Fishing For Good News

Marine scientists who focus on the world's fisheries are taking a fresh look at the oceans this week and finding them half full instead of half empty.

From a new study, and one which sees far more good than one released by the same group three years ago, we learn that improved fisheries management and stewardship procedures are having measurable effects. Many marine ecosystems recently seen as doomed are in fact now showing signs of recovery.

Led by Dalhousie University marine ecologist Boris Worm, the study involved comparing caught biomass versus potential biomass production in several regions of the world. And whereas this same group's report in 2006 warned of a possible collapse in world fisheries, just three years later they are already seeing signs of rebound.

Study authors point to catch limits, improved equipment and the establishment of preserves and no-fish zones as leading to the apparent turn-around.

The study certainly warns against complacency -- particularly off the coasts of Africa, where overfishing is commonplace. In fact, more than 60 percent of the species surveyed in the new study are being harvested at rates faster than nature's ability to replenish and replace.

However, the good news is that signs of doom have given way to signs of hope in three short years. Corrective measures, where implemented, have largely been effective.

(Photo courtesy of Pacific Sardine by Tewy, via Wikimedia Commons)