Fishing decline unlikely to rescue rare species
PORTLAND, Maine — Commercial fishing taking place worldwide has dipped since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but scientists and conservation experts say it’s unclear if the slowdown will help endangered species of marine life recover.
Hours logged by fishermen at sea fell by nearly 10% around the world after the March 11 declaration of a pandemic. In some hard-hit countries such as China, fishing completely stopped.
The fishing decline has spurred questions about food security, ocean management and global trade.
As countries begin to resume fishing, new questions are emerging about whether an extended fishing slowdown could help rare ocean animals, such as the North Atlantic right whale.
The whale numbers only about 400 and is vulnerable to fatal entanglement in fishing gear.
Less fishing could also help jeopardized fish stocks of the Mediterranean Sea, home to the overfished Atlantic bluefin tuna. And many rare species are vulnerable to accidental catch, called bycatch, in fishing gear.
But it’s too early to hail the respite from fishing lines and nets, said David Kroodsma, director of research and innovation for the nonprofit Global Fishing Watch. And since millions of people rely on fishing for their livelihoods and sustenance, any benefit to sea life has come at a cost, he said.
“I don’t think we should be celebrating anything here. Not by making people suffer incredibly,” he said. “I bet what we’ll find is, it is not sufficient for rebuilding stocks in places they have to rebuild.”
Fishermen around the world logged about 6.8 million hours at sea from March 11 to April 28, down about 700,000 hours from averages the previous two years, according to data compiled by Global Fishing Watch.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said the pandemic has brought “changing consumer demands, market access or logistical problems” that could keep fishing difficult indefinitely.
The time spent with boats docked was much more severe in countries such as Italy, Spain and France, which suffered large virus outbreaks, Kroodsma said. Fishing in those countries was down 50% to 75%, he said.
Fishing dropped off because of concern about spreading the virus on boats and because of decreased demand for seafood. Twothirds of the U.S. seafood spending is in restaurants, according to a study in the June edition of the journal Nutrients.
As a result, some fishermen are bringing less catch to the docks so far this year. The American catch of Atlantic herring was down more than a fifth — almost 3 million pounds (1.4 million kilograms) — through the end of May, according to federal statistics. Herring is a key species because it’s used as human food and as bait for more profitable fisheries, such as lobster.
None of this means fish populations are rebuilding, said Gavin Gibbons, spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute trade group. American fisheries are managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the plans to help species recover can be highly technical and take years to implement, Gibbons said.
“It’s much more specific than just give fish a break and they’ll rebuild,” he said.