STATE OF OUR SEAS
Does Size Matter?
Bigger Fish are Better
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A healthy fish population requires a lot of big fish -- the kind of trophy fish that were common catches 30 years ago. Fewer record-breaking fish are being caught these days because only a fraction of all large fish -- both open ocean species including tuna, swordfish, marlin and large groundfish such as cod, halibut, skate and flounder -- are left in the sea. After six decades of large-scale commercial fishing, the amount of fish in the oceans has plummeted. Fish stories from a decade ago sound like fairy tales to kids who have never seen a 100-pound cod and are unlikely to.
Fishing usually targets the largest and oldest fish. The loss of large fish has large impacts. It’s simple biology: bigger fish produce many more eggs. A female red snapper that measures 61 cm and weighs12.5 kg contains more than 9 million eggs; it would take 212 1.1-kg females to produce the same number of eggs. At age six, a typical striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay produces half a million eggs but by age 15 she’ll produce 3 million eggs.
Industrial fishing and poor management drove many stocks to collapse. Restoring healthy fish populations takes a commitment from everyone to protect the ocean ecosystem. Limiting the catch of a single fish species isn’t enough, big fish need plenty of prey and intact breeding, spawning, nursery and feeding habitats. By choosing to buy sustainably caught fish, adopting better fishing practices and safeguarding essential habitats, we can protect and restore fish populations.
In Florida, the area just outside the boundaries of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at Cape Canaveral has become fertile fishing ground for anglers who hadn’t seen a 90-pound black drum since they were kids. From 1985 to 2002, all new records for black drum have been set by fish caught in the areas adjacent to the refuge. By setting aside key spawning and nursery areas and allowing fish to mature, marine protected areas benefit not just fish but the fishermen who like to catch the big ones.
