Empty Sea, Silent Sea

I would like to follow up a bit on Jimmy’s post below about fish consumption, and how serious a sustainability question it has become. Management of fisheries, and regulation of international fish markets, has proven to be among the most intractable of environmental issues.

This past week, the New York Times started a series of articles called Empty Seas (which also appeared on the front page of the International Herald Tribune), looking at fish consumption in Europe and other issues related to unsustainable fishing practices. I was astounded to read that in London, cod can fetch $30 per kilo! If demand and supply is such that the price of such a staple fish can climb so high, it is difficult to be optimistic on the prospect of sustainable fisheries, in Europe or elsewhere, as the market for fish has reached a global level; great demand and high prices in one region can be answered by fishing fleets from any number of nations (for example, in Empty Seas, it is discussed how Chinese vessels catch fish off the coast of Africa to satisfy demand from the European market).

The Empty Seas article series also calls to mind Isabella Lövin’s award-winning book Tyst Hav (“Silent Sea”), on unsustainable fishing practices in the Baltic Sea and beyond. So far only available in Swedish, the book will likely at some point be translated to English. (Ms. Lövin will be the studio guest on the Think Globaly Radio program on February 10th to discuss these issues in greater depth.)

Aggregate demand for fish and meat can only rise as worldwide population and wealth increases. If fish consumption must be reduced to sustainable levels (or switched to species that are currently more abundant or better managed), where can the substitutes come from to make up the difference? As Jimmy pointed out, the day to day decisions of consumers, which drive markets, are the building blocks of sustainable consumption that cannot be underestimated.

Structural factors, such as government subsidies to fishing fleets, which fuel over-capacity and drive unsustainable fishing practices, also need to be taken into consideration. This is discussed in a NY Times editorial, which suggests addressing the problem through international trade talks at the World Trade Organization. Such policies that cause unintended negative consequences are sometimes called "perverse incentives" and in this case have led to a situation where "too many boats are chasing too few fish".

/Eric