Hula Paradiso Publications Inc.

STOP OVERFISHING! SAVE OUR FISH! SAVE OUR PLANET!

  Is South Africa Sinking?

The world’s oceans are rapidly descending into a new era. Over-exploitation, destructive fishing practices, pollution, and impacts from other human activities are depleting our seas of their life. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the demand for fish within the last 50 years has risen at twice the rate of human population growth. Global fish stocks are in a rapid decline with scientists warning of population collapses of all major remaining commercial species within 40 years if we continue our current consumption patterns, let alone increase them. A recent scientific study shows that almost 90% of all large marine fish species are now gone, forcing nations to catch progressively smaller species, fishing down food-webs to meet seafood demand and ridiculously, feeding farmed fish and domestic livestock with fishmeal.

Based on the foolish concept that the sea’s bounty is infinite, over three-quarters of the world’s fish stocks are now fully or over exploited. Environmental activists illustrate the current situation with some sobering analogies. Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd, states that the largest marine predator on earth is now the cow, with over half the fish catch serving as fish meal feed for domestic livestock. Domestic house cats are apparently eating more fish than all the world’s seals combined and some fifty to sixty marine fish are caught to raise one farm-raised salmon. While some might negate this view as exaggeration, trends in international fisheries governance suggest that decision-makers are at last taking the alarming status quo very seriously, yet South Africa seems not to have noticed our marine resources disappearing.

Curbing Destructive fishing methods

Nations around the world are finally beginning to wake up to the fact that urgent and meaningful action is needed and are looking at innovative ways to ensure the protection of the ocean’s resources. Addressing the move towards fishing in deeper waters due to the scarcity of stocks in over-fished shallower areas, a UN General Assembly resolution was passed in December 2006, to reduce high- seas bottom-trawling. The resolution called on States and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations to prohibit any bottom-fishing on the high seas (areas beyond national jurisdiction) within 1-2 years unless they can demonstrate, through impact assessments, that bottom-fishing in a particular area will not cause “significant adverse impacts” to vulnerable marine ecosystems. In a major step forward in the protection of high seas, more than 20 nations agreed earlier this month to discourage unregulated and destructive bottom-trawling in the South Pacific, in order to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems such as seamounts and deep-water corals. The agreement will take effect on September 30, 2007 and is intended to halt any further expansion of bottom-fishing on the high seas of the South Pacific until 2010. After this time a vessel can fish in a new area only after the country concludes a scientifically accepted impact assessment, and establishes regulations to ensure no “significant adverse impacts” to vulnerable marine ecosystems. International cooperation is also drawing critical attention to the impacts of economic incentives for over-exploitation of stocks by highlighting the linkages between the profitability of fisheries such as deep sea bottom-trawling and subsidisation received from some governments.

Reducing economic incentives for over-fishing

In another positive move to further reduce over-exploitation and destructive fishing, the USA called for support at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to prohibit subsidies that promote over-fishing of increasingly fragile marine stocks. Global fishery subsidies totalling some US$34bn a year, support longer periods at sea and greater catch efforts and include low-cost fuels and loan guarantees for gear or vessels. This unprecedented action is the first time that environmental concerns have driven trade negotiations at the WTO – a clear indication that business as usual is now unacceptable. Given the popularity of Africa’s rich fishing grounds with industrial fishing fleets from the EU – which together with Japan, accounts for more than one fifth of global fishery subsidies, the implications of reduced subsidies on allowing fish-stocks recovery could be vast. In the meantime, however, the European Commission continues to negotiate for valuable fishing access agreements with as many African nations as possible.

Protecting sensitive areas

Ensuring that there are enough ‘safe’ areas for species and ecosystems to recover is a major global concern. The development of marine protected areas (MPAs) based on sound ecological, social and economic principles is critical for sustaining remaining coastal and marine biodiversity stocks. Countries around the world are realising that greater protection is needed for sensitive marine and coastal areas to protect critical ecosystem functions and provide safe havens for essential life stages of commercial stocks. Many, including South Africa, have agreed to global targets for conserving biodiversity such as promoting integrated coastal and ocean management, adopting the ecosystem approach and designating 20% of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as marine protected areas by 2012. But are these agreements even worth the paper they are written on?

South Africa’s governance scorecard

While awareness of the issues and the need to take action is running high, addressing them at a national level appears rather more problematic. The government of South Africa, faced with tremendous pressure to both deliver on poverty reduction, economic development and equity in coastal areas as well as to address the ever-dwindling marine life in our waters and meet international commitments, has already entered dangerous waters. In particular, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has announced recently on two critical issues that will have serious implications on the biodiversity of our oceans and coasts: development of mariculture and the intention to open up one of South Africa’s oldest and largest marine protected areas (MPAs) for recreational fishing.

April saw the launch of South Africa’s first large-scale fin-fish marine aquaculture ventures - the I&J Hatchery. The government has identified aquaculture as an emerging industry which it believes will help to meet the increasing demand for fresh seafood, promote further economic development, and even to assist with rebuilding of wild stocks. While the development of an mariculture industry has the potential to supplement the availability of luxury seafood species, it can by no means be seen as a quick-fix solution to the critical governance issues driving the collapse of wild stocks. Technological ‘solutions’ to existing environmental disasters are seldom sustainable solutions and invariably contribute to the problem. Global experience in aquaculture has proven this area to be no exception. There are sufficient lessons and best-practices to warrant that development of a mariculture industry in South Africa is embarked upon with great care, ensuring that the principles and methods are based on sound social, ecological and economic criteria and are enforced by efficient and effective monitoring.

In the meantime, greater attention is needed in implementing our existing environmental legislation to arrest marine degradation from pollution, coastal development and overexploitation of resources and to prevent the further loss and fragmentation of critical spawning and nursery habitats such as estuaries. The intention of the government therefore, to open parts of the Tsitsikamma MPA to exploitation, whether to recreational fishing, subsistence fishing or otherwise, should not be taken lightly. Scientific experts strongly advise against this move, warning that the Tsitsikamma MPA is an extremely important nursery area that sustains the entire line-fish industry of the southern Cape. Given that only 2 of approximately 150 line-fish species in South Africa are considered still exploitable - the rest falling into the categories of collapsed, threatened or overexploited – any protected area contributing to the regeneration of fish stocks should be assigned extra protection, not less.

With the increasing emergence of even greater threats from climate variability and change, the Endangered Wildlife Trust urges that governance to mitigate current and future negative impacts on our valuable marine and coastal ecosystems and resoruces be based on principles of ecological integrity, social and economic equity, integrated management, rational scientific reasoning and informed and transparent decision-making. First and foremost, our excellent environmental legislation needs to be enforced across the board.

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