Friday, September 14th, 2012
Stephan: This is simple greed coupled to willful ignorance. Equal to the man with an axe cutting down the last tree on Eastern Island, even while knowing that by doing this act his culture and environment will be destroyed. This is why we need regulation. You cannot rely on people doing the right thing. Regulation should be the expression of collective intention, with national wellness as its goal. All other considerations should come second. A child can tell you that if two marbles go into the pot, and four come out eventually there will be no more marbles. In this a case a world stripped of fish. This is real data.
The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nongovernmental organization that works globally to establish pragmatic, science-based policies that protect our oceans, preserve our wild lands, and promote clean energy. www.PewEnvironment.org
For more than 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $80 million in grants into more than $500 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California. Ecotrust's many innovations include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms, and indigenous affairs, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic, and environmental decision making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it honors and supports the wisdom of Native and First Nation leadership in its work. www.ecotrust.org
The respected Pew Charitable Trusts
ORLANDO, FLORIDA — Pew-commissioned study underscores need for protecting species
The Southeast sustained tens of millions of dollars in economic losses during a five-year period because years of overfishing depleted species led to fewer recreational fishing trips, according to an analysis commissioned by the Pew Environment Group.
The study, conducted by the nonprofit consulting firm Ecotrust, examined the impact of overfishing from 2005 to 2009 on nine severely depleted species, including black sea bass and red snapper, in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, respectively.
The biggest loss in direct expenditures-nearly $53 million a year on average-came from fewer fishing trips to catch South Atlantic black sea bass. The figure represents money that was not spent on items such as boat rentals, charter fees, tackle, bait, fuel, and other businesses directly dependent on anglers targeting this species. When looking at the broader economy, including spending at hotels, restaurants, wholesale suppliers, and other downstream businesses, the region had a total estimated loss of $138 million because of fewer trips for black sea bass alone.
‘Overfishing-catching fish faster than they can reproduce-leaves a costly legacy that hurts our communities and fishermen,
