Threatened Fisheries
Do the oceans need more protection?
By Mary H. Cooper

The oceans yield nearly 100 million tons of fish annually. But global demand for seafood, combined with efficient, new fishing equipment, has driven many species nearly to extinction. Up to 75 percent of global fish stocks are overfished, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The debate over saving the oceans pits conservationists, who say tighter fishing restrictions are. . . .

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Should “marine protected areas” include no-fishing reserves?

Robert R. Warner Professor of marine ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara. From testimony before House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans, May 23, 2002	Jim Gilmore Director of public affairs, At-Sea Processors Association. From testimony before House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans, May 23, 2002

To Boycott or Not to Boycott?

Environmentally conscious consumers face a quandary at the fish counter. From time to time, environmental organizations call for boycotts of overfished species. The latest call has gone out to save the Patagonian toothfish, an Antarctic fish marketed as the Chilean sea bass. High demand for the mild-tasting fish has caused overfishing in some areas. The Australian government, saying poachers are driving the fish to extinction, is calling for an international ban on sea bass fishing under the U.N. Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The United States does not allow Chilean sea bass imports without documentation verifying that the fish were caught legally, but the State Department concedes that shipments of illegally harvested fish make their way into U.S. markets. “Restaurateurs and consumers should ask questions before buying Chilean sea bass to ensure that the fish being purchased were legally harvested,” the department advises.

Some restaurant owners and chefs, acting on a national “Take a Pass on Sea Bass” campaign launched earlier this year by the National Environmental Trust, have already stopped preparing and serving the endangered fish. The campaign is the latest in a series of boycotts in recent years that have targeted swordfish, redfish and other overfished species.

But not everyone agrees on which species are endangered. “Sometimes you get competing campaigns, and it all gets very confusing,” says Anne Platt McGinn, a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental-policy research group.

Fishing industry representatives take a dim view of seafood guides. “The fish boycotts that are recommended are based on the perspectives and priorities of seafood-guide publishers with little scientific rationale, relying instead upon overgeneralizations and dramatic semantics to cast a negative spin on the state of fisheries,” says the industry-supported Ocean Trust in Arlington, Va. The group says the guides also ignore the findings of federal fisheries and threaten the livelihoods of communities that depend on fishing. “In effect, the seafood guides discriminate against law-abiding fishermen who follow fishery regulations,” the trust concludes.

To help consumers make wise choices, a number of groups are trying to coordinate their efforts to identify endangered species or farmed species whose production harms the environment. The Marine Stewardship Council, an international nonprofit group in London, issues a “sustainable fisheries” label that identifies seafood that is not in danger of depletion.

“Education and campaigns aren't going to save the fisheries,” McGinn says, “but they're certainly going to go a long way.”

[1] U.S. Department of State, “Chilean Sea Bass Frequently Asked Questions,” March 26, 2002.

Footnote: 1. U.S. Department of State, “Chilean Sea Bass Frequently Asked Questions,” March 26, 2002.

[2] See Neil Irwin, “A Flap Over Fish Dishes,” The Washington Post, June 19, 2002. For a list of consumer guides, go to www.environmentaldefense.org/system/templates/page/focus.cfm?focus=2. Click on Toolbox Seafood Selector.

Footnote: 2. See Neil Irwin, “A Flap Over Fish Dishes,” The Washington Post, June 19, 2002. For a list of consumer guides, go to www.environmentaldefense.org/system/templates/page/focus.cfm?focus=2. Click on Toolbox Seafood Selector.

[3] Ocean Trust, “Seafood Guides from the Audubon Society, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense & Chefs Collaborative,” Jan. 1, 2001, found at www.oceantrust.org.

Footnote: 3. Ocean Trust, “Seafood Guides from the Audubon Society, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense & Chefs Collaborative,” Jan. 1, 2001, found at www.oceantrust.org.