WHEN reviewing stark headlines in the national media over the last year or so, we're presented with a bleak outlook on the future of fish stocks and the provision of seafood in our diet.
A picture is painted of severe global shortages of fish; widespread, relentless and unregulated exploitation and extreme environmental impacts that place the global sustainability of our oceans in jeopardy. The overall message? Stop fishing. Unfortunately simple messages such as this often don't stand up to scrutiny, and such is the case here.
What we must recognise, when we think about the issue of managing how and what we fish for, is that fish is food, and a vital part of a global food supply system.
With a global population of around seven billion rising daily, 20 per cent of whom derive a fifth of their protein from fish, there is a need to balance societal needs for food with the realities of the environmental impact of fishing.
While it is true that our oceans have been overfished in the past, we also need to acknowledge that significant progress has been made in managing fish stocks appropriately and that the combined efforts of the fishing industry and environmental groups working alongside them are beginning to have positive effects in the seas and oceans.
Increasing quantities of fisheries' stocks around the world are being approved to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) standards and the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) regularly monitors stock numbers with often positive, if cautious, results.
The frequently quoted myth around fish 'disappearing from the seas' started with a publication in 2006 (Worm) and was largely retracted in a subsequent paper (Worm, Hilborn et al 2009) which showed that fish stocks can recover if they are managed effectively.
The truth is that cod stocks in the Barents Seas and Iceland are at an all-time high and even the at-risk cod stocks on the Grand Banks and North Sea are showing progressive year on year increases.
We have to question highly sensational headlines, which paint a misleading picture of an increasingly dire state at sea.
The European Commission recently published its Fishing Opportunities for 2013 document, which stated that from a position where 32 out of 34 stocks were classed as overfished in 2004, this has moved to 18 out of 34 in 2011.
To fully understand the truth behind the headlines, we must look at the whole picture.
The industry is working hard to secure long-term sustainability, whether it be through new advances in fishing gear technology, or working with scientists to understand how we can best implement marine protected areas with a minimal socio-economic impact for healthy fisheries.
There is more work to be done, but let's recognise the extensive progress made.
If we do not fish, we can have a pristine environment, abundant fish stocks and communities that are badly impacted economically, with no fish to eat; or we can have a moderately impacted environment, sustainably managed fish stocks, and communities supported by the economic activity from fishing.
It's about getting the right balance, not only in terms of management and fishing activity but in how we talk about and portray the marine environment.
Fish is food, just as grain is food.
No one is denying that there are impacts. There can be no substitute for a fair and balanced approach to reporting the issues.
