Yet the nature of the fishing enterprise and the condition of the marine and freshwater resources upon which it relies have changed radically over the past 100 years. Growing populations and the need for economic development have spurred a rapid expansion of commercial fishing. In the past half century, a tide of new technology–from driftnets to satellite imagery–has swept aside the limits that once kept fishing a coastal and local affair, and launched an overwhelming upsurge in our capacity to exploit fish stocks. Government subsidies have helped expand the world’s fleets to levels larger than a sustainable harvest can support; Japan alone provides more than $2 billion annually.

Over the past 30 years, the demand for seafood products has doubled and is projected to continue growing at 1.5 percent per year through 2020 as the global population increases. Important stocks have been depleted, and their marine and freshwater ecosystems have been disrupted, leading to what many term a "global fisheries crisis."

Since 1992, overfishing–the practice of fishing beyond the level at which fish stocks can replenish themselves naturally–has become one of the more pressing natural resource concerns in the industrialized world, and, increasingly, in developing nations. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 75 percent of commercially important marine fish stocks are either currently overfished or are being fished at their biological limit. Those stocks that are fished at their biological limit are on the brink of decline.

The damage to a population of fish targeted by modern techniques is only the beginning. The world’s fleets harvest not only vast quantities of fish, but also animals other than the particular species being targeted–animals that are generally referred to as "bycatch." Fishermen retain some of this bycatch for sale, but a very large portion is returned to the sea, usually dead or dying. In addition to fish that are not retained because they are too small or of little economic value, bycatch is often comprised of marine mammals, turtles and seabirds. Estimates of total marine discards run to at least 10 million metric tons, almost 10 percent of the total annual harvest.

Bottom trawling, a new fishing technique in which a trawling rig is dragged across the seafloor to scrape up everything in its path, can damage deep-sea habitats and harm many species of marine life while targeting just one commercial species. It can take decades for sponges, coral, vegetation and animals that fish species depend upon for survival to recover.

Net Losses
The economic consequences can also be severe. According to a World Resources Institute analysis published in 2004, degradation of coral reefs in the Caribbean could reduce fishing revenues by $95 million to $140 million per year by 2015. The same damage could inflict $100 million to $300 million in losses on the tourism industry. The analysis also found that by dissipating wave and storm energy, Caribbean reefs provide between $700 million and $2.2 billion in shoreline protection.

From a consumer’s point of view–at least in most developed nations–the sad condition of fish stocks is not obvious. There are still plenty of fish available in markets and restaurants, although the species may have changed and the prices may be higher. The once ubiquitous Atlantic cod has been declared an endangered species–in spite of the fact that the Canadian cod fishery was closed in 1993, an event that idled some 30,000 people employed in or affiliated with the industry. Stocks of lobster and abalone, regulated in the U.S. with size limits, gear restrictions and other controls, have also suffered serious declines due to overfishing and water pollution.

To keep our nets full, we have turned to new species. Traditionally, most industrial fishers focused their efforts on a relatively small number of highly abundant and valuable species, such as Atlantic cod, flounder and haddock. Substitutes for these became deep-water fish such as orange roughy and Patagonian toothfish (Chilean sea bass), both vulnerable to commercial exploitation themselves. In fact, they are already in trouble. When was the last time you saw orange roughy on a restaurant menu?

Deleterious practices will continue as long as demand increases, and there is every indication it will. In the 1950s, only a handful of countries had industrial fishing fleets. Today more than 20 countries regularly harvest at least 1 million metric tons of fish per year. In 1960, only three developing nations–Peru, China and India–were considered major commercial fishing powers. Today developing nations account for half of the top producers.

Where once fishing was simply a local source of food and regional trade, developing countries are depending more on fishing as a source of income. Fishery export revenues in developing countries increased by 80 percent between 1990 and 2000, to $18 billion. Left unchecked, the increasing demand for fish, accompanied by unsustainable fishing practices, will push more stocks already at their biological limit toward collapse. Eventually the cascade of damage to ecosystems will catch up to human economies and could even threaten political stability.

Back to Schools
Unless all parties involved in the enterprise–from consumers to political leaders and the fishers themselves–acknowledge the problem, efforts to manage fisheries will not be sustainable, and the consequences will affect us all. The time has come for serious efforts to manage the resources of the seas, just the way good companies and individuals manage their own capital stock and irreplaceable assets.

Recently, the international community has made attempts to achieve some level of sustainable fisheries management. One such effort is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The U.S. has not ratified it, but both the U.S. and the United Kingdom adopted national laws based on its provisions. UNCLOS is a good start. It is limited, however, by keeping the responsibility to manage the sustainability of coastal fisheries squarely in the hands of coastal nations. In fact, UNCLOS extended the area in which a coastal nation can claim complete sovereignty over marine resources to 200 nautical miles off its coast. The previous limit was 12 nautical miles.

This new zone is the area wherein national governments may sell off or restrict fishing rights as they choose; each is responsible for managing its own resources. This approach seems sensible, however it overlooks a simple fact: Fish species are not fixed natural assets like forests, but move freely across territorial boundaries and thus have to be managed jointly by more than one country. Otherwise, we are no closer to addressing the underlying cause of the problem: the desire of fishers to catch more and higher-valued fish than their competitors. Rather than conventional management strategies that focus on individual stocks or individual nations, we need to focus on the value of entire marine and freshwater ecosystems–the basis for sustainable fish production.

There has been some movement in this direction. In 2004, two groups, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, led by retired Admiral James Watkins, and the Pew Oceans Commission, headed by Leon Panetta, prompted the White House to draft a U.S. Ocean Action Plan that at least acknowledges the importance of monitoring and protecting the seas’ resources. In late 2005, Watkins and Panetta jointly called for more federal action to address the ocean’s problems.

For the past 11 years, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization’s Code of Conduct has served as a foundation for collaborative management of international fisheries. It provides the primary principles for sustainable fishing; many nations have used it to introduce hundreds of management plans. We see evidence that it is beginning to have a positive effect on how some nations manage their marine harvesting. Nevertheless, the international community remains far from realizing the code’s potential, partly because of its relatively recent adoption, but also because countries have implemented its guidelines in a piecemeal fashion. The code comprises voluntary agreements; it would be much more effective if it called for independent oversight to monitor the progress, as well as support mechanisms for nations that lack the capacity to implement its recommendations.

Aquaculture Vitae
As international regulations develop, fishers will have to embrace new practices. Some of these are compatible with the goal of stock sustainability–if applied correctly. Aquaculture, or fish farming, is the fastest-growing food production technique in the world. Fish farming is still in its infancy; we are just beginning to see the impact of vast operations in the U.S., Canada, Japan, China and Norway. However, concerns persist over waste products building up near fish farms, the spread of disease among fish crowded together and the use of chemicals to control such diseases. Escaped fish can interbreed with wild populations, diluting biodiversity.

Yet aquaculture will grow, and the answers to these challenges could make it a significant component of sustainable fish production. Many companies and researchers are already experimenting with recirculating water, siting fish farms further inland and other techniques to preserve fragile marine ecosystems. For example, shrimp farming is proving less destructive to coral reefs than harvesting in the wild.

Another economically driven practice that could help alleviate overfishing is the "eco-labeling" of seafood that has been certified as sustainably harvested. In fact, as consumers have become more educated about fishing practices, a trend that is bound to continue, they have been known to exert significant influence. The dolphin-free tuna campaign led many fleets around the globe to change the way they capture tuna. Shellfish from restored clam and oyster beds have commanded a premium price when branded as such.

Effective agreements on how to manage shared fish stocks, however, are still the exception rather than the rule, and the economic drive to pull more fish from the sea is an urgent tragedy of the commons. Adapting our business, our regulations and our consumer habits are all necessary to achieve a sustainable harvest from the seas.

Jonathan Lash is president of the World Resources Institute. Last year he was named both one of the 100 most influential people in finance by Treasury and Risk Management magazine and one of Rolling Stone’s 25 environmental leaders.