1. The Status of Global Fisheries

The basic problem facing fisheries at a global level is an increased ability to catch fish combined with insufficient legisislation and regulation on the part of the governments. Lack of or insufficient management plans, combined with near non-existant control mechanisms and an extensive subsidizing of the fishing fleet, lay the oceans bare for short term economic interests(1). Intensive overfishing can yield large economic gains for the individual player, but obviously this is in the short term. Seen in the long term, uncontrolled overfishing will lead to reduced fish stocks and subsequent economic as well as ecological losses. Experience has shown that overfishing leads to massive unemployment - Norway can be mentioned as an example: overfishing of herring led to a collapse and moratorium on herring fishing for nearly 20 years. This led to economic ruin for many fishermen and was a catastrophe for many coastal communities.

Another example is Canada. In 1992 what many people had been warning about really happened: the collapse of the cod stocks was a painful fact. This led to a total moratorium on fishing of cod on the Grand Banks and put 30.000-40.000 fishermen out of work. This problem is still ongoing.

The global marine catch reached 84 million tonnes in 1989 (excluding fish from aquaculture). By 1993 this figure had declined by 4% in spite of an increase of the fishing fleet, both in quantity as well as in the form of modern technology. This in itself is a clear signal of reduced fish stocks. Catches increased again in 1994, largely due to much greater catches of Peruvian anchoveta.

After several decades of ever larger and more efficient fishing vessels, the oceans are simply being depleted. In 13 of 15 of the world's most important fishing regions, the stocks are overfished and the catches are declining in spite of increased fishing effort. The building of new and more efficient fishing vessels has led to a massive overcapacity - according to FAO this capacity is about 100% more than what is needed to catch the fish available. In the period 1970-1990, FAO registered nothing less than a doubling of the global fishing capacity(2).

When catches in one area decline, overcapacity in that area is often exported to new areas, most typically it has been displaced from rich industrialised countries to developing countries, as well as to non-regulated international areas such as the Smutthullet.

The main problems within the global fishery management.

• LACK OF RESEARCH:
  In many countries, marine research is not a priority activity. This manifests itself in a lack of understanding of the need for the proper management of marine resources. A lack of knowledge usually leads to unappropriate regulations. Regulations and research often start only when the resource is already declining, or has even collapsed. Politicians are usually under pressure from the fishing industry and their lack of understanding of and faith in the recommendations of scientists establish higher quotas than the scientists have recommended. In addition poor surveillance and control programmes often lead to overfishing.
  
  
• DISCARDS:
  On a global basis, 30 to 40 percent of all fish caught is being thrown back into the water. This is unwanted bycatch which is considered uneconomical to bring ashore. In addition to representing an enormous waste of resources, these discards represent a threat to the work of the marine researchers since they often are given unreliable catch figures. In order for the researchers to estimate the sustainability of the various stocks with some confidence, they need to have accurate catch and other data. Inaccuracies of the total catch numbers reduce the quality and therefore reliability of the research.
  
  
• BYCATCH OF JUVENILE FISH:
  Fish caught for industrial purposes (fish meal and fish oil) often consist of small types of fish (capelin, anchovy, herring). This requires a trawl with small meshes, which thus has little catch selectivity. A high proportion of juvenile fish of other species is not unusual. In many areas industrial fishing contibuted to the collapse of these other non-target species through the bycatch of juvenile fish. As an example, in the North Sea, large quantities of juvenile herring are taken as bycatch in the industrial fishery, particularly the sprat fishery.
  
  
• SUBSIDIES: Large subsidies for the fishing industry enable it to continue intensive fishing even when it is uneconomical, and long after the stock has declined to a level where the fishery should cease for ecological resons. In spite of the global overcapacity being more than 100%, Norway and the other OECD countries continue to subsidize the building of new fishing vessels. As an example, the Norwegian Government has provided the fishery giant Resource Group International (RGI) with either direct subsidies, or guarantees of support, totaslling more than 300 million NOK for the building of new fishing vessels.
  

THE PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH TO FISHERIES.

Lack of knowledge about the complex marine ecosystem is, and in the forseeable future will be, the largest obstacle for a good management. To alleviate this problem it is a prerequisite that all management is based on the precautionary approach. The purpose of this approach is to ensure a management which does not harm the ecosystem or any of the individual marine species. It is the responsibility of the managing authority and those who harvest the resource to document that the harvest does not subject the ecosystem to irreversible damage(3).

The precautionary approach must be the basis for managing the exploitation of marine resources. Combined with knowledge based on appropriate research on the marine ecosystem and the individual species, a management plan based on the precautionary approach can form the foundation of a sustainable harvesting of marine resources. The implementation of the precautionary approach demands that the fish stocks are allowed to recover to, and be maintained at relatively abundant levels. The approach is proactive - harvesting of the resources must not be so intensive as to seriously distort the marine food web. It is not, in other words, sufficient that a management plan avoids the collapse of a stock.