Professor warns that British fishery will collapse

[DavidPT40]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2456493.ece

This article says that the British fishery is being overfished.. Whats really interesting in this article though, is that the British have kept fish records since 1850. It shows the drop in fish populations since then. The percentages were amazing:

Fall in species since 1850:

Cod 98%
Haddock 90%
Plaice 90%
Whiting 70%
Halibut 98%
Turbot 95%

Now my question is this. Here in this landlocked state of mine, the Fish and Wildlife Department combats the overfishing of lakes and rivers by having various hatcheries. They stock juvenile bass, trout, catfish, sauger, and other species. Wouldn't it be possible, on a large scale, to rejuvinate fish stocks by using hatcheries to produce food fishes such as the ones above?

 

[Kim]

This article says that the British are overfishing.

No it doesn't. It says that the British fisheries are being overfished.

 

[dive_lover88]

Don't mind me saying this. But honestly i think that it's not a matter of whether it will fail, but it's a matter of when.

 

[DavidPT40]

I did go back re-read the article. One important point I missed was the recommendation for an independent science council to determine fishing levels. I think this is a great idea.

 

[archman]

One key difference between stating that "british are overfishing" and "british fisheries are being overfished" is that british aren't confined to their own territorial waters, nor even their EEZ.

To fishermen, the distinction is clear. One statement is worded as a blanket blame *smear* (subjective), while the other alludes directly to the issue (objective).

The latter is more accurate, but more importantly, it's *nicer*.

*******************
To the original question, using hatcheries to enhance saltwater stocks could be a very good option. It's been done in the U.S. extensively, particularly with salmon. I believe we've also tried it with red snapper. There are complications involved with hatchery growout and release which could preclude it's efficacy, but hatcheries may certainly be a leading way to help out.

 

[lishen]

if you want to learn more about the difference between the two, i'd recommend "End of the Line". It really opened my eyes towards the fishing industry!

Also, the Marine Stewardship Council Website has some good information and the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a nice printable guide to fish consumption (ex. which fisheries are sustainably fished and which ones aren't)

 

[DavidPT40]

Thanks for the differation archman. I find it humorous (but acceptable) to state "the fishery is being overfished" rather "so&so is overfishing".

On a better note, my local library has the book lishen recommended, so I don't have to buy it used from Amazon.co for $85.

 

[Hank49]

*******************
To the original question, using hatcheries to enhance saltwater stocks could be a very good option. It's been done in the U.S. extensively, particularly with salmon. I believe we've also tried it with red snapper. There are complications involved with hatchery growout and release which could preclude it's efficacy, but hatcheries may certainly be a leading way to help out.

Has that been done into marine environments? I know the Coho was successfully introduced into the Great Lakes (Michigan in particular) back in the 60s or 70s to eat the alewives, which were dying in mass on the beaches after they were introduced to eat the sea lamprey larvae, which were growing up and killing all the lake trout.
I remember the near Frankfurt, Michigan back in ....68 or so? You could smell the lake for miles away from the dead alewives.
But I would guess some species may do well after introduction, depending on available food and cover etc, and others may just serve as food with a very low survival rate.

 

[archman]

With Atlantic salmon, there was (or maybe still is) a pretty hefty hatchery program in the New England area. I don't recall how effective that was, but it's not new.

Hatchery techniques for Red Snapper were worked out in the mid-1990's.

And there was an experimental hatchery for Cobia in Florida a few years back (maybe still around). The juveniles were sent to ocean pens in the Bahamas for rearing. The pen in Eleuthera was moved due to too many sharks getting into the cage, or something to that effect.

I think somebody has been fooling around with bonefish, too.

Ooh, I guess flounder and drums are farmed too.
http://aquanic.org/publicat/state/al/Alabama_mariculture.htm

Isn't there like a big *fad* right now in oceanic pens? Those fishes are initially coming from hatcheries, right?


I suppose one major problem using hatcheries to help replenish fish stocks is that *someone* has to pay for them. I doubt government is going to want to step in on such large scales when a much cheaper and more obvious solution (reducing landings) is available.

Also, one well-known difficulty with marine hatchery releases is that the fishes don't respect national boundaries. The specimens one nation's hatchery releases could grow up and be caught in some other nation's fishery. That was a major complaint regarding the Atlantic Salmon hatcheries back in the day.

 

[Hank49]

Someone is attempting to farm Cobia here in Belize. They were getting the fry from Florida, perhaps the one you mentioned. The plan was for pens but I heard they were trying pond culture also. I've eaten some of the cultured cobia and it is good....reeeeeaaaal good. My wife told the kids it was pork and they believed it for a little while because it was so fatty.
I think hatchery rearing and release is really a government type contribution (if they have money) for sport fishing and tourism etc. As far as harvesting back what you release....I doubt it's cost effective at all. It costs me $1,500 to produce a million baby shrimp. What percent would I recover from the wild if I released them? One would be high? So I get 10,000 shrimp (18/lb at $1.60/lb whole) $890, not counting labor for recovery, transport etc etc.