Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:04 am
OPINION: Biological diversity can only be secured through an ecosystem-based approach to marine fisheries, writes Edward Fahy
REGULATING FISHERIES through catch quotas is, in theory, a simple exercise. The fish stock is assessed, its harvestable proportion (total allowable catch - TAC) is estimated and divided among those entitled to a share (quota). In practice, fish are valuable and there is an overwhelming temptation for fishermen to misreport what has been landed and where it has been caught.
The greatest obstacle to innovation is the inertia linked to the size of the fleet and the administrative infrastructure supporting it. The costly decommissioning of vessels and the removal of gear from existing fisheries had to precede more eco-friendly development.
However, the crisis provoked by the rising cost of fuel for an EU fishing fleet pursuing ever more depleted fish stocks will effectively put many vessels out of action, even if they have not been actually decommissioned.
Throughout the EU fishermen are despondent, and while there is sympathy for their plight, there is also a realisation that the inexorable and very rapid decline in the resource had to end in tears. What is required now, while the system continues to be managed along traditional lines, is to imaginatively introduce elements of an ecosystem-based approach in the space provided by the inevitable slowdown in fishing activity.
Dr Edward Fahy is a marine biologist. Prior to retirement, he worked for the Marine Institute as a team leader in the fishery science services division