All seafood will run out in 2050, say scientists [Run for your lives.]

The Telegraph (Britain) ^ | 03NOV06 | Charles Clover, Environment Editor

[familyop]

The world's stocks of seafood will have collapsed by 2050 at present rates of destruction by fishing, scientists said yesterday.

A four-year study of 7,800 marine species around the world's ecosystems has concluded that the long-term trend is clear and predictable.

	If the rate of over-fishing continues, the world's currently fished seafoods will have reached what is defined as collapse by 2048

By 2048, to be exact, catches of all the presently fished seafoods will have declined on average by more than 90 per cent since 1950.

The study, by an international group of ecologists and economists, says the loss of biodiversity impairs the ability of oceans to feed the world's growing human population — expected to rise by 50 per cent to nine billion in 2050.

Over-fishing also sabotages the stability of marine environments, profoundly reducing the ocean's ability to produce seafood, resist diseases, filter pollutants and rebound from stresses such as climate change.

Every species matters when it comes to the ocean's ability to repair itself, says the study, published in this week's Science magazine.

Dr Boris Worm, of Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, the lead author, said: "This is what is projected, not predicted, to happen. I am confident we will not go there because we will do something about it. But if this trend continues in this predictable fashion, as it has for the last 50 years, the world's currently fished seafoods will have reached what we define as collapse by 2048.

"Every year a higher percentage of the currently fished stocks has collapsed. We are losing it piece by piece."

Prof Callum Roberts, of the University of York, who was not involved in the study, said: "The animals and plants that inhabit the sea are not merely embellishments to be wondered at. They are essential to the health of the oceans and well-being of human society."

The scientists found that in 12 regions, which include the Wadden Sea, the shallow part of the North Sea, 38 per cent of exploited marine species of all kinds, including birds, had collapsed in the past 1,000 years while seven per cent was extinct. Some 29 per cent had collapsed since 1950.

Dr Worm said the decline of cod on the Scotian shelf, off Canada, had led to changes throughout the ecosystem. But there was some good news in the paper.

Dr Worm said there was evidence that wherever protective measures were taken, species recovered rapidly and could cope better with problems such as global warming.

The catch per unit of effort — the standard scientific way of measuring fishing activity — goes up four-fold.

As wild fish stocks decline, farmed fish is expected to take over. Some 43 per cent of fish consumed is already farmed, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

But it warned that fish farming would struggle to maintain even present levels of production because the small wild fish that are fed to farmed species are being over-fished.

Willie Mackenzie, of Greenpeace, said: "This report confirms the scale of the crisis our oceans are facing. It's clear that fish and chips will be off the menu within our lifetimes if we don't act now.

"We need to ban destructive fishing practices and create a network of large-scale marine reserves around not just Britain, but globally".

Despite the problem of the oceans being on a time-scale comparable to global warming, the Government appears to have scrapped plans to introduce its promised Marine Bill in the Queen's Speech this month, the environmental group WWF said yesterday.

[Samurai_Jack]

FISHY STORY!

[gotribe]

I'll finally get to swim in the ocean without fearing sharks. Yea!

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

I think all this nuke testing by Dr. Ill woke up Godzilla, and he is eating all the fish. Watch out Tokyo when his underwater food supply runs out.

[Salamander]

[goresalooza]

It won't matter anyway -- bigfatalgore says we will all die by global warming within ten years.

LOL.

[Salamander]

[familyop]

"FISHY STORY!"

Yep...enough to give a person a haddock!

[bikerman]

My God where`re all doomed,I tell you DOOMED.

[Shqipo]

All your Seafood are belongs to us???

[Erik Latranyi]

When the article cites a member of Greenpeace and someone who gave a speech to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), you know it is complete bias by the animal rights movement.

[Dosa26]

I'm convinced. It's time to kick the asians out of our ocean. Think about it if the pacific was feeding 300mil americans instead of 3 billion asians it would be vibrant! On a serious note, we should optimize the production of edible fishes. I'm sure educated people in comfy chairs are working on it, I just hope they listen to the hard working captains of trawlers that actually care to maintain the ocean and have good ideas.

[wastoute]

Unfortunately, being a recreational fisherman in the Chesapeake Bay area who lived in Panama for several years and fished there (courtesy US Army) this story may be about right. Unfortunately, gummint at the present time, is the problem. The commercial fishery regulation is a disgrace and lobbyists have the politicians in their pocket. What we need is a 20 moratorium on all commercial fishing. If you want fish for supper, get a pole.

[Dallas59]

Dr. Worm and Fish storys....

[MaDeuce]

A fish story told by Dr. Worm ... hummmm. Do I detect a little bias in this story?

[johnthebaptistmoore]

"Well, there he goes again!"

[LRS]

Dr Worm said the decline of cod on the Scotian shelf, off Canada, had led to changes throughout the ecosystem. But there was some good news in the paper.

[basalt]

ah yes, Dr Boris Worm.....famous Dr Worm..

[familyop]

"Dr. Worm and Fish storys...."

And don't forget "the environmental group WWF" (from the posted piece). Professional wrestlers are part of the story, too.

[camle]

you mean we won't get SCROD anymore?

[familyop]

"I'm convinced. It's time to kick the asians out of our ocean."

I would be more for kicking them into the ocean to help replenish fish stocks, but they don't have much meat on their bones. We need to find a locale with higher rate of human obesity to feed more fish, IMO.

[SunkenCiv]

Someone conch you on the head?

[familyop]

"Someone conch you on the head?"

Maybe that's it! ...sometimes leads to wet dreams, you know.

[Vaquero]

since the early 80's, thanks to national limits on certain species, the Northeast stocks of sport fish has, in my estimation, increased many fold.

Now let me put in the caveat. These are what are called inshore species and not those regulated by international treaty, but it is true there are more, bigger, healthier, Striped Bass, bluefish, fluke, flounder than ever before. This is reflected in the local fishing journals and other papers.

Here in the NY,NJ,CONN area the water is cleaner than ever do to anti-dumping regulations.

This, I reiterate is only a personal observation.

[mo]

....UNLESS you give me money now!!!!!

[dmw]

Just for the halibut lets assume this story is true, this is gonna give us fish eaters one big haddock!

[familyop]

Ah...here we are.

---

Wet Dream
by Kip Adadda

It was the 41st of April, being a quadruple leap year.
I was driving through downtown Atlantis.
My Barracuda was in the shop, so I was in a rented Stingray, and it was overheating.
I pulled off into a Shell station.
They said I'd blown a seal.
I said, "Fix the damn thing and leave my private life out of it, okay pal?"

While they were doing that I walked over to a place called "The Oyster Bar" -- a real dive.
But I knew the owner -- he used to play for the Dolphins.
I said "Hi, Gil!" You have to yell, he's hard of herring.
Gil was also down on his luck.
Fact is, he was barely keeping his head below water.

I bellied up to the sandbar.
He poured me the usual -- Rusty snail, hold the grunnion, shaken, not stirred.
With a peanut-butter and jellyfish sandwich on the side -- heavy on the mako.
I slipped him a fin - on porpoise.
I was feelin' good. I even dropped a sand dollar in the box for Jerry's squids.
For the halibut.

Well, the place was crowded.
We were packed in like sardines.
They were all there to listen to the big band sounds of Tommy Dorsal.
What sole.
Tommy was rockin' the place with a very popular tuna, Salmon-chanted evening,
And the stage was surrounded by screaming groupers -- Probably there to see the bass player.
One of them was this cute little yellowtail, and she was giving me the eye.
So I figured this was my chance for a little fun.
You know, piece of pisces.
But she said things I just couldn't fathom.
She was too deep. Seemed to be under a lot of pressure.
Boy, could she drink. She drank like a- She drank a lot.

I said "What's your sign?" She said, "Aquarium."
I said, "Great! Let's get tanked!"
I invited her up to my place for a little midnight bait.
I said, "C'mon, baby, it'll only take a few minnows."
She threw me that same old line, "Not tonight. I've got a haddock."

And she wasn't kidding either, cause in came the biggest, meanest looking haddock I'd ever seen come down the pike.
He was covered with mussels.
He came over to me, he said "Listen, shrimp, don't you come trollin' around here."
What a crab. This guy was steamed. I could see the anchor in his eyes.
I turned to him, I said "A-balone. You're just bein' shellfish."

Well, I knew there was going to be trouble, and so did Gil, cause he was already on the phone to the cods.
The haddock hits me with a sucker punch.
I catch him with a left hook. He eels over.
It was a fluke, but there he was, lyin' on the deck, flat as a mackerel. Kelpless.
I said, "Forget the cods, Gil, this guy's gonna need a sturgeon."

Well, the yellowtail was impressed with the way I landed her boyfriend.
She came over to me, she said "Hey, big boy, you're really a game fish. What's your name?"
I said, "Marlin."
Well, from then on, we had a whale of a time. I took her to dinner. I took her to dance.
I bought her a bouquet of flounders. And then I went home with her.
And what did I get for my trouble?
A case of the clams.

[SunkenCiv]

:') Reading that, I had not a garum the world.

[pepperhead]

Who cares if our fish supply runs out, we can just switch to some good and healthy soylent green!!!!!!!!

[Brilliant]

I betchya seaweed will still be around.

[Peter W. Kessler]

Please pass the tartar sauce.

[familyop]

":') Reading that, I had not a garum the world."

...didn't even notice the sad melodies from the fiddler crabs?

[sayfer bullets]

Try all of Soylent's delicious flavors: Soylent red, Soylent yellow, and new, delicious, Soylent green. Made from the finest undersea growth.

And remember...Tuesday is Soylent Green day.

[Dallas59]

Wasn't this supposed to have happened in 1999...or so predicted in 1970...

TUESDAY IS SOYLENT GREEN DAY!

[SunkenCiv]

Maybe they wouldn't be sad if they'd come out of their shells.

[metesky]

Malthusian BS, assuming that the human mind is stagnant and will never come up with an answer other than government intervention.

[Thrownatbirth]

Man can survive on steamed crabs and beer.

[6SJ7]

Prof Callum Roberts, of the University of York, who was not involved in the study, said: "The animals and plants that inhabit the sea are not merely embellishments to be wondered at..."

... they are also tasty when broiled with bread crumbs and butter.

[Brilliant]

And it's better for you, too.



I've said many times that all of the world's environmental problems can be easily solved. All you've gotta do is reduce the world's population by about 75%.

[familyop]

"Malthusian BS, assuming that the human mind is stagnant and will never come up with an answer other than government intervention."

I agree. Socialists spout that stuff and expect us to be floundering.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"If the rate of over-fishing continues, the world's currently fished seafoods will have reached what is defined as collapse by 2048."

Gonna turn my pool into a bass pond.

[metesky]

Disagree with them and they get really crabby.

[sayfer bullets]

Wow. Are you Ted Turner?

lol...

[southernerwithanattitude]

Poast#43 and no one has said "minorities and children hit hardest".

[Dosa26]

Gonna turn my pool into a bass pond.

My father and I have been stocking bass and minnows in ponds and creeks without permission for as long as I can remember.

[WildWeasel]

Sayonara Charlie Tuna, we hardly knew ye.

[nativist]

If you want fish for supper, get a pole.

I like that slogan but why should you get fish when the rest of the people in the cities can't? You don't deserve fish if we all can't have fish./sarc

[Rb ver. 2.0]

I'm heading out next weekend to target Specs, Flounder and Drum. Gotta get'em while they're still here!

[Leo Carpathian]

I'll finally get to swim in the ocean without fearing sharks. Yea!

Yea, but Jelly fish will get you! Can we extinct Jelly fish? I hate the transparent stingers!

[mutley]

"I'm heading out next weekend to target Specs, Flounder and Drum. Gotta get'em while they're still here!"

So, it's YOUR fault! OCEAN KILLER!!!