Help for the Little Guys

           Sustainable fishing means different things to different people. For conservationists, it is a no-brainer and everyone should be on board with the idea of saving our ocean’s fish. For the average person, it may mean trading their current sushi or fish dinner option for another. For the people in developing nations, it means something entirely different. Sustainable fishing means not being able to fish or allow fishing in their waters as much as they need to in order to get the money they need to support their families. The question then becomes, how do we fish sustainably but still allow developing nations a chance in an ever-competing market?
          Currently, many developing countries have agreements with larger countries that allow large fishing fleets to fish local waters. According to the UN Law of the Sea, any country has the right to allow other nations to fish their waters. Despite the seemingly mutual agreements, many developing nations are being exploited. The access agreements can lead to over-fishing and destruction of local habitats because they do not include sustainability clauses. This, in turn, leaves developing nations left with fishless waters and a habitat unsuitable for habitation. In an article in Science Daily, Martin D. Smith, associate professor of environmental economics at Duke University said “Many imports are coming from developing countries that are not necessarily well-positioned to manage their resources sustainably.” While these agreements may help the local economies in the short-term, they can leave the country worse off than when they started.
         Groups like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are working to help developing countries to negotiate fairer agreements that ensure sustainable practices by larger countries. They are currently working with countries such as Africa and Latin America to help spread the word. They have also developed a handbook to help countries when negotiating agreements. Their principle requirement is “Fisheries partnership agreements should only be granted under the auspices of a fully developed fisheries management plan and after conducting environmental impact assessments.” You can go to http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wwfpdfbr.pdf  to learn more about the efforts of the WWF.
References:
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wwfpdfbr.pdf
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100211141134.htm