Future of Fisheries

M. Feroz Khan and Preetha Panikkar

Reservoir Division of Fisheries, Central inland Fisheries Research Institute,

Hessarghatta Lake Post, Bangalore – 560 089
Karnataka, India

Rising wealth and a new focus on healthy foods are generating a rising
wave of demand for fish. The prices of fish is increasing and this rise in demand
is happening just when the main sources of fish and other aquatic life are
struggling to keep pace with exploding population. The contribution from
fisheries to a nation like India is enormous in terms of providing nutritious food
supply in this health conscious era, generating employment for millions and
fisheries adds to export earnings as well as enhances national income. The
fishery ancillary industries help in regional development too. Fish is harvested
from natural or wild fisheries stocks, from enhanced and restored fisheries stocks
and is cultured on farms. All sources of supply present economic opportunities
but each faces major problems. Most natural fish stocks are heavily depleted
already, and continue to be over-exploited because fisheries management is
inadequate to counter the drive to over-exploit. Aquaculture has made great
progress in India, largely driven by markets and specific innovations but ignoring
externalities such as the environment, feeds and social equity. Stock restoration
and stock enhancement show promise for some species and some ecosystems
but have received little development attention. Whether the poor will rise on or
submerge under the wave of fish demand depends on how affordable fish
remains, and what access they have to the means of fish production for income
and livelihood. Policy, technical and business solutions are needed to help the
poor meet the challenges. Fisheries scenario of our country will have
revolutionary changes in 2030’s with multiple technological innovations. The fish
biodiversity loss and environmental impacts of fishing and aquaculture in 2030’s
will be alarming. The climate change impacts also pose another threat. The
scientists have to play a vital role in averting this danger.

Demand: Globally, per capita demand for fish products for human consumption
increased from 10.5 kilograms (kg) per year to almost 16 kg over the last three
decades. The recent International Food Policy Research Institute [IFPRI] / World
Fish Center study on global fish demand (Delgado et al., 2003) predicts that the
total demand for fish products will increase from 91.3 million tons in 1997 to
127.8 million tons in 2020, which equals an annual growth of 1.47 percent, and a
per capita annual consumption increase from 15.7 kg to 17.1 kg in 2020. FAO
estimates that global fish consumption will increase from 19 kg to 21 kg per
capita in 2020, even higher than Delgado and others (2003).

In India expanding per capita fish consumption to 15 kg with a human

population of 130 crores in 2030 will require over 12 million tonnes of live fish
equivalent per year, 2 times current India’s annual production. Actively
conservation-conscious decisions by governments and individual fishers which
give higher priority to long-term sustainability of resource use are required.
Technology can be expected to have a longer-term secondary role in stabilising
capture fisheries production, primarily in providing mechanisms for habitat
restoration and perhaps even resource enhancement. Fish production from
sources other than capture fisheries can be expected to be profoundly influenced
by technological development. The most immediate influence should be in
aquaculture.

The importance of fishing and the ancillary industries—processing,

packing, transport, and retailing—are important at every scale, from the village
level to the level of national and international macroeconomics. For one, fishing
generates significant revenue. In 2000, the global fish catch was worth US$81
billion when landed at port; aquaculture production added another US$57 billion
(FAO 2002a); and the international fish trade totaled over US$55 billion(FAO
2002a).Income from fishing is particularly important to developing economies,
which often depend heavily on revenues from natural resources such as timber,
mining, oil, and fish. Fisheries are a major foreign exchange earner for
developing countries, which produce more than half of all internationally traded
seafood (Sabatini 2001). Fishery export revenues in developing countries
increased rapidly from US$10 billion in 1990 to US$18 billion in 2000—a growth
rate of 45 percent when corrected for inflation (FAO 2002a). Fishing is also a
crucial source of livelihoods in developing nations, particularly for low-income
families in rural areas where job options are limited. In fact, small-scale and
subsistence fishing often acts as the employment of last resort when more
lucrative labor opportunities cannot be found. FAO estimates that some 35
million people are directly engaged, either full- or part-time, in fishing and
aquaculture, and this may be a substantial underestimate. Over 95 percent of
them live in developing countries, and the majority are small-scale fishers (FAO
2002a; WRI et al. 2003). In some countries, these subsistence fishers contribute
more to the national economy than large-scale commercial operators—because
of their larger numbers and in spite of their lack of high technology. The
contribution of fisheries to the global food supply is also significant. In 2000, fish
constituted 15.3 percent of the total animal protein (or 5.7 percent of all dietary
protein, including grains) consumed by people worldwide (FAO 2003a). More
importantly, about 1 billion people—largely in developing countries— rely on fish
as their primary animal protein source (calculation based on Laurenti 2002).
Among the countries most dependent on fish for food security are small island
states such as Maldives and Kiribati, and sub-Saharan African states such as
Ghana and Malawi, many of which depend on fish for more than 50 percent of
their animal protein (Laurenti 2002). Residents of Solomon Islands, for example,
consume some 51 kilograms of fish per person each year—about 83 percent of
their animal protein. By comparison, people in the United States, Canada,
Australia, France, and Germany get less than 10 percent of their animal protein
from fish (Laurenti 2002). Because of their importance as a food and income
source for the poor, managing the world’s fisheries resources wisely is a crucial
element in national strategies to reduce poverty. But the challenge of attaining
fisheries management that is environmentally and socially sustainable is
becoming more formidable every day.

Depleting fish stocks: The current rates of fish stock depletion and degradation
of aquatic ecosystems is alarming. Imagine a time when our world’s rivers and
seas are drained of the richness and abundance of life that sustains not only our
fishing pastime, but more importantly the lives of millions of people who depend
upon fisheries for their food source and livelihood? Many of those involved in
fishing — fishers, industry, policy-makers, and environmental organizations —
are already aware of the rapid depletion of key fish stocks and the serious
disruption and degradation of the marine and freshwater ecosystems . The
exploitation pattern in marine fisheries has existed since the end of World War II,
as the capacity and range of boats increased, and the technology for locating
and catching fish improved. Since 1992, overfishing has become one of the
major natural resource concerns for coastal nations. Seventy-five percent of
commercially important marine and most inland water fish stocks are either
currently overfished or are being fished at their biological limit, putting them at
risk if fishing pressure increases or the marine habitat degrades. Over-harvesting
and habitat degradation are the main causes driving fish stock declines in marine
waters, while habitat loss and environmental degradation are the principal factors
threatening fisheries in inland waters.

According to FAO reports, over 60% of the marine fish stocks for which
information is available are either fully exploited or over-exploited, and thirteen of
the world’s fifteen major oceanic fishing areas are now fished at or beyond
capacity. Statistics show that annual global fish catches have plateaued at
roughly 90 MMT and may even be declining. Small fish at the low end of the food
chain comprise an increasing share of global catch while populations of
commercially valuable, large predatory fish — the type many human consumers
prefer — continue to decline. Commercial fishing has wiped out an astonishing
90% of large fish such as swordfish, cod, marlin and sharks. Apart from that,
marine ecosystems and fisheries face serious threats from other sources: run-off
of land-based pollutants, introductions and invasions of exotic species, coastal
development and habitat alteration, unintended by-catch and climate change.
‘Dead zones’ associated with excessive nutrient run-off and oxygen depletion in
marine ecosystems have recently been classified by the United Nations
Environment Program as one of the top global environmental problems. In India
also the marine fisheries have reached a plateau and all eyes are on inland
fisheries to expand and contribute in coming years. Recent research shows that
the ecological effects of overfishing in fact predate all other forms of human
disturbance to coastal ecosystems, including pollution, decline in water quality
and climate change. The over fishing can be growth overfishing (when fishes are
harvested at a size too small for producing the maximum offspring), or
recruitment overfishing (when the adult population is fished so heavily it does not
have the reproductive capacity to replenish itself). Growth overfishing is a
precursor to recruitment overfishing, which can lead to stock collapse.

The current level of declining capture fisheries production has been

achieved only by fishing harder and by targeting smaller and less-valuable
species, as the large fish species have disappeared and fishers continue to “fish
down the food chain.

The role of fully protected areas within large marine management regimes
or ‘seascapes’ is becoming recognised as a vital part of what is needed to
restore depleted populations and ecosystems and maintain their long-term
integrity. Already, some nations have begun to develop broad management plans
for their Exclusive Economic Zones and to consider policies governing protection
and use of wildlife in 60% of the ocean beyond national jurisdictions. Protection
of breeding, feeding and nursery areas, more realistic catch expectations and
development of non-destructive methods of extraction and promotion of
aquaculture will help reverse the present declines.

Aquaculture: Capture fisheries production will be inadequate to meet the

needs of the population, without supplementation through aquaculture.
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world. It has
become so by expanding, diversifying, and intensifying its operations. The
sustainability and future growth of this industry is at stake due to heavy
dependence of intensive systems on human inputs—water, energy, chemicals —
and on wild fish for feed and seed, as well as the adverse effects on ecosystems
and species. In general, aquaculture products fall into two distinct groups: high-
valued species that mainly target export markets, and low-valued species that
are primarily consumed locally. Most large-scale, intensive aquaculture
operations target high-value species, such as shrimp, which are commercialized
in developed countries—mainly Europe, Japan, and the United States—and
require large capital investments. Extensive or rural aquaculture on the other
hand usually targets low-valued species, such as carp, requires low capital
investment, and often provides affordable fish for local consumption. Although
much of the world’s aquaculture production comes from small- and medium-scale
operations, the tendency is toward intensification and higher reliance on wild fish
for fishmeal and seed fish. In recent years, some aquaculture practices have
achieved significant results in increased production and efficiency. However,
most operations still have a long way to go to reach the environmental standards
being set by numerous national authorities and international aquaculture
associations. In addition, regulatory structures need to progress in parallel with
rapidly developing technological advances before widespread adoption of these
technologies takes place. Developing countries in particular face enormous
challenges to support responsible aquaculture practices because of lack of
financial resources and many times, local capacity.

Aquaculture should be promoted without harming the environment. Research

should focus on to develop an environmentally sound and sustainable
aquaculture industry and promote domestic and international compliance with the
environmental guidelines. Consistent attempts should be to domesticate
additional species, giving preference to high-value species and to those that are
least likely to create problems for the environment. Integrating aquaculture
development with wild fish stock management and environmental stewardship
will help to maximize the value of our aquatic resources for the benefit of the
nation. Thrust areas should be on :

 Systems development -Development of cost-effective, environmentally

sound aquaculture and hatchery technology

 Open ocean aquaculture and closed system aquaculture. Recirculating

technologies for inland facilities, and environmentally sound systems for
offshore development.

 Growth and production of marine species -Maintenance of marine

aquaculture species in captivity throughout their life cycle; control and
synchronization of reproductive and growth cycles

 improvement of technology for production and handling of larvae and all

life stages in hatcheries; definition and improvement of nutritional
requirements and nutritional value of live feeds; and definition of
ecological and pheromonal factors affecting production and develop
techniques for spawning and early-stage rearing.

Aquaculture will create jobs, revitalize communities suffering from the

collapse of traditional fisheries stocks, utilize advanced technologies to resolve
natural resource conflicts, Increase fish exports, and enhance domestic
production of finfish and shellfish, provided aquaculture is done in an
environmentally sound manner.

Aquatic biodiversity : Only a tiny fraction of freshwaters is available on

the surface of the globe to support life as 97.5 % of the water is marine. 97 fresh
water makes up less than 0.5% of water on the planet, so freshwater habitats are
precious. Although inland waters represent a vanishing small proportion of the
earth’s total water, they contain an astonishing 40% of all aquatic species. In
other words, on an area basis, the richness of aquatic life in coral reefs is, in fact,
far surpassed by many tropical rivers. Fishes are very diverse and inaccessible,
we know less about their conservation status than for any other vertebrate group
and138 the complexity of aquatic ecosystems is staggering. Coral reefs are
usually singled out as examples of high marine biodiversity, with 93,000 species
so far identified. 129 The high number of fish species in the Amazon River (3,000
is often cited) is frequently advanced as the preeminent example of freshwater
biodiversity, although Coates (this volume) points out that fish species diversity of
the Mekong River, per unit area of catchment, is roughly three times that found in
the Amazon River basin, even though the number of species in the Mekong is
lower.

The impacts on marine and freshwater systems are similar but their
relative importance differs. In general, more attention is paid to biodiversity in
marine waters than freshwater. 4 When fishing is the single most important impact
on aquatic biodiversity in the oceans, freshwater biodiversity is most affected by
alterations to habitat, because inland water habitats are surrounded by land that
has high economic value for agriculture, mineral extraction, timber harvest,
housing and industry. Inland waters themselves also provide services, such as
transportation, irrigation and hydroelectricity, that lead to changes in habitat.
Pollution, while clearly a problem for both marine and freshwaters, is
exacerbated in confined areas.

However, aquaculture (and other negative impacts) affects freshwater

systems more than it does marine – partly because escaped exotic species
flourish more easily in fresh waters, but also because most of the world’s
aquaculture is in freshwater. 157. Human populations tend to spread inland,
colonizing areas farther away from coastal regions and putting increasing
pressure on inland aquatic habitats. The contamination and destruction of inland
watersheds accelerates as people occupy continental interiors, and inland
aquatic biodiversity can be expected to be lost at an accelerating rate.18The
contribution of inland waters to the global economy is under-appreciated. Inland
waters contain 40% of all aquatic species, are subject to greater habitat threats
than the oceans, and have by far the largest proportion of endangered and
threatened species. Inland aquatic biodiversity can be expected to be lost at an
accelerating rate, and freshwater species are more vulnerable to losing
biodiversity at the genetic level than are marine. Inland water fisheries are mostly
small-scale and play a larger role in supporting communities in developing
countries than do marine fisheries. However, inland fisheries are poorly
documented, and detailed knowledge of freshwater species is still concentrated
in universities. Increased investments need to be made in identifying and
managing freshwater aquatic biodiversity in developing countries.

Five to ten thousand species are being transported each day from one part of the
world to another by ballast water in the shipping industry alone, in many cases
invading ecosystems where native species are vulnerable to extinction. Acid rain
is a consequence of industrialization and can occur hundreds of kilometers from
the source of the pollution. The scale of acidification is global and the effects on
freshwater fauna can be catastrophic.

Climate change : Most scientists now agree that ecosystems around the world
will be profoundly influenced by climate change. Global warming has important
consequences for aquatic communities and will affect fisheries. 9 10 86 By the
year 2100, climate change is expected to be the major threat to biodiversity in
inland waters, replacing the effects of land use and invasive species. It is still too
early to say whether the effects of climate change will be greater in the oceans or
inland; alarming scenarios have been drawn for both. The time scale of impacts
on marine and freshwaters is also different139 Those freshwater animals that
cannot tolerate changes in temperature or water availability will be the first to be
affected. Most current models predict a global mean surface temperature
increase of 3-5oC, although prediction of regional effects is more difficult. 65
Whatever the finer-scale effects in different regions, it is clear that temperature
increases in this range will have many effects on aquatic systems, including
increased water temperature, changes in stream flow, changes in lake size and
thermal stratification, a rise in sea levels and consequent loss of estuarine
habitat, and a great increase in “extreme events” like floods and droughts. 93 123
Any of these consequences alone will change the distribution and abundance of
aquatic life; in combination their effects on fisheries may be drastic. Some
examples:

• The ranges of many species will shift. Warm-water species will become
invasive. 142
• A two-degree increase in temperature will reduce freshwater habitat by 35%.
83
• Shallow lakes and wetlands will dry up, and the margins of deeper ones will
decrease. 102
• Species that depend on transient floodplains for reproduction and rearing, such
as tropical migratory species, may experience a severe reduction of habitat.
• For economically important species that are already sensitive to natural decadal
shifts in climate, global warming will affect ocean productivity and marine
survival.11 The result will be larger fluctuations in abundance of adults available
for harvest.

Climate change, although man-induced, is the most difficult of the many

impacts on aquatic biodiversity to undo. Its effects are global, not regional or
local, and they occur at every level in the aquatic ecosystem. Habitat can be
recovered, and fishing and pollution can be reduced, but climate change dwarfs
all of these in terms of scope and intractability. The fisheries management
challenge of the next decades will be to scramble for models that produce
scenarios of fisheries effects, to test these predictions, and to develop
management systems that clearly recognize the impact of climate change. For no
other threat is the need for sectoral cooperation between regulators, legislators,
policy makers and scientists so urgent. Recent climate-related studies show that
oceans have absorbed nearly half of the total amount of carbon dioxide released
worldwide by human activities, such as fossil fuel burning. This process is
changing water chemistry in ways that threaten corals and other calcifying
organisms such as shellfish, with potentially disastrous implications for marine
food webs. The impact of any one of these threats is cause enough for concern
and policy action. Together, they paint a grim picture for the health of ocean
ecosystems and marine fisheries. The oceans may now be poised for yet another
transformation.
 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that
global warming may be one of the most important factors affecting fisheries.
One-fifth of global animal protein intake comes from fish, mostly marine species.
Fisheries are already characterized on a global scale by full utilization, massive
fishing fleet overcapacity, and sharp conflicts between competing fishing fleets.
Climate change impacts are likely to exacerbate existing stresses on fish stocks,
including overfishing, habitat destruction and pollution. Global warming will likely
cause collapses of some fisheries and expansions of others. The level of impact
will vary widely and will depend on the complexity of each ecosystem, the
attributes and adaptability of each species, and the nature of the human
communities that depend on them. If climate change occurs on the scale
indicated by the climate change models, we can expect significant effects on the
distribution and productivity of valuable regional fisheries and the local industries

The majority of the world’s 200 million full and part-time fisherfolk (fishers,
fish processors, traders and ancilliary workers) and their dependents live in areas
vulnerable to human-induced climate change, or depend for a major part of their
livelihood on resources whose distribution and productivity are known to be
influenced by climate variation. However, relationships between the biophysical
impacts of climate change and the livelihood vulnerability of poor fishing
communities have seldom been investigated. Information has been lacking on
the areas and people that are likely to be most vulnerable to climate-induced
changes in the fisheries. This information is required for the effective prioritisation
of development interventions to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of adverse
climate change on fisherfolk living in poverty.

Recent, intense El Niño events and temporary increases in sea surface

temperatures are believed to be responsible for large “bleaching” events on coral
reefs. Corals flourish between quite restricted temperature limits and expel
symbiotic algae in response to a stress such as increasing temperatures, causing
the corals to pale in color (that is, bleach), and in many cases leading to coral
mortality. Such events have threatened the health of coral reef ecosystems in the
coastal waters of many developing countries (for example, throughout the Indian
Ocean), and potentially the fisheries that these ecosystems support. Rates of
recovery from bleaching have been variable around the world for reasons that
are not completely understood, but which may relate to ancillary stressors of
these systems. Unlike many of the other driving forces affecting the sustainability
of the world’s fisheries, the exact nature and magnitude of the impacts of
projected climatic changes on marine ecosystems (such as increased
fluctuations in abundance and spatial distribution of tuna, and increased threats
to coral reef ecosystems) is not yet known. However, there is a growing
recognition among experts that these changes may interact with the biophysical
stresses on ecosystems caused by fishing, rendering fish stocks more vulnerable
to change. For this reason, the possible impacts of climatic changes on fisheries
will need to be taken into account in fisheries management planning. It will likely
require more precautionary approaches to harvest limits, and understanding of
the state of ecosystems. Increased flexibility may be required in the
implementation of regional fishing agreements and management arrangements
due to changing distributions of fish stocks such as tuna.

Socio-economics : The massive expansion of fishing has caused a rapid

decline of net income. At the global level, FAO estimated that during 1994–97 the
gross annual income from the world’s fishing fleets and port infrastructure
amounted to US$70 billion to US$80 billion, which was far below their real
operating and capital costs of US$120 billion. The difference was made up by
substandard incomes and wages, subsidies, and unaccounted depreciation and
infrastructure costs. Many industrial vessels catch hardly enough to meet their
operating costs. A decline in fishery resources also seriously endangers the
livelihoods of some very poor population groups. Fisheries resources are
essential to the lives and livelihoods of about 51 million people, including some of
the world’s poorest people (ICLARM 1999) who are directly involved in the
harvesting and processing of fish and other aquatic products—98 percent of
whom are from developing countries. Around 30 million people are employed
(FAO 2002b) as full-time fishers, of whom 95 percent are from developing
countries. Assuming an average household size of five people, then 250 million
people in developing countries are directly dependent on the fishing sector for
food and income. Pushed by a lack of alternative employment, this number is still
growing. FAO estimates that globally the number of full-time fishers has been
growing at an average rate of two percent per year since 1990, and with the
decline in the number of fishers in the OECD countries, this growth has been
mainly in small-scale fisheries in the developing world. However, this increased
number of fishers has to scratch their livelihood often from a decimated resource
base by the collapse of the catch-per- unit- effort. Additionally, fish production
employs some 150 million people in developing countries in associated sectors
such as marketing, boat building, gear making, and bait (ICLARM 1999). FAO
further estimated that at least 20 percent of the world’s full-time fishers (6 million
people) earn less than US$1 per day, and that roughly 90 percent of the world’s
fishers are from Asia and Africa. 11 More specifically, FAO reports that 85
percent of the world’s fishers and aquaculture workers are in Asia, and seven
percent are in Africa.

Furthermore, for many poor families, fishing is a critical part of risk reduction. In
addition to fishing, many fish workers are also engaged in farming, farm labour,
and other rural activities that provide at least part of their livelihoods. Conversely,
rural and urban people may rely part time on fisheries resources, if they can
access them. Indeed, access to fisheries resources or exclusion from their use
may determine vulnerability to poverty (Bene 2003) in chronically or sporadically
depressed rural environments, for example, as a result of climate, economic, or
other crises. Thus, the resources can act partly as a social safety net, partly as a
production base. The extreme marginal nature of the poorer fishers makes them
a difficult group to target for development assistance.
Nutritional effect:The decline in fishery resources, or a significant increase in
the price of food fish, would seriously affect the nutritional status of major
population groups, including some of the most vulnerable ones. Fish is an
important source of animal protein, but the vitamins and micronutrients it supplies
are also vital for nutrition. Food fish is relatively more important as food in
developing than in industrial countries; in developing countries, fish provides
nearly 20 percent of the animal protein, compared to 12 percent in industrial
countries.12 Indeed, the overall animal protein divide between the industrial and
developing world is starkly illustrated by fish consumption. In 2000, in absolute
consumption per person, people in developing countries consumed only 3.7
grams of fish protein per day compared to 6.6 grams per person in industrial
countries. This points to both an animal protein divide and a divide in the relative
importance of fish in the more meager diets of those in developing countries. It is
particularly important in East Asia and in Africa, where, for example, it supplies
more than 50 percent of the animal protein intake in the diet of the 400 million
people living in the some of the poorest countries of the world (Bangladesh,
Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, The Gambia, the
Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and Togo). This figure is equal to all four
terrestrial animal protein commodity groups combined (beef and veal, sheep, pig,
and poultry) for these countries (Williams 1996).

Fisheries Management :Man has taken fish from nature for millennia, and
millions still rely on fishing and fish for their income and nutritional quality of their
diet. However, without a concerted effort of the global community to improve
fisheries management, the world is under imminent threat of a collapse of some
of its main fisheries, endangering the livelihoods of these millions, reducing
foreign exchange earnings of several developing countries, and ravaging the
health of the oceans. Public and international awareness has been raised by an
ever increasing stream of evidence that many of the world’s fisheries are
overfished, catches are declining, and fishers’ livelihoods are degrading along
with the natural ecosystems they exploit. As more and more fisheries have
declined or collapsed over the last decade, developing and industrialized
countries have demonstrated an increasing willingness to improve fisheries
management. The recent experiences of countries such as Iceland, Namibia,
New Zealand, Norway, the Pacific Islands, and the Philippines; the current
situation under way in Ghana and Senegal; and the long-term experience of
Japan, which successfully changed their approach to managing their fishing
sectors, provides developing countries willing to follow their lead with a valuable
set of proven practices and methods described below. This new set of proven
practices is the basis for the proposed enhanced role of the international donor
community, including the World Bank, in sustainable fisheries management. The
main good practices elements and the proposed entry points are described
below.

Improved Governance. The good practice governance models implemented by

the above-mentioned countries are in the context of an ecosystems approach.
They are thus addressing the biotic, abiotic, and human components of
ecosystems and their interactions in a holistic fashion. The ecosystems approach
is clearly articulated in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, adopted
in 1995 by the FAO member states. Experience so far highlights the importance
of a strong decision making, legal, and enforcement framework, which clearly
defines the participants, their resources, and their access rights and obligations.
This is possible only if an effective system of decentralization and other
stakeholder involvement (collaborative management, or co-management) is
established. Moreover, good governance requires the establishment, in a
transparent and participatory fashion, of the most appropriate balance between
short- and long-term objectives, between small-scale and industrial sectors, and
between maximization of income from license fees and long-term sustainability.
Good governance also requires support for the developing world in the
negotiations, implementation, and control of the fisheries agreements, ensuring
that the interests of their domestic industries are adequately protected. The
World Bank has considerable experience in supporting improved governance
and accountability from other sectors. Therefore, it could participate using
instruments such as programmatic lending (budgetary support in the form of
Poverty Reduction Support Credits [PRSC] and Programmatic Structural
Adjustment Loans [PSAL]) and investment lending (Specific Investment Loans
[SILs]) for some of the required investments to strengthen the control functions,
such as monitoring systems and surveillance vessels. Once improved
governance of the fisheries has been established, countries may avail
themselves of a menu of proven good practices—often used in combination and
often using approaches similar to those used in forestry, water, and community
development—which can be used to help implement sector reforms, including:
 S trengthening comanagement. Established as a part of the restructuring of
governance, the sharing of responsibilities between the fishers and government
would need continuing attention. This is particularly important in tropical
developing countries with large numbers of fishers using multiple gears to target
multiple species. Comanagement systems require significant extension,
education, and awareness (of all fisheries stakeholders, including government),
and technical assistance activities to empower communities and stakeholders to
participate in the governance of sustainable fisheries.
There is now a good body of experience available of successful, locally
implemented comanagement schemes, for example, in India, Indonesia, Samoa,
and the Shetland Islands. Such schemes are based on the principles of
Community-Driven Development (CDD), in which many donor agencies and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) now have a good deal of experience.

Establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Setting aside

environmentally critical fish habitats for full protection is effective in rejuvenating
depleted fish stocks, particularly in multispecies, smallscale fisheries, as shown
in World Bank projects in Indonesia and the Philippines, and in the Caribbean. As
in comanagement, donors could expand support for the establishment of such
reserves through CDD programs, and through the programs of the Global
Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF/ World Bank Coral Reef Targeted
Research and Capacity Building Project proposes to inform decisions related to
siting and design of MPAs, and would directly support achievement of World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) targets to establish representative
networks of effective MPAs.
Changing exploitation patterns. Changes in patterns of exploitation are aimed
at avoiding the catches of immature fish through gear regulations (mesh size);
setting the legal fish size, eventually in combination with temporary closed areas;
seasonal closures; and other gear restrictions. Such regulatory gear can also be
used to avoid bycatches (discards) on non-target species.
Restocking and stock enhancement programs. Releasing reared juveniles into
open waters has proven to be very effective for some species, including the
restocking of fish in irrigation water bodies, as successfully proven in Bangladesh
and India. This could be mainly funded through bilateral donors.
Fishing capacity reduction. Decommissioning fishing vessels or buying back of
licenses is probably the most direct method of reducing industrial fishing capacity
—to increase the relative share of fish resources available to small-scale fishers.
There is experience with buyback schemes from Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) countries, and some from China and
Malaysia, the latter dealing with older vessels, and payment through funding of
alternative livelihoods. In view of the high level of funding required, and the policy
nature of those schemes, the World Bank and other major international financial
institutions could support buyback of surplus vessels through broad sector
instruments such as Sector-Wide Approach programs (SWAps) or PRSCs.

Aquaculture. Helping to meet the global demand for fish and reducing the
pressure on capture fisheries, fish farming has expanded dramatically (now 35
percent of total global production), although the rapid expansion has not been
without environmental and social problems. The World Bank has supported
several aquaculture programs, mostly in East Asia, covering the entire production
chain, and could continue to support aquaculture through SILs or in partnership
with bilateral donors and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Key areas
of public funding are the establishment of the appropriate investment climate,
environmental and social safeguards, and support for research and development,
particularly in increasing efficiency.
Certification and food safety programs for fish products. Such tools have the
potential to promote sector sustainability and poverty reduction. Certification
programs, certifying fisheries compliance with environmental criteria, such as the
quality of the management system, stock condition, and ecosystem impact, have
begun to generate an impact in temperate climates, and are now increasingly
focusing on selected tropical fisheries. Compliance with food safety standards
also becomes critical for international market access, and good experiences
have been obtained with small-scale fisher groups, such as in West Africa. This
would be mainly the domain of other donors and the private sector.
Promotion of alternative livelihoods. Creating economic alternatives to fishing
for small-scale fishers and fishing communities faced with resource degradation,
overcapacity, and the need for effort reduction will be essential to reducing
human pressure on overexploited resources. Alternative livelihood development
is based on community-driven programs, and ideally offers a wide range of
options to surplus fishers. Successful experiences with alternative livelihoods
exist in World Bank projects in China, where most alternative employment was
found in aquaculture, and in Indonesia, where most success was achieved
outside the sector. Alternative livelihoods to fishing can best be promoted
through CDD and microfinance programs, in which there is now solid
international experience accumulating. Clearly, while there is a worsening crisis
that particularly affects fisheries in tropical areas where sector governance is
currently weakest, not all is lost. If action is taken soon to reduce overfishing,
using the methods and approaches that have proven effective in a number of
developing and industrial countries, most of the threatened ecosystems can—at
least partly—recover, and effective sector governance can reverse the declines
in income and other economic impacts discussed above.

The Shifting Focus of Fisheries Management—The Ecosystem Approach:

During the last decades, fisheries management plans have generally been
targeted at one or a few commercial or food species. However, in both large- and
small-scale fisheries, fishing activities usually affect other components of the
ecosystem in which harvesting is occurring (for example, through bycatch of
nontarget species, food chain effects, changes in biodiversity, and degradation of
habitats). Thus, sustainable fisheries management and development approaches
require consideration and management of the entire marine ecosystem that
supports the fisheries, and not just the target species. The need for a wider
consideration of environmental and ecosystem issues in fisheries has been
recognized by the international community, and the principles for an Ecosystem
Approach to Fisheries (EAF) have been documented by many forums, including
the FAO’s Committee on Fisheries, and recently in a statement by over 50
international participants at a meeting hosted by the World Fish Center in
Penang (FAO 2002d; World Fish Center 2004). The approach, although rooted in
the biological concerns of fishing, has much wider implications for the future
governance of the fisheries sector within national planning. According to the FAO
(2002d): “An Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries strives to balance diverse societal
objectives, by taking into account knowledge and uncertainties about biotic,
abiotic and human components of ecosystems and their Redressing the
Governance Framework for Sustainable Fisheries Management interactions and
applying an integrated approach to fisheries within ecologically meaningful
boundaries” (FAO 2002d). The consideration of a broader range of ecosystem
goods and services necessarily implies the need to address a wider range of
trade-offs between different uses and user groups. Consequently, there is a
requirement for a broader stakeholder base, broader participation, and improved
linkages of fisheries with coastal and ocean planning and integrated coastal zone
management activities.
Similarly, the benefits deriving from successful implementation of an EAF are not
only fish harvests.They have been identified as:
 Greater economic and social benefits, including fisheries that produce
higher catches at lower costs;
 Fewer conflicts among competing users;
 Fewer disruptive surprises, which might occur otherwise because
ecosystem changes are not foreseenand/or are not taken into account, or
become more likely as ecosystems are increasingly perturbed by fishing;
and,
 Continuing social acceptance of fisheries as a responsible use of marine
ecosystems.
 The challenges to adopt and implement the ecosystem approach in small-
scale fisheries are substantial.

Currently, management indicators are still generally focused on target species

(for example, biomass, and recruitment) rather than on an ecosystem scale, and
consensus on practical applications of this approach is still emerging.
Nevertheless, the EAF provides an approach within which to pursue sustainable
fisheries management in the future—a framework that takes into account the
dependence of small scale and artisanal fishing communities on fishing for their
life, livelihoods, and food security.

The fisheries sector makes important contributions to local development in

coastal, lakeshore, floodplain and riparian areas, through employment and
multiplier effects. Maintaining or enhancing the benefits of fisheries in the context
of a changing climate regime is an important development challenge.

The ecosystem approach to fisheries management put forward by the

FAO and supported by many countries provides the framework and principles
needed to achieve the goal of sustainability in the fisheries sector. As mentioned
above, it aims to reduce the impact of fishing activities on aquatic ecosystems
and maintain the ecological relationships between the species being harvested
and other inhabitants of the ecosystem, trying not to disturb the relative balance
of species by overharvesting a given stock. Protecting the coastal and inland
water environments from other human-induced threats, such as pollution and
infrastructure development, is another key element of this approach. Using an
ecosystem approach also has a socioeconomic dimension. It starts from the
assumption that fisheries management should not only sustain the fishery
resource itself, but should contribute to the sustainable development of
communities and nations, including food security and economic growth. It
therefore realizes that managing fisheries must do more than just satisfy the
commercial fishing industry, it must also accommodate the wide array of
economic and social benefits that people derive from marine and freshwater
ecosystems, such as recreation, livelihoods, cultural identity, and so on. The
practical effect of this is that it widens the group of users who have a legitimate
say in how fisheries should be managed. Setting up appropriate institutional
structures and legal frameworks that will allow wider stakeholder participation in
resource management is therefore essential for the successful implementation of
more concrete management strategies. Of course, translating the ecosystem
approach into concrete management policies is not easy. There is no “one-size-
fits-all” management approach suitable to all nations and fish stocks. However,
there are a variety of strategies that, when combined, can clearly contribute to
more sustainable fishing practices. These include such steps as:

• improving licensing and monitoring regimes;

• developing refined fishing gears that reduce damaging impacts and unintended
catches;
• establishing marine protected areas that act as refuges for recovery of fish
stocks;
• managing river basins as integrated units with water allocation schemes to
sustain river flows and the natural ecosystem functions and
processes;
• supporting better stock assessments that yield more accurate catch quotas;
• pursuing stricter enforcement of fishing regulations and tighter international
cooperation to improve compliance with international fishing treaties;
• establishing new institutional arrangements that can adopt an integrated or
ecosystem approach to resource management;
• creating national policies that incorporate fisheries into development and
poverty reduction strategies; and
• putting in place economic policies that give fishers incentives to reduce fleet
sizes and that reward responsible fishing practices.

All of these strategies are currently being applied in various nations and
with various stocks, but the specifics and the level of coordination are what
count. Finally, a sustained political commitment to reorient fisheries subsidies will
also be needed to shift our current way of managing fisheries to a more holistic
and ecosystem-based approach.

The future scenario: The fish biodiversity loss and environmental impacts of
fishing and aquaculture in 2030’s will be alarming. The scientists have to play a
vital role in averting dangers in ecosystem. Precautionary principles are to be
adopted from now on for a better future fisheries scenario. The utilization of
advanced technologies ranging from acoustics to artificial intelligence will pave
the way for sustainable fish production. The revolution in fishing craft design
and use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel, hydrogen fuel cells, solar
/photovoltaic cells and ecofriendly fishing techniques will only result in
sustainable fish production.The growth overfishing and recruitment overfishing
should be controlled using scientific application of conservation measures. The
responsible fisheries and World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime will be
enforced for continuing in the trade bloc to augment exports. The ecolabelled
fishery products will be available through out India and environmentally
conscious fish consumption pattern will be emerging through regulations. The
non conventional energy use and ready to use fishery products will be the hall
mark of fisheries.

Biotechnology -Development of DNA technology for manipulation, introduction,

and expressing genes in aquaculture human food species and species with
potential for use either in production of chemical products or in industrial
processing to provide strains that grow faster, have higher feed efficiency,
produce higher proportions of muscle or desirable compounds, synthesize
metabolites at greater rates, or catabolize waste materials or toxic effluents more
efficiently; production technology to produce sterile animals for commercial
culture to reduce the possibility of genetic contamination from accidental
escapements: development of gene probes, compound probes and molecular
assays for assessment of endocrine activities and detection and measurement of
pathogenic viruses and bacteria; development of vaccines and other measures
for controlling disease and parasites.

The rapid advancement in biotechnology and bioinformatics will provide

extra momentum in fisheries research. The giant aquatic animals can be
miniaturized through genetic modification. Thus It would be possible to have
bonsai whales and dolphins in home aquaria. Arctic fur seals, sea elephants
whales and sea lions etc. in freshwaters at garden ponds will become a reality.
Genetically modified fishes engineered with fluorescent gene from fireflies could
be the next generation ornamental fishes. The artificial prawns will be developed
having similar taste like that of Indian white prawn. The genetically modified
boneless fishes will attract more people on fish diet. Possibilities of getting fresh
water sardines, mackerels and tunas in the market is not too far. Transgenic
freshwater fishes with omega-3 fatty acids in them will add to their nutritional
quality for healthy diet similar to that of marine ones. Fish sanitary methods to
clear polluted waters will be used widely to contain pollution . New drugs for
cancer and HIV from aquatic organisms, life saving drugs from blue ringed
octopus, disease resistant prawns and fishes, more varieties of air breathing
fishes, dog sharks without odour of urea in meat, transgenic tunas without red
meat, fast growing and disease resistant transgenic fishes crustaceans ,
molluscs, etc. will be the revolutionary achievements in fish biotechnology. Even
immunization for children through consumption of fish will not be a distant
dream. The cloning of fishes , sequencing of corals, sponges and sharks etc will
open up new horizons in drug discovery .

Robotics in fisheries: Scientists can now visualize the ocean floor in remote
areas of the Arctic, observe rockfish hideouts, and see live images of coral cities
thousands of meters under the sea's surface. Soon their robots will be able to
"live" on the bottom of the ocean - monitoring everything from signs of tsunamis
to the effects of deep sea drilling. Remote operating vehicles provide a sea of
information
Ecolabelling:The goal of ecolabelling programmes is to create market-based
incentives for better management of fisheries by creating consumer demand for
seafood products from well-managed stocks. Ecolabels are seals of approval
given to products that are deemed to have fewer impacts on the environment
than functionally or competitively similar products. The Flower is the EU ecolabel
and was introduced in 1992. The Nordic Swan ecolabel has existed since
1989.FAO COFI just adopted (March 2005) new voluntary guidelines for eco-
labelling of fish products from marine fisheries. The scope of eco-labels
guidelines will probably be expanded to include inland fisheries and aquaculture.
The ecolabelled fishery products will be available through out India in future and
environmentally conscious fish consumption

Education and Training :On the education front, our position seems to be
satisfactory with 38 State Agricultural Universities located across the country
besides five Deemed-to-be Universities and a Central Agricultural University for
the North-East, that develop and train human resources in agriculture and allied
sciences. It is time now that our SAUs reorient their course curricula and place
more emphasis on new and emerging areas such as biotechnology, computer
applications, GIS, IPRs, international treaties and conventions, and on issues like
codex standards, bio-safety and bio-ethics. The change in agricultural education
should focus on inculcating entrepreneurship and professionalism in agriculture
students.

Technology transfer - Agencies relating to production system management,

culture techniques, nutrition, disease diagnosis and control and environmental
technologies to meet water quality standards, will continue to be an important
part of extension. Using education and training to develop logical and
economically viable alternatives for displaced fishermen. Improved extension,
outreach and education efforts to support aquaculture planning, regulatory and
permitting efforts and to support existing industry and to train fishermen, students
and other new industry entrants in aquaculture techniques.

Conclusion

Application of satellite technology to generate information on

characteristics of species, to monitor deep-sea fishing activities and to aid
communication to facilitate rapid landing can address some of the crucial needs
of fisheries management. Improving the existing by-catch reduction devices
(BRDs) can also address the problem. India need to develop efficient and
transparent management systems for their inland open water and marine
resources, as we have severe problems in managing fisheries dominated by
small-scale and subsistence fishers. Policy actions are needed to devise a
framework for developing and prioritizing technological packages that are pro
poor, economically efficient and environmentally safe. By taking account of the
major shifts occurring in the fish sector and combining forward-looking policies
with investment in useful new technologies, policymakers can help ensure that
the fish sector remains environmentally sustainable as well as beneficial for the
India’s poor people. The nation is looking on our scientists to provide this win-win
solution through meaningful research