Commentary by Bili Rubin
The BBC have produced some very informative articles regarding fish stocks and in particular, the decline of some of the major stocks. Richard Black described in April 2007 how seafood species have been in decline since the 50's (see Action Urged On Illegal Fishing )
This problem of overfishing and the illegalityof taking stocks from areas in recovery has to be read in context with the growth of population. Whilst the population is in growth mode, we are expected to survive on lesser quantities of fish. This is a signal of major importance because it dictates that we need to change our habits. Where we once enjoyed a plentiful supply of fish, the stocks and availability will decline to the extent that fish will no longer be part of the staple diet of many of us. There are those who say 'eat meat or vegetables' but these sources also carry with them problems of availability which will present an even greater strain on the supply chain. Regretably, the situation can only get worse over time and the vacuum created by the lack of one source of food can only put pressure on the remaining sources. There are also problems in 2007 with the booming industry of biofuels, diverting growing resources to agriproducts intended not to feed people but to fuel their transport systems. This has already caused food shortages and those shortages have been most seen in South America where some flour based products have doubled in price within a year. This is a typical reflection of the market economy which the world favours, but it has taken flour based foods from the staple arena into the luxury arena and this has already had a political influence in South America.
There has never been and as far as we are aware, there are no intentions to introduce limits of any kind on subsistence fishing which is a labour intensive method and does not use technology. However, the fact that subsistence fishing is allowed, does not guarantee that there will be fish to catch.
Because the BBC have produced a graph showing that 100% of seafood stocks will not be viable at some time before 2050, we can revisit the BBC and we will from time to time include data provided by them.