Education: sustainable fishing
The sea provides us with nutritious food – but we need to take care not to deplete this source
DO YOU like seafood? It’s a big favourite among South Africans and people around the world, and fishing provides an income for fishing communities. In towns on SA’s West Coast especially, many people depend almost entirely on fishing to make a living.
Unfortunately many marine species are under threat because people catch too many fish and other seafood. This is happening not only locally but globally.
Much more seafood is being caught today than 50 years ago, and many species are caught accidentally ( for instance, in large nets targeting other species). Such species are referred to as bycatch in the fishing industry. They’re thrown back into the sea but by then most of them are severely injured or dead.
Let’s look at sustainable fishing.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Sustainable fishing means catch sizes are restricted to leave enough fish in the ocean so the numbers of any particular species don’t become dangerously low. In other words, fish shouldn’t be caught at a faster rate than they can reproduce.
It also means their habitat should be treated with respect, for example by fishing vessels not polluting the ocean or destroying the ocean floor with their trawling nets.
Catching too many of a particular fish species is called overfishing. Not only can it cause the species to become extinct, it also affects other species in the same habitat. Remember, like on land there are food chains in the ocean. When you remove one of the links in the chain you disturb its balance.
Sustainable fishing not only benefits nature but also guarantees that those who depend on fishing to survive will retain their source of income. It also ensures that seafood will remain a vital source of food for a long time to come.
About three billion people around the world rely on fish as a source of animal protein, while 12% of the world’s population depends on fisheries to make a living.