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SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES ISSUES St. Eustatius September 25, 2012 Earlston B. McPhee

SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES ISSUES St. Eustatius September 25, 2012 Earlston B. McPhee BAHAMAS Ministry of Tourism . Oceans and water make up over 70% of earth’s surface Over 540 million people are directly or indirectly employed in the fish and seafood industries

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SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES ISSUES St. Eustatius September 25, 2012 Earlston B. McPhee

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  1. SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES ISSUES St. Eustatius September 25, 2012 Earlston B. McPhee BAHAMAS Ministry of Tourism

  2. Oceans and water make up over 70% of earth’s surface Over 540 million people are directly or indirectly employed in the fish and seafood industries An estimated 3 billion people depend on fish for 15% of their average animal protein intake Roughly 75% of fish caught is used for human consumption. IMPORTANCE OF FISHERIES

  3. Cost of illegal and unreported fishing - $10-23.5b per year Contribution of fish to global diets – 17kg per person on average Fish products is the most-traded of food commodities globally with a value $102b in 2009, up 9% from 2007 IMPORTANCE OF FISHERIES

  4. GROWING DEMAND ON FISHERIES • Demand is proportional to growth in world’s population – tripled from 2.5b in 1950 to 7b 2012 • Developing countries and coastal areas depend more on fish as staple food. • Asia has the highest consumption of seafood –combining high per-person consumption with large populations • Fish provide 26 percent of Asian animal protein but only 7% for North and Central America

  5. GROWING DEMAND ON FISHERIES • Total production of fish products globally increased from 140m tonnes in 2007 to 145m tonnes in 2009

  6. Over 32% of the world’s fish stock is overexploited and depleted. Since 1950’s with the development of industrialized fishing 90% of all large fish has disappeared. It is estimated due to exploitation whereas long-lines used to catch ten fish per a hundred hooks, they are only reeling in one, if lucky. SUPPLY – A MAJOR ISSUE

  7. Promote Sustainable Fisheries Management • Mitigate destructive fishing practices • Long-line fishing • The use of dynamite • Bleaching • Control Illegal Fishing: • Place effective patrol of fishing areas • Enforcement and heavy penalities • Educate general public of reasons for no fishing • Blue Flag Individual boat program

  8. Promote Sustainable Fisheries Management…..cont • Establish closed season for threaten species • Stone Crab (June 1 – October 15th) • Crawfish (April 1 – July 31st) • Nassau Grouper (December 1 – Feb 28th) • Encourage Good Fisheries Mgmt: • Develop code of conduct for fishing vessels • Size Limits • Crawfish tails must be 5 1/2 inches • Conch – Well formed and flared lip

  9. Education and Awareness • Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation – Local NGO Initiatives: • Hold workshops for fishermen on importance of marine reserves & sustainable fisheries practices • Annual Teachers Training workshop during Summer • Annual Children Summer Camp to educate about marine environment • Execute a campaign to reduce demand for Nassau Grouper – postcard with a grouper – “eat more beef” • Coordinates The Bahamas Environmental Steward Scholar (BESS) program – HS graduates interested in environmental studies.

  10. Education and Awareness • Radio and Television Shows on impact of Overfishing and importance of sustainable fisheries. • National School Competition on over-fishing issues – “if a fish could talk” • During Coastal Awareness Month – Display of Banners Nationally – “save some fish for our children”

  11. Indo-Pacific Lionfish • May have been introduced into Atlantic via Florida during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 from an Aquarium • Now spread as far east as Bermuda and South past Lesser Antilles • 5 Week study shows lionfish caused 79% reduction in recruitment of native fishes • A major threat to coral-reef ecosystems as it’s a predator and competitor to native reef species.

  12. Mitigation Efforts: • Promotion of Fishing Tournaments – Prizes for most caught lionfish • Public education on how to catch and clean lionfish • Encourage the public to consume lionfish by having lionfish tasting at public events • Discourage the use of lionfish for the pet trade

  13. Climate Change Impact • Sea temperatures will change – resulting in coral bleaching • Fish will migrate to cooler waters; some will become extinct • Other habitat will suffer – wetlands will be inundated by increasing sea levels.

  14. Negative impacts on fish stock • Overdevelopment in coastal areas • Over-fishing • Illegal fishing • Pollution of marine ecosystems • Increase in demand due to increased population • Destruction of fishing habitats – mangrove removal and seabed disturbance Source: US Department of commerce

  15. Negative impacts on fish stock cont.. • Coral reef destruction • Climate Change

  16. THANK YOU!! MERCI!!

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