Is commercial fishing going to stay?

[szopen 0]

Following on a discussion in the little box.Is banning all commercial fishing realistic?Not in my opinion.Simple.How many people fish (against commercial fishing) vs how many people eat fish (depending on commercial fishing).Yes, the fish farming is quite developed at the moment, many species can be and are farmed.Problem is that "many" is not too many.Farming some types of fish is not going to be commercially viable for a very long time, due to amount of living space they need, growth rates, feed to mass growth ratio etc.That pesky customer in a fish shop will demand "choice" and as long as this happens commercial fishing will be here.What is the most imortant thing that can be done about the whole issue?Catch quotas. Just this week I have seen a TV show on herring fishing from Norway.Herring being a larger version of Aussie pilchard (more or less).Maybe 10-15 years ago the whole northern herring stocks collapsed.Very strict quotas were established and enforced.Fisheries were monitoring the stocks and after a few years started increasing/decreasing the quotas based on the stock situation.Stocks rebound dramatically.Quotas are still in place and adjusted every year.Nowadays there is more herring than ever in living memory up to the point that prices collapsed.

[Fishie 98]

"Is banning all commercial fishing realistic?"Put simply, No! ... if someone can make a dollar out of something from the sea, there will always be commercial fishingIf only I could find a market for sea lice... I'd be rich :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_e_surprised: :icon_idea:"What is the most important thing that can be done about the whole issue?"I have no idea personally, but quotas' are always a good start. Snapper and whiting numbers have increased locally off the metro coast in the past couple of years but I wouldn't want to see anymore quota reduction put on recco fisherman. As for commercial operators a quota sytsem on some fish species would be a good start... not only for the fish numbers but also for a more stable price of fish in the markets where at times an over supply of fish has caused a glut and price drop in value of the fish to a point where it destabilises the market

[Ranger 48]

I don't believe commercial fishing will ever cease! Not as long as Joe Citizen wants fish on his table!Sure there's the arguement that fish can be farmed, but the next problem is that fish eat fish, and even farmed fish have to be fed.The more fish you farm, the greater tonnage of feed is required, and ya cant grow fish food like you can grow grass.Hence bait fish are caught and processed to make fish meal to feed the farmed fish, and if the balance of these "feeder fish" is interfered with it can break the food chain, still putting pressure on, adversely affecting and being detrimental to wild fish stocks!I have no problem with commercial operators. They are earning a living whilst providing a demanded commodity. What I have a problem with is their current catch rates and the lack of a TAC (total allowable catch) being imposed to regulate their current unsustainable practices.I really think, as much as I don't like to admit it, that it really all comes down to supply and demand! The catch pro's are currently taking are all being sold on the open market, (both here and overseas) so the demand is there for the product, and as long as that demand remains, NO-ONE is gonna step up to the plate to make a firm push to lower the catches, coz it'd be political suicide. It'd drive market prices up, and the consumer would then scream blue murder about being overcharged! Just like they're screaming about fuel prices, interest rates and the current cost of living.Sure we could import seafood to get around this, but then the consumer would complain about being provided with a substandard product, while we have a perfectly good and superior resource available to us here, and the retailers would be pocketting a fortune from selling crap imported products at inflated prices to meet the demand here.The only answer I have to this one, is to convince everyone except for recreational fishermen to stop eating seafood! If we do that though, then we're no longer recreational fishermen anymore, we are then "subsistence" fishers, and we're fishing to put food onto the table!

[Yakfisho 0]

If we could just suss out a way to farm a fish with an FCR of 1 eating mainly soy we'd be set! :icon_lol:I don't feel that banning commercial fishing is realistic but something needs to be done whether people like it or not. I buy fish (mainly because I don't catch enough ) and would be happy to pay even twice as much if it meant the pro's were taking half as much.Maybe what we need to do is get our pro's to go and fish other countrie's waters, that way the money stays in our economy without hurting our precious whiting and snapper stocks. Problem solvered. :

[Quaker 0]

Tuna farms aren't really fish farms are they? All they do is go out & net a school, then drag the net/pen in close to shore then feed them until they are marketable. In my mind a true fish farm is where they raise the fish from roe,to sprat through to adulthood, so it's self sustaining. The Tuna 'farms do nothing in regards to re-stocking the oceans.

[Fishie 98]

How true Quaker

[ospray 1]

Sure we could import seafood to get around this, but then the consumer would complain about being provided with a substandard product, while we have a perfectly good and superior resource available to us here, and the retailers would be pocketting a fortune from selling crap imported products at inflated prices to meet the demand here.

Why should we be supplied a sub standard product? (and I agree, we would). When we export our Meats, Dairy, Fruits, Wines, we are told its all export quality, the best of the best. BUT when we have to import somthing because our own supply cannot sustain us, then all we get is a sub-standard product from who ever we import from.Who is kidding Who?

[Yakfisho 0]

Tuna farms aren't really fish farms are they? All they do is go out & net a school, then drag the net/pen in close to shore then feed them until they are marketable. In my mind a true fish farm is where they raise the fish from roe,to sprat through to adulthood, so it's self sustaining. The Tuna 'farms do nothing in regards to re-stocking the oceans.

In terms of farming you need to look beyond tuna. The tuna industry isn't sustainable in the sense of the huge amounts of feed they need to bring in (though it was a step forward from the days most of the fish ended up canned!). Barramundi and Atlantic Salmon both have a positive future in my eyes. It all depends on the feeds though I guess.