Like many things after WWII, the world’s food supply was in tatters. Governments looked to the seas and to fishermen to feed millions of people who were struggling after countries had been torn apart by war. Huge subsidies were paid out to fisherman, and the more money fisherman got, the more fish they caught.
Now, there is a problem. Fish depletion from the oceans is reaching critical levels.
Rashid Sumaila. Image credit University of British Columbia.
And, according to UBC economist Rashid Sumaila, these subsidies are also leading to small-scale fisherman struggling, and environmental harms through subsidies for fuel.
These subsidies, outdated and harmful, are compounding the problems the ocean is facing with rising temperatures and acidity, and also speeding up the depletion of fish populations from our oceans, as huge trawlers scour the ocean for a catch, leaving the little guy (both fish and human) hurting.
Read more about the research of Rashid Sumaila into how fishery subsidies are hurting both fish and fisherman in « Fisheries S.O.S. », originally published in theMar + Apr 2018 edition of Canadian Wildlife magazine
