1kg Prawn = 5 Kg By-Catch

 

 

Courtesy: Squandering the Seas

 

Shrimp trawlers, particularly those in the tropics, can catch over 400 marine species in their nets. These non-target species or ‘bycatch’ are often discarded by shrimp fishermen – either they are inedible or are simply not worth retaining when shrimp is worth up to 30 times more per kilogram.

 

 

Above: Over 400 non-targeted species have been identified in tropical shrimp fisheries. Creatures that live on the seabed, such as octopus, are partiicularly vulnerable to to trawling.  

 

Shrimp fisheries typically produce bycatch-to-shrimp ratios of 5:1 in temperate areas and 10:1 in the tropics. However, higher ratios have been found, such as 21:1 in the case of the Australian Northern Prawn Fishery. This essentially means 21 kg of marine organisms are caught in order to obtain 1 kg of shrimp. Currently, tens of millions of tonnes of bycatch are taken by shrimp trawl fisheries worldwide each year. Most shrimp trawlers discard this non-target catch. Shrimp fisheries alone are responsible for one third of the world’s discarded catch, despite producing less than 2% of global seafood.

 

 

Shrimp often ends up on the tables of wealthy consumers in the developed world. It is a luxury item. For poor fishing communities, fish is a necessity. Globally, 450 million people rely on fisheries as a source of food  and income. In Bangladesh, the fisheries sector provides 78% of animal protein intake for the average person. Equally high dependencies are found in other developing nations, yet it is countries such as these that face food security issues linked to overfishing.

 

People in the developing world witness shrimp trawlers – sometimes foreign-owned – destroy their traditional fishing grounds and incidentally catch and squander local fish stocks. In some cases this fishing is illegal, in other cases it is the result of fisheries agreements, such as those between the EU and African nations. Yet those who suffer the environmental costs of shrimp trawling are unlikely to see the financial rewards of these agreements.

 

Shrimp trawling frequently takes place in shallow coastal waters, which act as nursery grounds for many commercial fish species. Trawling removes vast numbers of juvenile fish that are needed to sustain fish stocks. In addition, by dragging large, heavy nets along the seabed, habitats that  support marine life are damaged. One study found that the pass of a single trawl could remove up to 25% of seabed life. In heavily-trawled areas, habitats have little chance to recover and in some cases may be permanently altered.

 

 

Shrimp trawling is thought to disrupt entire marine communities, altering biomass, size structure and diversity. Populations of vulnerable species are rapidly reduced. These species tend to be slow-growing and long-lived with low reproductive output and/or those dependent on structurally diverse seabed habitats. Some of these, such as turtles, are already endangered as a result of other human activities. Shrimp trawling presents one of the greatest threats to their continued survival. Indeed, it is estimated that 150,000 sea turtles are killed annually by shrimp

trawlers. A creature that has lived on Earth for millions of years could be wiped out by consumer demand for a high value seafood.

 

Damage caused by shrimp trawling is so significant that leading scientists have compared it to clear-cutting forests. However, unlike deforestation, the impacts of shrimp fisheries are only just beginning to receive international attention. Reports written by leading intergovernmental organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, state that many shrimp fisheries are presently unsustainable and advocate changes to current patterns of exploitation.

 

Shrimp trawling is one of the most wasteful, destructive and inequitable ways to exploit the oceans. The Environmental Justice Foundation is campaigning to promote a precautionary approach to shrimp fisheries that prioritises social and ecological sustainability. Within this report, EJF proposes a series of recommendations outlining how shrimp fisheries can be managed in a more just and responsible way.