We’re Running Out of Fish to Catch
New technologies are doubling our fishing power every 35 years. So why aren’t we catching any more fish?
We have more available technology for locating and catching fish than ever before.
New mechanisms, such as GPS, sonar fishfinders, and echo-acoustic cameras are helping today’s fishing fleets grow more and more efficient at finding fish. A new study shows that the “fishing power” of fleets is doubling every thirty-five years, which works out to an increase of 2–4% per year.
This means that, given the same level of fish in the ocean, ten fishing vessels today can catch the same number of fish as twenty vessels in 1984, or the same number of fish as forty boats in 1950.
However, the average catch amounts for fishing fleets have remained the same — and when it comes to specific marine regions, or fisheries, the catch amounts are decreasing.
New regulations limit the number of boats that many countries can send out to sea — but this isn’t enough to prevent overfishing.
Policies Fail to Account for Power Creep
Most policies tend to focus on the number of boats on the water, rather than considering the fishing power of each boat.
