INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Modern international fishing rights are further complicated as oceans warm because of climate change.Washington: Fish don't follow
international boundaries or understand economic trade agreements
Different species live in regions all over the globe
If that wasn't complicated enough, they also migrate as they age."It's like trying to raise cattle when you've taken down all the fences,"
says Karrigan Bork of the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, whose background includes a PhD in ecology
"Except you can't even brand the fish
There's no way to know which fish is yours."And in response to climate change, vital fisheries stocks such as salmon and mackerel are
migrating without paperwork
According to a new study being published Friday in Science Magazine, coastal countries need to collaborate even more on international
fishing regulations to prevent misuse of resources
Food, environmental and economic securities are at stake, it warns.The study maps out the locations of fisheries and the national
jurisdictions that govern them
The researchers' analysis is based on economic, legal, statistical and ecological data, which they used in sophisticated modeling to predict
the future of international fisheries and to make recommendations for success."This isn't some imaginary future threat," said Malin Pinsky,
an assistant professor at Rutgers University, who helped lead researchers at six universities in a half-dozen countries as part of the
Nippon Foundation-University of British Columbia Nereus Program.Fisheries are critical to food security, jobs and economic stability
As far back as the 1600s, Great Britain and Iceland faced off over rights to the Atlantic cod; they negotiated their claims to the meaty
half of fish and chips over the next several centuries
And after World War II, fishery disputes prompted militarized action in democratic countries
Protests were staged.Modern international fishing rights are further complicated as oceans warm because of climate change
According to Angee Doerr, a research scientist who specializes in fisheries at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, developing countries
in tropical areas are particularly at risk
"Equatorial countries are highly dependent on fish as a protein source," she said
As water temperatures increase, "fish are moving to stay within their comfortable range." This means they may be leaving their traditional
waters altogether.But changes in a single fish species do not occur in a vacuum
They affect the entire food web, potentially altering the ecosystem for all species once one is affected
With increasing technology and computer modeling, however, scientists are getting closer to understanding what our future oceans may look
like.Pinsky and his colleagues analyzed 892 species of commercially important fish
They also examined 261 "Exclusive Economic Zones" - areas of the ocean where countries have jurisdiction under international law
Using this data plus complex climate models, which incorporated ocean temperature, currents and oxygen levels and other factors, the
scientists created a map of global fisheries projections
They outlined the likelihood of specific stocks moving into new economic zones, depending on various climate scenarios.The study, which
reflects an unusual combination of expertise from law, policy, economics, oceanography and ecology, suggests multispecies movement across
dozens of countries' waters
On average, it says, fish are venturing into new territories at 43 miles per decade, a pace expected to continue and accelerate.Challenges
will only increase, according to the researchers
One reason is that policymakers often move more slowly than the fish
The study identifies gaps in current international regulations for global fisheries, with the researchers expressing concern that limited
attention is being paid to the cascading effect on the food chain.Bork agreed that the issues around global fish stocks are increasingly
interdisciplinary and need scientists and lawmakers working together to address them
Neither he nor Doerr were involved in the new study.Conflicts can arise from just one new species entering a nation's waters, which suggests
the potential for big problems in the future
The study predicts that areas with unclear international jurisdiction will be targets for conflict
Just this week in the South China Sea, fishing rights are being contested by Filipino officials, who say the Chinese coast guard is
confiscating fish catches in disputed areas."With adaptable agreements between states, we hope that ocean fisheries can continue to provide
the myriad nutritional, livelihood and economic opportunities relied upon by billions of people around the world," the study concludes.But
if fish stocks migrate to a new country before management is in place, there may be a period when the fish are literally lawless, meaning
not governed by any entity."A fishery that's shared for the first time [is] like two kids facing off for the last piece of cake
They'll race to grab it and get cake smeared all over the table," Pinsky said.(This story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff
and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
