0.19 Natural capital: fisheries  (Page 2/14)

In the worst case, world fisheries were moving toward complete collapse before 2050. We will see that the most important overexploited fisheries suffer from overfishing resulting from the “Tragedy of the Commons”. Without regulation, without clear and secure property rights. As a result, “individuals maximize their own welfare by a series of decisions that result in overexploitation. Once again: a resource that belongs to everyone belongs to no one. The rise of farm-grown fisheries may however, delay or even forestall this collapse.

Other factors contribute to overfishing, however. These include in some nations subsidies to diesel fuel (used by most fishing boats). This is not a trivial matter. To land one metric ton of shrimp and lobster requires 2,923 liters of diesel fuel. Science, August 1, 2014, Vol. 345, p. 494. Another major cause of depletion of fish stocks has been inappropriate regulation of by-catch, (the unwanted species caught when fishing for other species). Finally, many existing regulations in fishing are perverse. With a common pool of resources (the ocean) fishermen will “continue to fish as long as the value of [the] catch exceeds the cost of catching it”. Beddington et al., “Current Problems in the Management of Marine Fisheries”, Science, June 22, 2007, Vol.316, p.1713. But this kind of fishing is unsustainable. As a result, the cumulative amount of fish caught exceeds the sustainable level and jeopardizes future fish stocks. Over time, several different solutions have been proposed in order to try to resolve this problem. We will discuss ITQ’s as one attractive option (Individual Transferable Quotes).

In discussions of sustainable use of resources including fisheries, the aim must be not only to facilitate more “efficiency in the ecosystem,” but also more “equity in the ecosystem.” And, as we have seen in forests or with water and will see time and again, one doesn’t get very far in improving efficient use of the ecosystems unless something is also done about equity especially in poorer nations. This means that as with natural resources as forests, water or fisheries we must consider always the interests of the poverty-stricken, the landless poor, and the small-scale fishers.

Here again we see how interdependencies matter greatly in economics. What is done in energy affects the global climate which affects what happens in water. What is done in energy and water , especially in measures to deal with climate change, have very great effects on the world’s fisheries . Evaluating measures affecting energy and water without also considering their effects on fisheries in not good ecology and not good economics. That is one of the most important lessons you may take away from this book. Another lesson is that economic and scientific issues are involved. It is to be hoped that by the time you finish reading this chapter, you will be prepared to identify and explain inter-relationships between sustainable energy use, deforestation, water scarcity and quality and fisheries depletion.