Daniel Pauly has an article in this month’s New Republic “Aquacalypse Now – The End of Fish“.   It addresses the very real and threatening problem of overfishing.  His is a great title for an article but his use of the metaphor of corporate fishing as a Ponzi scheme is interesting, but somewhat distracting. Well worth reading nevertheless.

There is room for optimism in a standing on the edge of a precipice sort of way. Three years ago a report was published in the journal Science predicting that “if fishing around the world continues at its present pace, more and more species will vanish, marine ecosystems will unravel and there will be “global collapse” of all species currently fished, possibly as soon as midcentury.”

Nevertheless, proper fishing management may help avoid such a global disaster.

World fisheries collapse can be averted: study

“The world’s commercial fisheries, pressured by overfishing and threatened with possible collapse by mid-century, could be rebuilt with careful management, researchers reported on Thursday.

In fact, a fisheries expert who in 2006 predicted total global collapse of fish and seafood populations by 2048 is more optimistic of recovery, based on a wide-ranging two-year study by scientists in North and South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Still, 63 percent of fish stocks worldwide need to be rebuilt, the researchers said.”

Related posts:  Would you prefer the Slimehead or the Orange Roughy?
Expedition Sets Sail to the Great Plastic Vortex