Fishery managers are obsessed with overfishing, to the point where fish are wasted, or worse.
For example, there are so many dogfish off New England they have been a nuisance for several years. They drive other fish off their bottom, feed on other stocks with no regard for biomass targets, and they interfere with fishing efforts targeting more valuable species by taking bait, gnawing on hooked fish, and plugging trawls.
NMFS has increased the dogfish quota, though not nearly enough. As a result, the fishery shut down this week until November.
Brian Rothschild, the dean emeritus of the UMass School of Marine Science and Technology, told the Standard-Times newspaper of New Bedford, Mass., that dogfish may have reached the saturation point, and observed, “One has to wonder about an ecosystem that has such a dominant number of small sharks.”
On the brighter side, the proliferation of the once overfished dogfish speaks to the resilience of the oceans, especially when you consider that dogs have the longest gestation period of any vertebrate in the world.
Another species that has surprised many is the swordfish. Tune into the Discovery Channel fish opera “Swords,” and look at the size of the fish being stacked in the fish holds. You’ll come away with a good feeling about the fishery.
And how about those Fraser River sockeyes? Twenty-five million have returned this year in the biggest run since 1913. In light of last year’s 2 million-fish Fraser showing, doomsayers believe it’s a blip. Blip or bounce, it speaks to the ability of the ocean to produce fish.
It should be clear that fishing is but one factor affecting marine ecosystems. That doesn’t mean we should play fast and loose in our management efforts, but it does suggest that failing to maximize the economic benefits of production is as wasteful in its own way as overfishing is.
Thank you for your time.
Jerry Fraser
Editor & Publisher, National Fisherman
www.nationalfisherman.com
