When the oceans are plundered The nineties may well be remembered as the decade that the crisis in world fishing first hit. For the 200 million people, mainly from developing countries, who depend on diverse thriving aquatic ecosystems for their livelihoods, the consequences have been most severe. Since the fifties the world's fishing fleet has been growing, reaching a peak between 1970 and 1989 when fleets grew at twice the rate of fish landings. Ever more sophisticated technology is carried by larger vessels and bigger fleets producing more waste. As fish become scarcer, prices increase and the international fish market expands to new grounds.
Exports increase more than production and internal fish consumption decreases.
The average fish consumption in the North is triple that of the South, even though fish constitutes a more important part of the diet in many areas in the South, particularly Asia. In the long term, both North and South, the intensification of fishing activities results in small-scale, inshore fishermen being pushed aside. Although global fish catches have steadily increased since the fifties, up to the 116 million tons produced in 1996, there are numerous signs that this trend is unsustainable. There is no shortage of indications that something fishy is indeed happening to our oceans. Just a couple of examples may help to give an idea of the depth of the problem.