overview and see how things have changed over time.” For instance, the researchers were able to discover that prior to the 1900s, Canada, the United States and Japan were all key fishing countries. However, Japan, Russia and Peru have been leading the pack since the 1950s. The data also revealed that more bottom-dwelling fish were caught prior to 1900 and that the “expansion of valued landings of tuna, shrimp and squid” didn’t happen until recent years.

“Much can be learnt from looking at historical patterns of fishing, and they can help inform decisions vital to maintaining the marine resources and their environments that mankind depends on,” said Watson.

Find the full research paper here.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.