The Commonwealth Conversation

One thing that unites the Commonwealth is salt water

This post was written by Richard Bourne, Associate Fellow of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit.

One thing that unites the Commonwealth is salt water, and one crisis that nearly all Commonwealth states are facing is a crash in marine fish stocks. With only six landlocked states out of our 53, and islands the majority, it is high time that our global expertise was focused on protecting and rebuilding our fisheries.

I and Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, have just edited “From Hook to Plate” a collection of up to the minute essays on the state of marine fisheries from a Commonwealth perspective. Copies are available from the Foundation at Marlborough House, London. These fisheries are important in two ways.

The deep sea fisheries are being robbed and over-exploited, so that it is estimated that off Africa alone the illegal fishing is taking $1billion a year by value.

But there is another issue – the state of inshore and reef fisheries, on which families and subsistence fishers depend for a living. In Mozambique, for example, 40 per cent of animal protein is supplied from such fish. In Pacific islands the comparable number can be 80 per cent. And these fisheries too are vulnerable to over-fishing, pollution, sand mining, and inappropriate tourist and hotel developments.

Mark and I are hoping that these issues will be taken up at the Trinidad summit, in the context of food security and the impact of climate change on the oceans. We would like to see a Ministerial task force, a special fisheries conference, and a voluntary fund to help small island states in particular with their capacity building in fisheries.

There is a lot that can be done. The Commonwealth can help crack down on illegal and unregulated fishing, especially in the excusive economic zones of member states. Recently a New Zealand naval vessel arrested a Taiwanese fishing boat in Tongan waters, and $2.5M compensation has been demanded. European Union boats are not guilt-free either.

For nearshore fisheries there are now good examples of recuperation, with states like Samoa and Belize blazing a trail with Marine Protected Areas which allow species to recover.

When people ask what the Commonwealth is good at or good for in the 21st century, you only have to look at a world atlas to see one of the answers. It is to save the world’s fish, and the communities which depend on them.

Category : Climate Change & Environment
Tags: Fish, water
Stay Updated :  RSS 2.0 feed.