Depth of the Economy

In the previous blogs we've discussed what is overfishing and its effects. In this blog we're going to discuss the economic impact that overfishing has on society.

Let's run some numbers:
Bluefin tuna are found in the Mediterranean Sea, Western Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean and are used in most sushi restaurants in Japan and New York.
On average a bluefin tuna grows to about 6.5ft and weighs 550 pounds. One tuna sells for $15 to $45 a pound and therefore, on average, cost anywhere between US$8,250 (TT$50,325) and US$24,750 (TT$$150,975). With these numbers in mind, we can start to see why these animals are highly prized and sought after.Bluefin tuna can take up to 12 years to reach sexual maturity and at this age they the ideal size for fishermen to catch and obtain a substantially large pay check. However what isn't taken to mind is that these fish have either never spawned before or have spawned once maybe three times in their lifetime and therefore a perfectly healthy fish and many other lives are killed when one mature tuna is killed.

Fig1: Processing of a Bluefin tuna by Scott Smith (bluefin tuna sampling).

Another species of animal that is in great danger of going extinct are sharks. On average 100 million sharks are killed annually for their fins. This is equal to approximately, 1,923,077 sharks a week, 274,725 a day, 11,447 sharks an hour, 191 sharks a minute or 3 sharks per second. No matter how you look at it sharks are being exploited, mainly for their fins. On average sharks take between 7 and 10 years to reach sexual maturity and therefore most are killed before they can reproduce. Some may ask why are shark fins so valuable and not the rest of its body? This is because the fin of a shark can be sold for up to $100 a pound or more, for example the pectoral fin of a whale shark can sell for up to US$100,000 and a basking sharks can sell for US$250,000, while the rest of its body doesn't yield nearly half of that. Another reason is that the body of a shark contains urea, mercury, lead and arsenic which are hazardous to the human body.
Shark fin soup is a delicacy in China that sells for $100 a bowl. Shark fins are rather tasteless and the soup is therefore flavored with another type of broth such as chicken. The fins are used to add texture to the dish.
In order to obtain the shark fins the sharks first have to be caught. After this the fins are removed from the shark while it is still alive and then its body is thrown back into the ocean most often alive. This animal then has to endure a slow death by either drowning because it ant get oxygenated water into its gills or by being eaten alive by other fish and or sharks.

Fig2: Shark fins laid out to dry in Hong Kong. Photo by Antony Dickson.

Photo source

Fig3: A dead shark on the bottom of the ocean after being finned.

(Photo from http://www.chinatownology.com/shark_fin_soup.html)

The Patagonian Toothfish or Chilean Seabass, is another marine animal that has been overfished. These fish are found in Patagonia South America with the adults living near the bottom (approximately 3800 meters below the surface) and feeding on other smaller fish. These fish can grow up to 2 meters in length and 200 pounds and take approximately 8 to 10 years to reach sexual maturity. These fish cost around US$4.55 (TT$ 27.76) per pound which is US$910 (TT$5,551) per fish. You may be wondering how are these fish exploited if they live so far down in the ocean? These fish are mainly caught by longline ( use of a long, branched fishing line) in deep waters and sometimes by trawling, which as we discussed in a previous blog also harms the coral and marine ecosystem in the long run. However, measures have been put in the place that have allowed these fish to replenish themselves. such measures include limiting the amount of fish that can be caught legally at any one time and all Patagonian toothfish sold in Australia are to be documented.

Fig4: Tray of dead Patagonian toothfish from Huffington post UK.

With these numbers in mind we can see why fishing is such a huge industry and why it is beneficial in many lives. However, with the rapid decline of edible marine life the fish industry has been taking loss after loss for several years. In the past three decades overfishing has caused the global fish markets to lose approximately US $2 trillion ( TT $12,200,000,000,000) which is approximately, US $50 billion (TT $305,000,000,000) annually. This is no small loss and has not only impacted fisheries but the overall economic status of most countries. This loss has been a direct hit to fishermen, their families, and especially the larger fishing corporations. Many people will say that they have caused this demise on themselves which may be true but at the end of the day they aren't the only ones affected. When money is lost one place it has to be taken from another and this other source is tourism. Many people visit or tour most countries that have beaches for the beaches and culture, but what beaches are we going to have if we don't have any fish and coral reefs? What are we going to eat when all of our marine resources are gone and cannot be replenished? These are just some of the questions that we, the inhabitants of earth, have to ask ourselves before we delve into the abyss of blue that surrounds our homes.

References:

• Cost of bluefin- https://www.howmuchisit.org/bluefin-tuna-cost/
• Size of bluefin tuna- https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bluefin-tuna
• Dangers of shark meat- https://www.sharksider.com/shark-meat-delicacy-dangerous/
• Patagonian- http://goodfishbadfish.com.au/?fish=patagonian-toothfish
• Size of Patagonian- https://oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-fishes/patagonian-toothfish
• Cost of Patagonian- http://thefishproject.weebly.com/iuu-fishing-of-the-patagonian-toothfish.html
• Amount of money fishing industry losses- http://overfishingdilemma.weebly.com/costs-of-overfishing.html