Empty nets as tide turns on Asia's fishermen

Monday, May 21, 2007

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FOREIGN


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=BB	U= N=20 forces in Congo 'traded in gold, = weapons'=20
=BB	R= ussia=20 rules out missile defense cooperation=20
=BB	F= atah=20 al-Islam had support from US, claims = Hersh=20
=BB	E= conomic=20 stars China and Vietnam maintain = repression=20
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=BB	F= innish=20 soldier killed in Afghan bomb blast=20
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=BB	M= ORE

Jalil = Hamid
KUALA MUDA,=20 Malaysia - Reuters

The old adage 'there are plenty more = fish in=20 the sea' no longer rings true for Malaysian fisherman = Shafie=20 Said.

"These days, we have to go farther = offshore and=20 into deeper waters to fish," said Shafie, aged 39, his = face=20 weather beaten after 16 years sailing tropical waters = in the=20 Andaman Sea, off the coast of northwest Malaysia.

"Sometimes we return empty handed," = Shafie said=20 sadly.

It is a story told across Asia by = millions of=20 fishermen who ply the region's seas to bring home = their main,=20 and often only, source of income.

A staple in Asia with its extensive = coastlines=20 and poor populations, seafood provides up to 70 = percent of the=20 animal protein intake of most Asians.

But the tide is turning as fish stocks = in Asia=20 have declined by 70 percent in the past 25 years, says = Stephen=20 Hall, head of WorldFish, a non-profit research body = based in=20 northern Malaysia.

"We are taking far too many fishes out = of the=20 sea and not leaving enough there to grow and = re-generate,"=20 Hall said at his seaside office on the Malaysian = resort island=20 of Penang.

Compounding the problem is global = warming,=20 which will bring rising sea levels, higher sea-surface = temperatures, higher salinity and greater weather = extremes=20 from droughts to storms.

Scientists predict mean sea levels will = rise by=20 10-90 cm (4-35 inches) over this century, with most = estimates=20 in the range of 30-50 cm (12-20 inches).

"This will likely damage or destroy = many=20 coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and salt marshes, = which=20 are essential to maintaining many wild fish stocks," = explained=20 a WorldFish report.

Warming seas are changing fish = migration=20 patterns with some fish heading south and others = moving north,=20 damaging entire ecosystems and affecting reproduction = and=20 replenishment rates.

Scientists in Australia are already = warning of=20 a massive decline in fish along the country's eastern = seaboard=20 with marine life such as yellow-fin tuna and stinging=20 jellyfish moving towards Antarctica as sea waters = warm.

"It's not a disaster for the ones that = can move=20 south. It is for the ones that can't move south," Dr = Alistair=20 Hobday, the lead author of a recent report from the = CSIRO,=20 Australia's premier scientific institution, told = Reuters=20 recently.

Favorite food:

Researchers say the implications of the = global=20 overfishing crisis are greater for Asia than any other = part of=20 the world. Fish is a vital part of food security, = employment=20 and income in the region.

But while the number of fish in the sea = is=20 dropping dramatically, the demand for fish is rising = as=20 populations grow.

The Asian Development Bank has = predicted that=20 demand for fish in Asia will continue to rise, = reaching 69=20 million tonnes by 2010 and accounting for 60 per cent = of the=20 world demand for fish for human consumption, compared = to 53=20 per cent in 1990.

China with its 1.3 billion population = and=20 growing affluence is expanding its fish consumption,=20 especially for expensive reef fish sold live at = restaurants.

In the Philippines, a major source of = reef=20 fish, 90 percent of fish stocks have been depleted,=20 conservation group WWF said. Divers report seeing = lifeless=20 reefs in areas that were once teeming with fish.

Last December, Philippine authorities = rescued=20 more than 1,000 endangered humphead wrasse from = poachers. The=20 reef fish, which can sell for as much as $200 per = kilo, are=20 adored by diners in China because their large lips are = considered a delicacy.

In India, turtles get caught up in = their=20 thousands in trawler nets and nesting sites such as = Devi --=20 where tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles would = nest in=20 a single night -- are becoming devoid of turtles.

A shark species called "Karat hangar" = has=20 already vanished off the coast of Bangladesh along = with=20 sea-horses and other fish.

Fishermen's livelihood = at risk:

And it's not just the environment that = is at=20 risk.

Fishermen in Asia and across the Indian = Ocean=20 in Africa are economically vulnerable to the decline = in fish=20 stocks, which directly affects their livelihoods, = local=20 economies and diet.

Poor and often uneducated, many are = unaware of=20 the need to help marine life rejuvenate by throwing = back=20 immature fish and avoiding catching turtles and other = sea=20 creatures in nets.

"Fishers need to reduce their reliance = on=20 narrow resources by learning to exploit a broader = range of=20 species and pursue alternative sources of income and = fish=20 production such as marine and aquaculture," Hall = explained.

But teaching the world's estimated 29 = million=20 fishermen about sustainable fishing is an enormous = task,=20 especially as many live in countries where education = systems=20 are poor, poverty endemic and where there is little = investment=20 in aquaculture projects.

WorldFish suggests governments enforce = tighter=20 controls over fishing such as ceilings on the number = of boats=20 allowed to operate in certain areas and institute a = vessel=20 registration system. But enforcing such a system may = be close=20 to impossible.

Another solution is expanding fish = farms in=20 Asia. But these require significant investment as well = as a=20 successful campaign to convince fishermen to change = their=20 lifestyles from plying the seas for fish to raising = them in=20 ponds on land.

Bangladesh, one of the most = impoverished=20 countries in the world, relies on fish for about 80 = percent of=20 its national animal protein intake. Yet the fish are=20 disappearing, leaving Bangladeshi fishermen baffled = and their=20 incomes dropping.

"Many fish species have vanished and = our prime=20 catch of silvery Hisha is also dwindling," said = fisherman=20 Suleman Miah.

"The golden days of fishing are=20 gone.

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