George Steinmetz

The severity of the global problem was recently quantified in a ground-breaking ten-year study by Daniel Pauly (University of British Columbia) which showed that the number of fish being caught worldwide is 50% higher than figures reported by the UN Food & Agriculture Organization, the reason being that the source data is self-reported by each country. Pauly’s team painstakingly reconstructed historic data to show that the global fish catch peaked in 1997 at 130 million tons; since then it has declined by 1.2 million tons a year even though there has been a huge increase in the number and size of fishing boats, and new fish-finding technologies. There are clear signs that wild fish stocks are plummeting as humans accelerate the harvesting of the biosphere.

The photographs in the exhibit were taken over the past six years in nine countries. They document some of the largest and most sophisticated new ships harvesting marine wildlife, as well as poor fisherfolk from some of the world’s least developed nations who are scouring coastal waters in a desperate struggle to feed their families. But as I traveled the seven seas, I did not see only doom and gloom. I also discovered well-managed fisheries that harvest specific species sustainably, with scientific monitoring of fish populations to guarantee long-term abundance. Here was a reminder that there are solutions, but only if we do a better job of understanding the sources and impacts of our food decisions so that we can make more informed choices. So, the next time you buy marine life, try to understand how it got to your local marketplace and remember that even farmed seafood, like shrimp and salmon, depend on wild fisheries for their food.

George Steinmetz

The project was partially funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society.