substituting smaller, less desirable fish for the diminishing
stocks of the more desirable fish and by penetrating ever
farther into remote oceans. Today, all available stocks are
being exploited, and now even the total tonnage of captured
fish is beginning to fall. The UN estimates that the total value of
the world’s catch could be increased by nearly $30 billion if fish
stocks were properly managed by governments interested in
the total catch, rather than exploited by individuals interested
in their own catch.
The developed countries have so overfished their own stocks
that they could cut their fleets significantly and still catch as
much fish as they do today. This is because more fish would
survive to spawn, allowing each boat in a smaller fleet to catch
significantly more than does each boat in today’s large fishing
fleet.
The problem became so acute in 1992 that Canada shut down
its entire Atlantic cod fishing industry. Tens of thousands of
Newfoundland and Labrador residents lost their livelihoods in
an industry that had flourished for five centuries (although
some of the fishers have since turned to catching lobsters and
different species of fish and harvesting farmed mussels).
Some developing countries are taking action to conserve their
fish stocks, but in many the need for current prosperity is
outweighing the desire to conserve for long-term future
benefits. This is even true in some of the fastest-developing