Sustainable fisheries

• What is fish ?

  a major source of food
• In the past why didn’t fishing affect fish stocks ?


  because in the past fishing was small scale so the numbers of fish in the sea stayed fairly constant
• In modern day society, how are fish caught ?

  in huge trawler ships
• How do trawler ships catch fish ?


  .using huge fishing nets and modern technology
• How have trawler ships contributed to a decline in fish stocks ?


  .because they easily catch tonnes of fish
• What happens when fish stocks in an area fall below a certain level ?


  • there aren’t enough mature fish left to breed, causing fish stocks to further decline. Therefore commercial fishing for a certain fish species won’t be possible
• what has been the response to globally low fish stocks?

  governments implementing new rules regarding fishing
• How is the government trying to reverse dangerously low fish stocks (Quotas)?


  The fishing industry has been set strict quotas on the numbers of fish that can be caught for each species.

  By reducing the number of fish caught the remaining fish can breed & bring the population back to normal levels
• How is the government trying to reverse dangerously low fish stocks (Net size)?


  The net size must be large enough that smaller, immature fish aren’t caught.

  This means that immature fish can develop into adults and reproduce, restoring the size of the fish stock