There are many sharks being fished The point of extinction, and yet one of the proposed solutions – sustainable shark fisheries – has largely failed to catch on.
The sudden closure of the first eco-certified Shark Fishery in the world is the subject of a new paper that explores possible reasons.
A Canadian fishery for Pacific Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyiMarine Stewardship Council, based in British Columbia, became the first sustainable shark fishing certification by the Marine Stewardship Council.
The council Aims to end overfishingBy making it easier, Customers should “identify wild-caught certified sustainable seafood” and “choose this.” It is important to note that wild-caught seafood does not necessarily qualify as sustainable.In 2014, the BC Fishery quietly revoked its certification after only a few short years.
The dogfish is one of the most abundant species of sharks. If their populations are managed and controlled, they could become extinct. Food crops that can be responsibly harvested.
Today, the global demand for meat from this species is only growing,Dogfish populations are thriving in BC.
Why are fishermen in BC throwing back sharks when they catch them now? 95 percent of dogfish quotas for this fishery are still in the ocean today.
The marine biologist Catherine MacDonald and shark researcher David Shiffman teamed up with Charles Bangley to investigate what happened. They spoke to locals on Vancouver Island in BC and government officials and read media, government, scientific, and non-profit reports.
They concluded that the BC fishery collapsed “A thousand cutsNot for any specific reason.
Around 2013, an ‘oblique’ of warm water swept across the Pacific Northwest of North America. great sufferingOcean life in the area.
At this time, the environmental campaigns could have made shoppers less likely to buy shark products even if they were eco-certified.
Fisheries in BC also use individual fishing quotas, which can be purchased, sold or leased. This left small fishing companies at a disadvantage when compared with larger firms, which wanted to maximize their profits at all costs.
Dogfishes are not the most costly fishes you can catch. Shiffman, along with his colleagues, say this probably played a part in the closure of BC’s dogfish processor.
This seems to be the final straw.
Researchers found that landing dogfish was pointless if there were no wholesalers or processors to buy, process and distribute them. This was true even though the market was strong and the supply was at its highest level. Explaining the Differences.
When dogfish is caught in BC they are normally shipped overseas to places such as South Korea, France and the United States of America. They are also sent to India, Kazakhstan.
Shipping costs money and reduces profit margins. This makes it difficult to compete with Atlantic dogfish that is much closer to Europe.
One interviewer said, “Making sustainable products doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a customer base.” You can tell them by clicking on the linkShiffman and co-workers.
A former processor You can agree to this by clicking here.: “If there was a market for it people would still be fishing … there’s no market for it anymore.”
Maybe that’s no longer true. Eco-friendly food is more popular than it used to be a decade back.
A representative of MSC who was interviewed by Shiffman and colleagues said that sustainability is now a powerful tool in marketing. Particularly when consumers start to understand the magnitude of the problem. Every year, Sharks are estimated to number 73,000,000International fishing markets are awash with fish. Extinction of many species is a threat.
There are sustainable shark fisheries that can be used to satisfy our shark appetite. The largest sharks are the ones that have been caught. The shark fishery industry in the United States todayMSC has eco-certified a spiny dogfish conservation project on the East Coast.
On a global scale, this is the exception and not the rule. OSharks account for 90 percent of all shark catches The 2017 assessment of biological sustainability.
Although the market for shark meat that is eco-friendly hasn’t yet been fully realized, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will never be.
The study has been published in Fish Biology.
