#ocean #fishing #biodiversity #resource #sustainable development #just transition #SDGs
Reporting in the
journal Science Advances, U.S. researchers analyzed 22 billion data points from
satellite tracking devices on fishing vessels with the help of artificial
intelligence. The authors discovered that an astonishing percentage - 97
percent - of high-seas fishing is controlled by wealthier nations. The ratio was
78% even within the 200-mile exclusive economic zones of less-wealthy countries
for all trackable fishing activity. Government-sponsored subsidies to fishing
fleets in wealthy nations have contributed to their dominance, said the
co-authors. The finding vividly sheds light on the uneven distribution of
increasingly scarce marine resources, depriving local populations of crucial
food and income.
Please refer to the original Science Advance research paper and this piece of Yale e360 digest for more details.
(McCauley et.al. (2018) Wealthy countries dominate industrial fishing. Science Advances, Vol. 4, no. 8, eaau2161. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau2161)