Ahoy! Wait, the high seas are closed?

Image from http://worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing

Although I heard about this journal published in PLoS Biology a while back, I still think it deserves to be put out there.

The researchers that published the journal titled, Close the High Seas to Fishing?, used a mathematical model and ideas from game theory to suggest a highly controversial method to reduce overfishing -- close the high seas. High seas, defined as parts of the ocean not under any country's jurisdiction, make up about 58% of the world's oceans. Although I agree with them that the problem of overfishing has reached critical levels and current measures are insufficient, I do have my doubts about this method.

The rationale behind their proposal is that at the rate we are catching migratory fish, they are unable to reproduce fast enough to increase their numbers back to normal. This is happening despite regulations by various governments. As a result, the migratory fish population js dwindling and may face extinction in the near future. Hence, by closing the high seas, the fish are given a chance to increase their populations back to healthy levels. The scientists even suggested that if we do decide to put this measure in place for a few years, there would be enough fish for consumption for many years to come.

The first problem with this is that when high seas are closed, the livelihood of many fishermen are affected, causing great economical loss and a drop in standard of living for them.

Next, there is still 42% of the ocean where fishing is allowed. This means that overfishing can still occur in these water bodies and given the sudden drop in supply, the fish in these areas will be severely affected. Also, due to the scarcity of fish, fish prices would also soar in the short run (one should also note that after the ban is lifted, fish price would be low and supply would be abundant in the long run). This might also result in the formation of black markets where illegal fish are caught and sold.

Moreover, the amount of regulation required is tremendous and many governments may not be able to afford it. Even if most can, some may be corrupt, which may still allow overfishing to take place.

Nevertheless, this may ultimately be an effective measure if all the above problems are considered and minimized. What are your views on this? Do you think the high seas should be close? Or do you have any suggestions to tackle the problem of overfishing?

In the meantime, you may like to visit overfishing.org or worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing to learn more about this subject.

Thanks for reading!

Reference:

White C, Costello C (2014). Close the High Seas to Fishing? PLoS Biol 12(3): e1001826