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Science and will, the best solution
Dr Daniel Pauly looks at the role of different civilisations in their relationship with fish and how to rebuild their populations.
The presentation by Dr Daniel Pauly, Principal Investigator of the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), touched on many important issues and, above all, outlined what he believes are the actions that need to be taken to rebuild fish stocks. It could be said that science and political will should go hand in hand to achieve these goals, but it is clear from his presentation that much more will be needed.
Towards the end of his presentation, Pauly outlined what he saw as the three measures to control the growth of fish stocks. The first is not to subsidise the fishing industry, because, in his words, "if they can't make a business for themselves, it's because they're overfished". Secondly, "we must be conservative with the quotas that allow us to rebuild the biomass". Finally, marine protected areas must be increased to protect and restore marine diversity. According to him, all three measures have been proven to work. But that does not mean there are no challenges ahead, and Pauly is rather pessimistic. One of these challenges is "plastics, damn plastics". It is clear that the solution lies in production, not in recycling. We need to reduce their production. Another challenge, perhaps the one that sums it all up, is global warming, and the expert could not have been more graphic: "There is less oxygen in the water than at the top of Mount Everest". As a result, "fish have little oxygen in the water to breathe, and as the temperature rises, they have even less". This is directly related to their metabolic rate, which depends on water temperature, but also on their migratory movements.
In fact, Pauly says, fish are getting smaller and smaller because they have trouble breathing.
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