THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508230012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Once, the world's oceans seemed to contain an inexhaustible supply of fish. But as Earth's human population has exploded, fish stocks have dwindled alarmingly. Now a U.N. treaty has been adopted by 99 countries to help stop the free-for-all.
Overfishing, high-tech fishing, unregulated fishing and wasteful fishing threaten one of the world's great natural resources. Seventy percent of all fish stocks are now overfished. There have been near wars at sea over cod and turbot, tuna, crab, salmon and pollock.
The new accord covers only 20 percent of the world's marine catch but will help regulate whole ecosystems and marks a needed first step toward more rational management of the ocean's wealth. The treaty is designed to address several issues.
Fishing fleets are shamefully wasteful. According to some estimates, a third of all fish production is unintended catch which is discarded. The pointless killing of up to 40 million metric tons of fish a year is unconscionable and the treaty requires signatories to minimize such waste.
Countries will now have to cooperate on the high seas and within even their 200-mile limits to conserve fish and manage the catch.
Mandatory procedures will be put in place to resolve disputes.
Some fishing gear will be forbidden, quotas on the catch will be established and inspectors will be permitted to board and search ships to monitor compliance.
Critics, including representatives of Greenpeace and other environmental groups, argue that the accord doesn't go far enough, lacks teeth, won't be implemented fully for years and affects only some species.
That's all true. More needs to be done to prevent a catastrophe and keep catches within limits that assure sustainable growth of fish stocks. The world depends on fish as a vital source of protein. That's especially true in Asia. The trend toward depletion of marine resources has been accelerating, and this agreement may slow but won't reverse it. Nevertheless, the treaty does make a start toward curbing rapacious international behavior.
Some have characterized the United Nations as a dangerous institution pursuing one-world government. If anything, the global organization is a feeble institution powerless to control its members. But on an issue like this, it's the only game in town. The world's oceans are one and must be managed for the good of all. The United Nations deserves credit for making as much progress as it has on this vital issue. by CNB