Seafood: Social Impacts
Social Implications of the Fishing Industry
In 2006 an estimated 43.5 million people were directly involved in the fishing industry. That total increases to 520 million when including individuals and their dependents indirectly linked to fishing (fish processing, marketing, etc.).1 This means that roughly eight percent of the world’s population is involved in the business of fish. Here in the United States, commercial fishing and its related industries are worth a total of $300 billion a year and provide jobs to over 3.5 million people. Viewers of shows like “Deadliest Catch” and “Lobster Wars” know that for many people, this is a way of life passed down through generations.
However, it has gotten to the point where there is too much fishing. In Europe, where the problem is most widely documented, it is said that--depending on the country-- fishing fleets are 20 to 60 percent too big. Not only does this greatly exacerbate the problem of overfishing,, it means that fisherman have to use ever greater amounts of fuel. For example, fishing records in Nova Scotia dating back to the 1930’s show that despite all of the great advances in fuel efficiency, today’s boats burn four times the amount of fuel per fish caught, as fisherman have to venture further and further out for their prey.2
The fishing lifestyle, romanticized in tales modern and old, is declining as technology increases fishing capability by an estimated two percent each year. While the fishing industries of industrialized countries become increasingly mechanized, in countries such as Brazil some villages still rely on their fleets going out and catching fish by handnet. So long as the number of fisherman does not exceed the local capacity to produce fish, handnetting is a sustainable practice. Unlike commercial fishermen in wealthier countries, these fishermen won’t throw a fish back or let it go to waste simply because it was a “non-target” species. Moreover, these fishermen use smaller boats and don’t venture out nearly as far into the ocean, leading to less use of gas and subsequently less greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the United Nations, while seafood accounts for less than a fifth of total protein consumption in industrialized nations, it comprises a third of daily protein sources in developing countries. 3 Consequently, the impact of overfishingweighs most heavily on the global poor. As the number of remaining fish continues to dwindle, fishing fleets from industrialized countries are raiding the fisheries of less affluent nations. Currently, there is heated international debate over how often this occurs and what impact it has on fisheries. Whatever the current extent of this practice, it will only get worse as fisheries continue to decline. With smaller boats able to go shorter distances offshore, and fishing equipment that cannot catch nearly as many fish, the local artisanal fishermen of the developing worldcan’t compete with the large industrial fishing operations of the industrialized nations. In the end, this will limit the ability of local fishermen to make enough money to pull them out of poverty and will reduce their access to available protein, making them more susceptible to diseases and further poverty.
For More Information
Interested in what U.S. cities bring in the most fish annually or how much of each individual fish species are brought in each year? Check out the National Marine Fishery Service’s database.
Learn about the relationship between eating fish and your health.