Empty nets a shock to Asia's fishermen
Pastor Dale Morgan
Empty nets a shock to Asia's fishermen*
13 May 2007 23:04:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Jalil Hamid
KUALA MUDA, Malaysia, May 14 (Reuters) - The old adage 'there are plenty
more fish in the sea' no longer rings true for Malaysian fisherman
Shafie Said.
"These days, we have to go farther offshore and into deeper waters to
fish," said Shafie, aged 39, his face weather beaten after 16 years
sailing tropical waters in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of northwest
Malaysia.
"Sometimes we return empty handed," Shafie said sadly.
It is a story told across Asia by millions of fishermen who ply the
region's seas to bring home their main, and often only, source of income.
A staple in Asia with its extensive coastlines and poor populations,
seafood provides up to 70 percent of the animal protein intake of most
Asians.
But the tide is turning as fish stocks in Asia have declined by 70
percent in the past 25 years, says Stephen Hall, head of WorldFish, a
non-profit research body based in northern Malaysia.
"We are taking far too many fishes out of the sea and not leaving enough
there to grow and re-generate," Hall said at his seaside office on the
Malaysian resort island of Penang.
Compounding the problem is global warming, which will bring rising sea
levels, higher sea-surface temperatures, higher salinity and greater
weather extremes from droughts to storms.
Scientists predict mean sea levels will rise by 10-90 cm (4-35 inches)
over this century, with most estimates in the range of 30-50 cm (12-20
inches).
"This will likely damage or destroy many coastal ecosystems such as
mangroves and salt marshes, which are essential to maintaining many wild
fish stocks," explained a WorldFish report.
Warming seas are changing fish migration patterns with some fish heading
south and others moving north, damaging entire ecosystems and affecting
reproduction and replenishment rates.
Scientists in Australia are already warning of a massive decline in fish
along the country's eastern seaboard with marine life such as yellow-fin
tuna and stinging jellyfish moving towards Antarctica as sea waters warm.
"It's not a disaster for the ones that can move south. It is for the
ones that can't move south," Dr Alistair Hobday, the lead author of a
recent report from the CSIRO, Australia's premier scientific
institution, told Reuters recently.
FAVOURITE FOOD
Researchers say the implications of the global overfishing crisis are
greater for Asia than any other part of the world. Fish is a vital part
of food security, employment and income in the region.
But while the number of fish in the sea is dropping dramatically, the
demand for fish is rising as populations grow.
The Asian Development Bank has predicted that demand for fish in Asia
will continue to rise, reaching 69 million tonnes by 2010 and accounting
for 60 per cent of the world demand for fish for human consumption,
compared to 53 per cent in 1990.
China with its 1.3 billion population and growing affluence is expanding
its fish consumption, especially for expensive reef fish sold live at
restaurants.
In the Philippines, a major source of reef fish, 90 percent of fish
stocks have been depleted, conservation group WWF said. Divers report
seeing lifeless reefs in areas that were once teeming with fish.
Last December, Philippine authorities rescued more than 1,000 endangered
humphead wrasse from poachers. The reef fish, which can sell for as much
as $200 per kilo, are adored by diners in China because their large lips
are considered a delicacy.
In India, turtles get caught up in their thousands in trawler nets and
nesting sites such as Devi -- where tens of thousands of Olive Ridley
turtles would nest in a single night -- are becoming devoid of turtles.
A shark species called "Karat hangar" has already vanished off the coast
of Bangladesh along with sea-horses and other fish.
FISHERMEN'S LIVELIHOOD AT RISK
And it's not just the environment that is at risk.
Fishermen in Asia and across the Indian Ocean in Africa are economically
vulnerable to the decline in fish stocks, which directly affects their
livelihoods, local economies and diet.
Poor and often uneducated, many are unaware of the need to help marine
life rejuvenate by throwing back immature fish and avoiding catching
turtles and other sea creatures in nets.
"Fishers need to reduce their reliance on narrow resources by learning
to exploit a broader range of species and pursue alternative sources of
income and fish production such as marine and aquaculture," Hall explained.
But teaching the world's estimated 29 million fishermen about
sustainable fishing is an enormous task, especially as many live in
countries where education systems are poor, poverty endemic and where
there is little investment in aquaculture projects.
WorldFish suggests governments enforce tighter controls over fishing
such as ceilings on the number of boats allowed to operate in certain
areas and institute a vessel registration system. But enforcing such a
system may be close to impossible.
Another solution is expanding fish farms in Asia. But these require
significant investment as well as a successful campaign to convince
fishermen to change their lifestyles from plying the seas for fish to
raising them in ponds on land.
Bangladesh, one of the most impoverished countries in the world, relies
on fish for about 80 percent of its national animal protein intake. Yet
the fish are disappearing, leaving Bangladeshi fishermen baffled and
their incomes dropping.
"Many fish species have vanished and our prime catch of silvery Hisha is
also dwindling," said fisherman Suleman Miah.
"The golden days of fishing are gone. (Additional reporting by Anis
Ahmed in Dhaka)