The researchers comprehensive analysis of the state of the North Atlantic also examines the gross economic figures as well as the fisheries subsidies and fuel consumed in search of fish.

Approximately 2.5 billion dollars of tax-payers money are spent each year subsidizing fishing fleets which spend the money on ever augmenting their technological ability to search out the last fish left, says economist Rashid Sumaila of the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen, Norway. The spiraling costs include the price of fuel. Fishers burn more and more fuel as they increase their efforts competing to capture the last of the dwindling resources. The fuel energy needed to capture a ton of fish has doubled over the last twenty years, says Peter Tyedmers of Dalhousie University.

The national and international institutions mandated to control and to prevent the growth of excessive fishing effort have largely failed in their mission, says Pauly. Our study shows this.

Andy Rosenberg, a Dean and fisheries scientist at the University of New Hampshire and former deputy director of the National Marine Fishery Service declares that this new overall picture verifies his ten years of experiences struggling for the recovery of individual stocks. Rosenberg spearheaded the partial closure of Georges Bank.

Policy has followed a fishery by fishery approach. It doesnt work, says Rosenberg. You cant fix this one fishery at a time, because the boats just move around - the effort simply shifts to somewhere else and makes their problems worse.

The necessary next steps are substantial reduction of fishing fleets, reduction and eventual abolition of subsidies
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Contact: Jessica Brown
jbrown@seaweb.org
202-497-8375
SeaWeb
16-Feb-2002