Scene on Radio Favorite Things: The Outlaw Ocean
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May 7, 2025 Ian Urbina, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and Daniel Pauly, a leading marine biologist, dive into the harrowing realities of industrial fishing in West Africa. They discuss how large foreign fleets devastate local fishing communities and contribute to the decline of fish populations. Highlights include the double-edged sword of fishmeal production and the hidden struggles of forage fish. Their conversation urges a critical reevaluation of seafood choices and explores the alarming consequences of exploitation and neglect in ocean conservation.
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Industrial Fishing Threatens Locals
- Foreign commercial industrial fishing fleets jeopardize the livelihoods and food security of local West African artisanal fishermen.
- These large vessels often overfish, running over smaller local boats and depleting crucial local fish stocks like bonga fish.
Fish Meal Drives Fish Demand
- Fish meal is produced by grinding up fish into pellets used primarily to feed farmed fish and other livestock.
- Over a quarter of all fish caught globally end up as fish meal, driving demand for large-scale fishing of small fish.
Legal Overfishing Is Major Threat
- Legal industrial fishing causes more overfishing damage than illegal fishing because governments issue too many licenses.
- Advanced technology has enabled industrial fleets to overfish at unsustainable rates, leading to declining fish stocks worldwide.