There are plenty of fish in the sea, right? Wrong.
According to experts at the Monteray Bay Aquarium in California, the global catch of wild fish leveled off more than 20 years ago, and 70 percent of the world’s fisheries are being harvested at capacity or are in decline.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife combats problems such as overfishing, illegal fishing and habitat damage — all of which contribute to the decline in the fish population — with strict regulations.
“Regulations are a lot more serious than you’d think,” said Jodee Distasio, an employee at Jody’s Fishery in Neptune.
Distasio, son of store owner Jody Distasio, captain of the XTC Sportfishing boat, explained that agents for the Fish and Wildlife Council oversee fishing both on and off the boat.
“When I lived in Avon, agents walked into my backyard and went through peoples’ coolers, fining them for any fish against regulations,” Distasio said. “The other day, my dad was coming back from a day of fishing and three game wardens were waiting to inspect his boat.”
One way that fish are regulated is by their length. For example, a certain fish might be against regulation if it is less than 10 inches long.
“The longer the fish, the older they are, which means they’ve had a chance to reproduce,” Distasio explained.
Read the full article at the Asbury Park Press.
Analysis:
As the article notes, globally fish stocks are unable to keep up with demand. The Food and Agriculture Organization, in a recent report, concluded both that global fish consumption is at an all-time high, and that nearly 32% of global fish stocks could be characterized as “overexploited, depleted, or recovering.” It also concluded that 15% of global stocks were either moderately or underexploited.
In contrast to the global trend, US seafood consumption has declined the past several years, from an average of 16.3 pounds per person in 2007 to 15.8 pounds per person in 2009. However, despite the decline in seafood consumption in recent years, a significant percentage of US seafood remains imported; currently 84 percent of US seafood comes from sources outside the US. Out of the total amount of seafood consumed in the US, aquaculture makes up about 10 percent of the total. However, it makes up an increasingly large percentage of global seafood prodction, meting around half of global demand.