How To Save Our Coastal Seas

None of us have seen the sea the way the sea should be. There used to be so much more life off our shores. We used to catch more fish and bigger fish than we do today. The cause of this decline is no mystery. We've been catching too many fish. Since the Second World War, our industrial fishing fleets have multiplied and we've become smarter at finding and catching fish. This has exhausted key fish populations and pushed many more to the brink. For every 10 large fish that should be swimming in our oceans, there's only one today. Scientists warn that if we continue, 90% of all fish stocks will be overfished by 2050. But this is one global problem that is very solvable. Thanks to the special nature of fish. Most coastal fish grow fast and have lots of young. In fact, fish never stop growing. And as a fish grows bigger, it has exponentially more young. More older fish in the sea would mean lots and lots more fish in the sea. And ultimately, lots more of the creatures that eat fish too. The solution to overfishing is therefore simple. We need to stop fishing in many of the places where fish breed and grow big. In marine reserves around the world, fish numbers have bounced back. Protected inside marine reserves, fish can grow old and big, producing many, many more fish. There is no physical barrier around marine reserves, so soon the surrounding waters start to fill with fish too. This overspill of fish is very important for the local fishermen. It provides a steady supply for their nets without reducing the core of breeding fish. And so, although the reserves leave the fishermen with fewer places to fish, they can actually catch more fish than they used to. At the moment, only 7% of our oceans are given any protection. Scientists recommend we increase that to some 30% to ensure our seas regain their abundance. As for where we continue to fish, science can also help us to avoid stocks collapsing. The exact solution varies from one fish stock to another. But for any population of fish, there is an optimum number to catch. It's the most fish we can remove, while still leaving enough fish to breed and replenish what we've taken. When we take more than that, although our initial catches may be high, we reduce the breeding stock, so there are fewer fish to catch next time. And even less after that. Over the past decades, we've launched more and bigger boats to chase fewer and fewer fish. We've been chasing short-term profits at the expense of future catches. A better future is achievable if we limit the places where we fish by creating a network of marine reserves. And if we collectively reduce the time and money we spend chasing fish, fish numbers will bounce back, which is good news for fishermen. They could actually spend less time working, but catch more fish. Globally, we could increase profits by US$53 billion per year. And we could keep catching this amount of fish forever. We could feed more people, breathe life back into coastal economies, and our coastal seas will regain their richness and their wonder.