Are WE part of the problems with overfishing?

Well I'm a bit late jumping in on this, but undoubtably scientists, researchers and divers/photographers/videographers/reporters do provide information that is highly valued by long liners and other commercial fishing operators.

 

As some of you may already know we ran a Porbeagle research trip last year in the UK and we initially guarded the exact locations that were surveyed very close to our chest. Yet somehow, someway within 2 weeks of running the expedition a long liner was working in exactly the same spot that we had seen sharks. Coincidence? No.

 

Commercial fishing is a business and as resources dwindle information on stock locations and movements becomes more and more valuable. As an industry commercial fishing is out of control and unless heavily regulated it almost always eventually leads to massive depletion and in some circumstances complete collapse of the targeted species. It's happened for the last 400 years or more so this is nothing new, yet as a species we just don't seem to want to learn. A good farmer looks after his lifestock and his land because he knows that his living depends on it. A good gamekeeper does the same. Why it should be so different for our oceans has always baffled me and it continues to do so.

 

Locally you can protect some coastal and continental shelf areas from over exploitation, but how do you legislate and patrol what goes on with pelagic fisheries? Roll in lack of political will to alienate whole communities who's votes you depend on for re-election and it is a vicious ever decreasing circle. Through history commercial fishing only leaves a species alone when it becomes uneconomical to fish it. The same will happen to sharks. Yes we probably should watch what we say and to whom we say it, but ultimately it will make little difference to the reality of the situation. It makes me want to cry with frustration and at times it does make me despondent, but it wont make me stop trying to save them, even if I end up on the loosing side.

 

Sorry for the rant.

 

Cheers, Simon

A rant but a heart felt and true rant... Its all down to money in the end... We are a virus and we rape this planet... But one day it will backfire and we will be in deep shite... Lets just hope our children or their children do not suffer too much at our stupidity...

Cheers Simon

Dive safe

DeanB