Fish are in trouble. The cod population off Canada's East Coast collapsed in the 1990s, intense recreational and commercial fishing has decimated goliath grouper populations in South Florida, and most populations of tuna have plummeted by over 50%, with the Southern Atlantic bluefin on the verge of extinction. Those are just a couple of many examples. Overfishing is happening all over the world. How did this happen? When some people think of fishing, they imagine relaxing in a boat and patiently reeling in the day's catch. But modern industrial fishing, the kind that stocks our grocery shelves, looks more like warfare. In fact, the technologies they employ were developed for war. Radar, sonar, helicopters, and spotter planes are all used to guide factory ships towards dwindling schools of fish. Long lines with hundreds of hooks or huge nets round up massive amounts of fish, along with other species, like seabirds, turtles, and dolphins. And fish are hauled up onto giant boats, complete with onboard flash freezing and processing facilities. All of these technologies have enabled us to catch fish at greater depths and farther out at sea than ever before. And as the distance and depth of fishing have expanded, so has the variety of species we target. For example, the Patagonian toothfish neither sounds nor looks very appetizing. And fishermen ignored it until the late 1970s. Then it was rebranded and marketed to chefs in the U.S. as Chilean sea bass, despite the animal actually being a type of cod. Soon it was popping up in markets all over the world and is now a delicacy. Unfortunately, these deep water fish don't reproduce until they're at least ten years old, making them extremely vulnerable to overfishing when the young are caught before they've had the chance to spawn. Consumer taste and prices can also have harmful effects. For example, shark fin soup is considered such a delicacy in China and Vietnam that the fin has become the most profitable part of the shark. This leads many fishermen to fill their boats with fins leaving millions of dead sharks behind. The problems aren't unique to toothfish and sharks. Almost 31% of the world's fish populations are overfished, and another 58% are fished at the maximum sustainable level. Wild fish simply can't reproduce as fast as 7 billion people can eat them. Fishing also has impacts on broader ecosystems. Wild shrimp are typically caught by dragging nets the size of a football field along the ocean bottom, disrupting or destroying seafloor habitats. The catch is often as little as 5% shrimp. The rest is by-catch, unwanted animals that are thrown back dead. And coastal shrimp farming isn't much better. Mangroves are bulldozed to make room for shrimp farms, robbing coastal communities of storm protection and natural water filtration and depriving fish of key nursery habitats. So what does it look like to give fish a break and let them recover? Protection can take many forms. In national waters, governments can set limits about how, when, where, and how much fishing occurs, with restrictions on certain boats and equipment. Harmful practices, such as bottom trawling, can be banned altogether, and we can establish marine reserves closed to all fishing to help ecosystems restore themselves. There's also a role for consumer awareness and boycotts to reduce wasteful practices, like shark finning, and push fishing industries towards more sustainable practices. Past interventions have successfully helped depleted fish populations recover. There are many solutions. The best approach for each fishery must be considered based on science, respect for the local communities that rely on the ocean, and for fish as wild animals. And then the rules must be enforced. International collaboration is often needed, too, because fish don't care about our borders. We need to end overfishing. Ecosystems, food security, jobs, economies, and coastal cultures all depend on it.
鱼类有麻烦了。 加拿大东海岸的鳕鱼数量在 上世纪九十年代呈现断崖式下降, 过渡的娱乐性和商业性捕鱼 使得南佛罗里达的石斑鱼几乎绝迹, 金枪鱼的数量暴跌了超过50%, 特别是南大西洋蓝鳍金枪鱼 已处在灭绝边缘。 这些只是许许多多例子中的一小部分。 在世界各地,过度捕鱼都屡见不鲜。 这是怎么发生的呢? 有些人想到捕鱼, 脑海中浮现的是悠闲地在船上, 慢悠悠地收起钓鱼线的场景。 但是现代工业化的捕鱼—— 货架上的鱼就是这么来的—— 看上去更像是打仗。 事实上,他们使用的技术 本就为战争而生。 雷达, 声呐, 直升机, 以及侦察机, 它们都将商业捕鱼船, 引向日益减少的鱼儿。 有着几百个钩子的鱼线, 或是巨大的捕鱼网, 围住大量的鱼儿,还有其他生物, 比如海鸟,海龟和海豚。 鱼儿被捞到巨大的捕鱼船上, 即刻便完成了速冻和处理。 相比以前,所有这些技术都让 我们能够捕捞生活在海洋中 更深以及更远的鱼类。 随着捕鱼距离和深度的扩大, 我们瞄准了更多的鱼类。 比如,犬牙鱼听上去、看上去都不好吃。 上世纪七十年代末之前, 渔民们都忽略了它。 然后它被重新包装, 对美国的厨师宣传成海鲈鱼, 尽管这种鱼实际上是一种鳕鱼。 很快,它就出现在了全世界的市场上, 而现在更是成了公认的美味。 不幸的是,这些深海鱼直到 至少十岁才会繁衍后代, 这使得它们对过度捕捞极端敏感脆弱, 小鱼在有机会产卵前就被捉住了。 消费者的口味和价格 也会产生负面影响。 比如,鲨鱼鱼翅汤在 中国和越南被认为是一种美味, 所以鱼鳍变成了鲨鱼 利润最高的一部分。 这让许多渔民把他们的船装满了鱼鳍, 而把上百万死鲨留在了海里。 这些问题不仅仅针对犬牙鱼和鲨鱼。 全世界大约31%的鱼类 都在遭受过度捕捞, 另外58%在以最高临界数量被捕捞着。 野生鱼类不能跟上70亿人 吃它们的速度进行繁衍。 捕鱼也对更大的生态系统造成了影响。 野生虾类通常要在海底 拖着足球场般大小的网 进行捕捞, 这改变或破坏了海底的生物栖息地。 而捕捞上来的只有5%是虾。 剩下的都是顺带被捞上来的, 无用的生物被扔回去时都已经死掉了。 近海虾类养殖也不见得更好。 红树林被铲平, 为虾类养殖开辟空间, 这让海边生物失去了抵抗风暴的保护, 失去了自然的水过滤系统, 也剥夺了鱼类至关重要的生存家园。 那么要如何给鱼类一个喘息的机会, 让它们逐渐恢复数量呢? 保护可以有很多形式。 在国家水域, 政府可以设定限制, 规定如何、何时、何地、 多少鱼可以被捕捞, 限制某些渔船和设备。 有害的操作,比如海底拖网, 可以一并被禁止, 我们还可以建立海洋保护区, 对所有捕鱼业关闭, 帮助生态系统自我修复。 消费者得节约意识 和对浪费的抵制也不容小视, 比如鱼翅, 这会迫使捕鱼业朝着 更加可持续的方向发展。 过去的干预成功地帮助了 鱼类恢复数量。 有许多解决方案。 对于每种捕鱼业最佳的方案, 必须基于科学考虑, 尊重依靠海洋的生态群体, 尊重作为野生动物的鱼类。 法规必须加强执行。 同样,也需要国际间的合作, 因为鱼类活动不以我们的国界为界线。 我们必须停止过度捕捞。 生态系统, 食品安全, 工作, 经济, 以及海岸文化都取决于此。