World's oceans suffering as too many boats chase too few fish

Speaking at a sustainable fisheries reporters' workshop in Ghana, The World Bank director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Henry Kerali, said globally, over 300 million livelihoods are estimated to depend on ocean fishing, aquaculture, and tourism, with 97 percent of livelihoods directly dependent on fisheries and aquaculture occurring in developing countries, mostly in small-scale operations in Asia.

Africa accounts for a small share around 5 per cent of the global fisheries and aquaculture, producing just above 9 million tons annually but the fast increase in population and per-capita income, demand for fish and seafood in the region is expected to increase by 30% by 2030, he said.

But, through Africa “there are too many boats and too many fishers chasing too few fish. The consequence has been biological degradation of fish resources and substantial economic losses. Globally, the economic loss from poor fisheries governance and management amounts to $50-100 billion each year.”

Across Africa, there are over 12 million people engaged in the fisheries sector, including inland fishing, fish farming and marine capture fisheries.

While much of the world relies on the ocean for livelihood, it is under threat, Kerali said, with 20 percent of sea grass lost since 1970, and 20 per cent of mangrove habitats since 1980.

Coral reefs have globally declined by 38 percent since 1980, and the ocean is becoming more polluted.

He quoted a recent report by the World Economic Forum that said 2050 plastics will outweigh fish in the oceans.

Further, climate change is is putting additional pressure on coastal natural resources.

“The effects include increased weather-related disasters, accentuated coastal erosion, which affects coastal communities the most. In the next decade, millions more people will be less resilient against shocks in coastal zones in Africa. In West Africa, coastal erosion is as much as 10 meters per year in some areas,” he said.

He said the World Bank was committed to investing in fisheries “as a pathway out of poverty and into prosperity for millions of families across Africa, while generating a steady stream of revenues for countries.”

As the industry expands, the World Bank was calling for policies to guide it and prevent further resource degradation, rehabilitate overexploited stocks, and manage overall fishing effort levels, he said.

With commitment to improve fisheries governance and management, and to develop sustainable aquaculture, the sector can become highly profitable economic enterprise, he said.

To do so, countries need to have the right policy, including identifying country-specific reforms and solutions required to manage fisheries sustainably as well as access to transition finance for the initial investments in implementing the reforms and for investment in key infrastructure, and scientific management schemes for fisheries.