Commercial Fishing

9 Pages 2228 Words

sh 1). This opened the eyes of millions to the depleted swordfish stocks by sending a signal to those who were simply dining out and not associated with fishing whatsoever. So what caused such a severe problem with this very profitable industry?
In the past few decades tremendous pressure has been laid upon the swordfish industry due to the fish’s "succulent, fine grain, white flesh"(Michael R. Ross 231). In the early 1970’s commercial pressure came down hard on the swordfish, with many restaurants realizing that this fish was a hit. But, it was this huge market that influenced commercial fisherman to develop tactics such as longlining which further devastated the population. Longlining, which is a method that utilizes a line of hooks that are up to 40 miles long, has accounted a majority of the damages to swordfish. Carl Safina agrees, "Fishing pressure is so crushingly intense, that survival of young through adulthood is down to 3 percent what it once was. The adult population is in a veritable free fall, down 80 percent since the 1970’s.” He adds, “At this rate, the fisheries service fears commercial extinction of swordfish within ten years.” (88). But, before longlining, came harpooning. According to Safina, referring to harpooning off Martha’s Vineyard, "Top captains used to catch between thirty and forty swordfish a day. By 1985, the last year my friends boat fished using a harpoon, the crew caught only three swordfish the whole season!" Safina reveals an utterly chilling fact as he concludes, "As far as I know nobody has ever seen a swordfish south of Martha’s Vineyard since" (17)!
The decline in population is in part due to poor management in the past few years. One plan that has failed in recent years is the restriction of gear and technology. This plan is too expensive for the commercial fishing industry for they would have to purchase all ...