Will the ocean ever run out of fish? - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet
-
0:07 - 0:09Fish are in trouble.
-
0:09 - 0:14The cod population off Canada's East Coast
collapsed in the 1990s, -
0:14 - 0:16intense recreational
and commercial fishing -
0:16 - 0:20has decimated goliath grouper populations
in South Florida, -
0:20 - 0:24and most populations of tuna
have plummeted by over 50%, -
0:24 - 0:28with the Southern Atlantic bluefin
on the verge of extinction. -
0:28 - 0:31Those are just a couple of many examples.
-
0:31 - 0:33Overfishing is happening
all over the world. -
0:33 - 0:35How did this happen?
-
0:35 - 0:36When some people think of fishing,
-
0:36 - 0:41they imagine relaxing in a boat
and patiently reeling in the day's catch. -
0:41 - 0:45But modern industrial fishing,
the kind that stocks our grocery shelves, -
0:45 - 0:47looks more like warfare.
-
0:47 - 0:51In fact, the technologies they employ
were developed for war. -
0:51 - 0:52Radar,
-
0:52 - 0:52sonar,
-
0:52 - 0:53helicopters,
-
0:53 - 0:54and spotter planes
-
0:54 - 0:59are all used to guide factory ships
towards dwindling schools of fish. -
0:59 - 1:01Long lines with hundreds
of hooks or huge nets -
1:01 - 1:04round up massive amounts of fish,
along with other species, -
1:04 - 1:08like seabirds, turtles, and dolphins.
-
1:08 - 1:10And fish are hauled up onto giant boats,
-
1:10 - 1:13complete with onboard flash freezing
and processing facilities. -
1:13 - 1:17All of these technologies have enabled
us to catch fish at greater depths -
1:17 - 1:20and farther out at sea than ever before.
-
1:20 - 1:23And as the distance and depth
of fishing have expanded, -
1:23 - 1:26so has the variety of species we target.
-
1:26 - 1:30For example, the Patagonian toothfish
neither sounds nor looks very appetizing. -
1:30 - 1:33And fishermen ignored it until
the late 1970s. -
1:33 - 1:38Then it was rebranded and marketed
to chefs in the U.S. as Chilean sea bass, -
1:38 - 1:41despite the animal actually
being a type of cod. -
1:41 - 1:44Soon it was popping up in markets
all over the world -
1:44 - 1:46and is now a delicacy.
-
1:46 - 1:48Unfortunately, these deep water fish
don't reproduce -
1:48 - 1:51until they're at least ten years old,
-
1:51 - 1:53making them extremely vulnerable
to overfishing -
1:53 - 1:56when the young are caught before they've
had the chance to spawn. -
1:56 - 1:59Consumer taste and prices can
also have harmful effects. -
1:59 - 2:04For example, shark fin soup is considered
such a delicacy in China and Vietnam -
2:04 - 2:08that the fin has become
the most profitable part of the shark. -
2:08 - 2:10This leads many fishermen to fill
their boats with fins -
2:10 - 2:14leaving millions of dead sharks behind.
-
2:14 - 2:16The problems aren't unique
to toothfish and sharks. -
2:16 - 2:19Almost 31% of the world's fish populations
are overfished, -
2:19 - 2:24and another 58% are fished
at the maximum sustainable level. -
2:24 - 2:29Wild fish simply can't reproduce
as fast as 7 billion people can eat them. -
2:29 - 2:32Fishing also has impacts
on broader ecosystems. -
2:32 - 2:36Wild shrimp are typically caught by
dragging nets the size of a football field -
2:36 - 2:38along the ocean bottom,
-
2:38 - 2:41disrupting or destroying
seafloor habitats. -
2:41 - 2:43The catch is often as little as 5% shrimp.
-
2:43 - 2:48The rest is by-catch, unwanted
animals that are thrown back dead. -
2:48 - 2:50And coastal shrimp farming isn't
much better. -
2:50 - 2:53Mangroves are bulldozed to make room
for shrimp farms, -
2:53 - 2:57robbing coastal communities of storm
protection and natural water filtration -
2:57 - 3:00and depriving fish of key
nursery habitats. -
3:00 - 3:04So what does it look like to give
fish a break and let them recover? -
3:04 - 3:06Protection can take many forms.
-
3:06 - 3:09In national waters,
governments can set limits -
3:09 - 3:14about how, when, where,
and how much fishing occurs, -
3:14 - 3:16with restrictions on certain
boats and equipment. -
3:16 - 3:20Harmful practices, such as bottom
trawling, can be banned altogether, -
3:20 - 3:23and we can establish marine reserves
closed to all fishing -
3:23 - 3:26to help ecosystems restore themselves.
-
3:26 - 3:31There's also a role for consumer awareness
and boycotts to reduce wasteful practices, -
3:31 - 3:32like shark finning,
-
3:32 - 3:35and push fishing industries towards
more sustainable practices. -
3:35 - 3:40Past interventions have successfully
helped depleted fish populations recover. -
3:40 - 3:41There are many solutions.
-
3:41 - 3:45The best approach for each fishery
must be considered based on science, -
3:45 - 3:48respect for the local communities
that rely on the ocean, -
3:48 - 3:50and for fish as wild animals.
-
3:50 - 3:52And then the rules must be enforced.
-
3:52 - 3:55International collaboration is often
needed, too, -
3:55 - 3:58because fish don't care about our borders.
-
3:58 - 4:00We need to end overfishing.
-
4:00 - 4:01Ecosystems,
-
4:01 - 4:02food security,
-
4:02 - 4:03jobs,
-
4:03 - 4:04economies,
-
4:04 - 4:06and coastal cultures all depend on it.
- Title:
- Will the ocean ever run out of fish? - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet
- Speaker:
- Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/will-the-ocean-ever-run-out-of-fish-ayana-elizabeth-johnson-and-jennifer-jacquet
When most people think of fishing, we imagine relaxing in a boat and patiently reeling in the day’s catch. But modern industrial fishing -- the kind that stocks our grocery shelves -- looks more like warfare. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet explain overfishing and its effects on ecosystems, food security, jobs, economies, and coastal cultures.
Lesson by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet, animation by Anton Bogaty.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:28
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for Will the ocean ever run out of fish? | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for Will the ocean ever run out of fish? | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Will the ocean ever run out of fish? | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Will the ocean ever run out of fish? | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Will the ocean ever run out of fish? |