Fishing and Tragedy of the Commons
Fishing is one of the oldest crafts of mankind. World Ocean with its potential resources in the last decade grows attention of the international community. The use of marine living resources of the ocean (fisheries) is one of the most dynamic and constantly evolving areas of cooperation of the States concerned, various international organizations, research institutes and private companies (Clover, 2005). World crop of fish and marine water bodies exceeds 150 million tons per year, providing up to 25% of the consumption of animal protein in the diet of every person on the planet. Fisheries and aquaculture sector is an important source of livelihood, full of food and economic opportunities, which plays a key role in addressing one of the most important global issues of food security of the population, which by 2050 will rise to 9.6 billion people (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014).
In this regard, as well as considering the transition of most countries to a market economy, tough competition for natural resources in the oceans as an important component of the food security of a State increases. The deterioration of the health of the global ocean threatens the well-being and livelihoods of coastal communities around the world as well as hundreds of millions of jobs that are associated with those dependent on the state of the world’s ocean industries such as tourism, fishing, boating and biotechnology (Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, 2012).
Another important problem world fisheries face is the reliable assessment of the status of stocks of marine living resources and the clarification of the main factors affecting the dynamics of their population in time and space in different areas of the oceans, including the 200-mile economic zones of coastal States. Such a global assessment should be carried out at least once in 4-5 years, based on extensive research conducted on a national basis and in the framework of multilateral international programs (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014). From the data published in the literature on these issues, it follows that:
Firstly, in many regions of the ocean, where the fishing is carried out without sufficient effective management and reporting of scientific advice, there is a reduction in fish stocks and even their long-term depression (Clover, 2005);
Secondly, there are certain provisions in improving the use of traditional fishing sites, as well as new objects at the expense of optimal management of resources and rational management of fisheries. Existing in the nature economic relations that are at their violation may be irreversible should be taken into account (Holmes, 2011);
Third, the basic means of production – fishing fleet, coastal infrastructure, as well as international trade in fishery products and seafood, demand in many countries the modernization and improvement of the management based on the latest achievements of scientific and technical progress and, consequently, substantial investment (Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, 2012);
Fourth, those coastal States that have the remainder of the allowable catch in their 200-mile economic zones can get additional funds for the development of their own fishing by providing access to their use by other interested States. Naturally, such access to fisheries’ resources should be implemented on the basis of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 and within reasonable economic limits, ensuring the profitability of the fishery and the mutual benefit of the parties (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014).
The scale of the problem of overfishing is often underestimated, especially against the background of comparable problems such as deforestation, desertification, unsustainable energy use and other factors of depletion of biological diversity. The fast increase in necessity for fish and fish goods has led to rapid increase in the price of fish compared to an increase in meat prices. Therefore, investment in fishing is more attractive for private businesses as well as for government agencies around the world that causes serious damage to small-scale fisheries, and communities that depend on fishing. In recent years, the North Atlantic commercial stocks of cod, hake, redfish and flounder declined by as much as 95%, and therefore called for crucial actions. Some recommendations include even to – by the bemusement of fishermen – a complete ban on the fishing of certain species of fish to restore fish stocks (United Nations, n.d.).
It is worth mentioning that falling numbers of sharks have significant impact on the marine ecosystem: it can lead to an increase in the number of fish downstream in the food chain, which in turn may lead to disastrous consequences for the population of these very small forms of marine life as plankton. The absence of tiny creatures threatens the entire system falls (Clover, 2005).
Thus, in the extremely depleted zones, the only way to recover stocks is to establish reserve, where any fishing is prohibited. In other areas, the appropriate supervision of compliance with quotas is required, namely fishing vessels may be subject to licensing and equipment tracking devices, so they cannot deviate in legally protected areas; spot checks on fish for its size and species composition can be carried out; even fish can be labeled to make the authorities and consumers confident in the security environment of production method (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014).
References
Clover, Ch. (2005). The End Of The Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat. London: Ebury Press.
Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science (2012). The Threats of Overfishing: Consequences at the Commercial Level. Retrieved 11 March 2012 from http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/winter-2012/the-threats-of-overfishing-consequences-at-the-commercial-level#.Vpp8r9LhDMx [Accessed: 16 January 2016]
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2014). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture: Opportunities and Challenges. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e.pdf [Accessed: 16 January 2016]
Holmes, B. (2011). Overfishing Eats Away at Genetic Diversity of Fish. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20699-overfishing-eats-away-at-genetic-diversity-of-fish.html [Accessed: 16 January 2016]
United Nations (n.d.). Overfishing: a threat to marine biodiversity. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/events/tenstories/06/story.asp?storyID=800 [Accessed: 16 January 2016]
