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Image: Mongabay / FIS
Fishy business of squid vessels needs stronger regulation, study says
(WORLDWIDE, 3/16/2023)
The following is an excerpt from an article published by Mongabay:
- Experts are drawing attention to the unregulated nature of squid fishing, which they say could lead to the overexploitation of species, allow illegal fishing activity to flourish, and contribute to inequity.
- New research suggests that squid fishing increased by 68% across the global oceans between 2017 and 2020, and that 86% took place in unregulated parts of the ocean.
- China’s distant-water fishing fleet accounts for 92% of this tracked squid fishing activity.
- Experts say that unregulated squid fishing needs to be addressed with better management, monitoring and transparency.
Photo: Mongabay
Squid fishing could be getting out of control due to the industry’s lack of regulations, scientists say, prompting calls for greater oversight.
Thousands of squid fishing vessels operate across the world, using light to lure the eight-armed cephalopods to the surface and catching them with nets or jigging equipment. While some research suggests that squid are globally abundant, other evidence suggests that overfishing is driving some populations to decline, including the jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the Southeast Pacific and the Argentine shortfin (Illex argentinus) in the Southwest Atlantic. Experts also say that most squid fishing takes place in unregulated areas in international waters, which has allowed the industry to operate without scrutiny.
 In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers from Global Fishing Watch, the University of California, Santa Cruz, the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong, and the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency used satellite and vessel tracking data to study the movements of the squid fishing vessels. It found that squid fishing across the global oceans increased by 68% over three years (2017-2020), accounting for about 4.4 million total hours of fishing time. The study also indicated that 86% of this fishing occurred in unregulated areas, and that many of the vessels traveled long distances to operate in different regions.
“A major challenge with unregulated fisheries is that we don’t know what we don’t know — and the data to deeply understand questions about stock status and sustainable fishing are not there,” Katherine Seto, lead author of the study and an environmental studies scientist at UCSC, told Mongabay in an email. “However, we know that managers and scientists working with these squid stocks have shown increasing concern in recent years. We also know that where there are RFMOs [regional fisheries management organizations] relating to squid, we’re seeing increased effort and decreased catch per unit effort, suggesting these concerns are well founded.”
While unregulated fishing isn’t illegal, the authors say it’s still problematic since it can lead to the overexploitation of species and allow illegal activity, such as labor abuses, to flourish since unregulated fishing isn’t carefully watched.
A composite data image showing all AIS vessel tracks and the intensity of RF activity as the fleet moved along the southern edge of the Galapagos Islands EEZ boundary. HawkEye 360 image. | Mongabay
The authors say it can also exacerbate inequity for traditional and small-scale fishers in developing coastal states that depend on fishing revenue. That’s because large industrial squid fleets often fish in unregulated areas that directly border coastal states’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs), outcompeting the smaller fisheries for the same stock. For instance, a fleet of Chinese-owned fishing vessels fishes for squid each year close to Ecuador’s EEZ, near the Galápagos Islands, threatening the livelihoods of small-scale fishers operating within the EEZ. Experts have also raised concerns about this fleet going “dark” by turning off their GPS-based automatic identification systems (AIS), which may be a deliberate move to avoid detection while doing something illegal — like going into Ecuador’s EEZ without permission. Many of these same vessels are known to fish for squid just beyond Argentina’s EEZ, going dark for extended periods. (continues...)
Author: Elizabeth Claire Alberts | Read the full article by clicking the link here
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