One of the main contributors to the overfishing problem is the open nature of fisheries. There are very few boundaries, property rights or restrictions that say how much fish is allowed to be taken, so the fisheries have no incentive of leaving any fish in the water. They have virtually unlimited amount of fish, with little rules to abide by.
The government also have little ability of management oversight, their regulations and tracking the fisheries' activities. It has been a problem since the industry has first started; it is so hard to track what is happening on the sea. It is a bigger problem in the high seas, and the country boundaries, as there are even less international rules.
Due to the fact that there is very little policing on the seas, illegally fishing is a daily practice at most fisheries. It occurs in both the international and local seas, and both big and small fisheries. Illegally caught fish adds up to about 20% of the world's catch, and, in some fisheries, could be up to 50%.
The fisheries also have very little knowledge on fish and their population, so they do not know the impacts of what they are doing. They also have up to two and a half times the amount of boats needed for the current demand, therefore they are catching more fish than is needed.
To add to all of this, there are very few protected areas, and those protection areas are yet again loosely policed. Only 1.6% of the sea has been labelled as marine protected areas (MPA's). If you compare this average to the average amount of protected forest land in the world the difference is outstanding.
Despite all of these factors, the real reason behind the overfishing crisis is the fact that the seas are loosely policed, and there are very few regulations in place.
The government also have little ability of management oversight, their regulations and tracking the fisheries' activities. It has been a problem since the industry has first started; it is so hard to track what is happening on the sea. It is a bigger problem in the high seas, and the country boundaries, as there are even less international rules.
Due to the fact that there is very little policing on the seas, illegally fishing is a daily practice at most fisheries. It occurs in both the international and local seas, and both big and small fisheries. Illegally caught fish adds up to about 20% of the world's catch, and, in some fisheries, could be up to 50%.
The fisheries also have very little knowledge on fish and their population, so they do not know the impacts of what they are doing. They also have up to two and a half times the amount of boats needed for the current demand, therefore they are catching more fish than is needed.
To add to all of this, there are very few protected areas, and those protection areas are yet again loosely policed. Only 1.6% of the sea has been labelled as marine protected areas (MPA's). If you compare this average to the average amount of protected forest land in the world the difference is outstanding.
Despite all of these factors, the real reason behind the overfishing crisis is the fact that the seas are loosely policed, and there are very few regulations in place.