Special to Enviroblog by Renee Sharp, Director, EWG California Office
This week, EWG published a peer-reviewed paper on fishing subsidies that was almost four years in the making. Sound boring? Think again.
First, there is the plain fact that the world's oceans are in serious peril. If the overload of press recent press stories weren't enough to convince you, then these stark numbers should: in 2007 the National Marine Fishery Service determined that a 24 percent of the nation's 530 monitored stocks were overfished and 17 percent were experiencing overfishing. The international Food and Agriculture Organization has come up with similar estimates for the depletion of global fish stocks.
Second, the numbers are so dang big: the U.S. government doled out more than $6.4 billion from 1996 to 2004, or an average of $713 million per year.
No one is suggesting that all of these subsidies are harmful or contributing to overfishing. But it is likely that many of them do encourage fishing operations to harvest more fish than can be naturally replaced.
Bottom line: it is clear that the U.S. and the world are going to have to shift subsidies to forms that enhance fishery conservation rather than depletion.
Third, EWG was honored to collaborate with the renown fisheries economist Ussif Rashid Sumaila on the study and to have the academic work supported by the fabulous folks at the Lenfest Ocean Program.
To read EWG's summary and analysis of the study, or to download the academic paper, click here.