Miller (2003): Chapter 16

Marine ResourcesAnd Fishing in The South China Sea

“Fish are wildlife, and they are the only wildlife we continue to hunt on a large scale…” Carl Safina

Fisheries: concentrations of particular aquatic species

suitable for commercial harvesting in a given ocean area or inland body of water (lakes, rivers, reservoirs, ponds)

the third major food producing system after cropland and grazing land

Marine resources: provide 20% of all the animal protein

we eat ~1/3 of world fish harvest: used as

animal feed, fish meal, oils 60% of fish consumption: by the

developing world In Asia, 1 billion people rely on fish as their

primary source of protein. Fishing employs ~200 million people

worldwide

Aquaculture: farmed or cultured fish

Fishery Terminologies

Capture fisheries: wild-caught fish fish from the sea (marine) from inland bodies of water, such as

lakes and ponds (inland)

Stock: the population of a species that is exploitable

demersal fish: live on or near the seabed (e.g. cod, flatfishes)

pelagic fish: live in the water column (e.g. tuna, salmon, anchovy)

“Fish” is a broad term that encompasses: Finfish: the true fish, which are further divided into:

Finfish make up the majority of world fish catches.

Fishery Terminologies

Shellfish: includes crustaceans (shrimps, crabs)and molluscs (squid, octopus, clams, mussels)

Also, smaller scale fisheries based on: Echinoderms (sea urchins, sea cucumbers) Jellyfish

World’s Commercial Fishing Industry

Dominated by industrial fishing fleets using Satellite positioning equipment Sonar Huge nets Spotter planes Factory ships (that can process and freeze

catches)

Sources of Annual Commercial Catch

~55%: ocean ~99% of this catch from plankton-rich

coastal waters (but, coastal pollution!)

~33%: aquaculture raising marine and freshwater fish in ponds

and underwater cages

~12%: inland freshwater fishing (lakes, rivers, reservoirs, ponds)

Total Fish Production

Global capture fisheries and aquaculture production (2000; U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)):

1997: 122 million tonnes

1998: 117 million tonnes (because of El Niño effects on some major marine capture fisheries)

1999: production recovered to an estimated 125 million tonnes.

Capture fisheries have peaked and remained stable

extra 20 million tonnes over the last decade was mainly from aquaculture

Aquaculture

Capture Fisheries

Million Tonnes

World Total Fish Production

There was a time when the oceans and fisheries resources were considered to be so vast that they could not be damaged or depleted by Man.

1950-1970s: capture fisheries increased by 6% per year

1970-1980s: average increase was only 2% per year In 1990s: rate of increase in fisheries production was

almost zero

Capture Fisheries Production

100

80

60

40

20

01950 1970 19801960 1990

5

4

0

3

2

1

Po

pu

lati

on

(bill

ion

s)

Fis

h u

tiliz

atio

n(m

illio

n t

on

nes

)

40

30

20

10

0

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

01950 1970 19801960 1990

Fis

h u

tiliz

atio

n(m

illio

n t

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nes

)

Po

pu

lati

on

(bill

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Food

Feed

Population

World excluding China

China

Fish UtilizationSource: FAO (2000)

This levelling off of total world catch follows the general trend of the world’s fishing areas – apparently have reached maximum fishing potential,

i.e. fish stocks are fully exploited.

Recent global patterns of fish production owes much to the activities of China

China’s fish production now (in weight)

= 32% of the world total

Fishing Trends

17.2

6.3

4.7

4.5

4.3

3.7

3.3

3.2

2.9

2.9

0 5 10 15 20

China

Japan

United States

Russia

Peru

Indonesia

Chile

India

Thailand

Norway

Capture Fisheries Production

Top producer countries of marine and inland capture fisheries in 1998

(Data: FAO 2000)

Status of Fisheries Resources

There is a large amount of evidence that many marine resources have been overfished.

Overfishing: the taking of so many fish that too little breeding stock are left to maintain numbers

Prolonged overfishing: leading to commercial extinction of a fish stock (e.g. Newfoundland Cod) (when the population of a species declines to the point at which it is no longer profitable to hunt for them)

As one species becomes overfished, we simply move on to another species and overfish that as well

Fisheries are also depleted by high levels of bycatch (the non-target fish that are caught in nets and then thrown back into the sea, usually dead or dying) Depleting marine biodiversity Does not provide food for people

60% of the world’s important fish stocks: in “urgent need of management”

Despite warnings of a slow down in production rate of marine capture fisheries in the 1970-1980s, the fishing industry increased fishing efforts.

Boats became bigger, more powerful, and fishing technology has improved.

Many fishing vessels are packed with high-tech fish-finding equipment:

Echo-sounders Sonars Global positioning systems (GPS) Even spotter planes!

Increasing Fishing Efforts

The Tragedy Of The Commons

Overuse of common-property or free-access resources environmental degradation

Such resources Owned by no one Or, owned jointly by everyone in the area Available to all users at little or no charge

Degradation of renewable free-access resources Tragedy of the Commons

User reasons:

“If I do not use this resource, someone else will. The little bit I use or pollute is not enough to matter, and such resources are renewable.”

Does this logic work?

Fish should be a renewable resource – as long as enough fish are left annually to reproduce

Ideally, an annual sustainable yield should therefore be established for each species

Difficult to estimate mobile aquatic populations Sustainable yields shift from year to year (climate change,

pollution, etc)

Traditionally, the seas were regarded as common property and fishermen were free to go where they liked and to catch as much as they could

If they did not catch the fish, some one else will – “Tragedy of the Commons”

Overcapacity of Fishing Industry

Too many boats fishing for a decreasing number of fish.

Today, the fishing industry is twice as large as necessary. This overcapacity is global:

Norway: 60% overcapacity Western Europe: 40% overcapacity

Fishery Management

Fishery regulations Economic approaches

Impose fees for harvesting fish and shellfish from publicly owned and managed offshore waters (money used for government fishery management)

Reduce or eliminate fishing subsidies Reduce bycatch levels

Using wider-mesh nets Enacting laws to prohibit throwing edible and

marketable fish back to sea Having observers on fishing vessels

Fishing in Hong Kong has little or no restrictions

HK waters are now heavily overfished

In 2000: an estimated 157,000 tonnes of fish were produced, with 90% of the catch coming from waters outside Hong Kong

Hong Kong Fisheries

Aberdeen, HK. ~ 5,000 fishing vessels 11, 900 fishermen working abroad in the fishing industry

AFCD

China’s fisheries Have entered a period of rapid growth since 1985 Average annual growth rate ~14%, much higher

than world average

However, problems now facing China are: Inshore fishery resources with the South China

Sea area: heavily exploited Water environments: deteriorating Aquaculture: serious fish diseases Fishing in offshore and long distant waters: has

been constrained due to new international marine law

China’s Fisheries

China has adopted various measures to conserve such resources and implement a sustainable marine development strategy:

Various closed fishing seasons Closed fishing areas Marine sanctuaries set up Moratorium systems (fishing ban) Restricting size of net meshes

In 1979: fishing permit system introducedSince 1995: a midsummer moratorium system

Sustaining Fisheries in S. China Sea

The South China Sea: One of the most productive regions in the world Produces on average ~10% of global fisheries catch annually

In 2003, fishing moratorium of the South China Sea (fishing ban in the South China Sea area north of 27°N):

June 1 to August 1 All fishing operations in the South China Sea

suspended (except gill-netting, long-lining, hand-lining, cage trapping)

Some 1,400 HK fishing vessels affected

The ban was imposed to conserve fishery resources and promoting sustainable development of the fishing industry.

Fishing Moratorium