Abstract
Fishing takes place in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of maritime countries. Closing the former to fishing has recently been proposed in the literature and is currently an issue of debate in various international fora. We determine the degree of overlap between fish caught in these two areas of the ocean, examine how global catch might change if catches of straddling species or taxon groups increase within EEZs as a result of protection of adjacent high seas; and identify countries that are likely to gain or lose in total catch quantity and value following high-seas closure. We find that <0.01% of the quantity and value of commercial fish taxa are obtained from catch taken exclusively in the high seas, and if the catch of straddling taxa increases by 18% on average following closure because of spillover, there would be no loss in global catch. The Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, would decrease from 0.66 to 0.33. Thus, closing the high seas could be catch-neutral while inequality in the distribution of fisheries benefits among the world's maritime countries could be reduced by 50%.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 8481 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-6 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Winners and losers in a world where the high seas is closed to fishing. / Sumaila, U. Rashid; Lam, Vicky W Y; Miller, Dana D.; Teh, Louise; Watson, Reg A.; Zeller, Dirk; Cheung, William W L; Côté, Isabelle M.; Rogers, Alex D.; Roberts, Callum; Sala, Enric; Pauly, Daniel.
In: Scientific Reports, Vol. 5, 8481, 2015, p. 1-6.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Winners and losers in a world where the high seas is closed to fishing
AU - Sumaila, U. Rashid
AU - Lam, Vicky W Y
AU - Miller, Dana D.
AU - Teh, Louise
AU - Watson, Reg A.
AU - Zeller, Dirk
AU - Cheung, William W L
AU - Côté, Isabelle M.
AU - Rogers, Alex D.
AU - Roberts, Callum
AU - Sala, Enric
AU - Pauly, Daniel
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Fishing takes place in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of maritime countries. Closing the former to fishing has recently been proposed in the literature and is currently an issue of debate in various international fora. We determine the degree of overlap between fish caught in these two areas of the ocean, examine how global catch might change if catches of straddling species or taxon groups increase within EEZs as a result of protection of adjacent high seas; and identify countries that are likely to gain or lose in total catch quantity and value following high-seas closure. We find that <0.01% of the quantity and value of commercial fish taxa are obtained from catch taken exclusively in the high seas, and if the catch of straddling taxa increases by 18% on average following closure because of spillover, there would be no loss in global catch. The Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, would decrease from 0.66 to 0.33. Thus, closing the high seas could be catch-neutral while inequality in the distribution of fisheries benefits among the world's maritime countries could be reduced by 50%.
AB - Fishing takes place in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of maritime countries. Closing the former to fishing has recently been proposed in the literature and is currently an issue of debate in various international fora. We determine the degree of overlap between fish caught in these two areas of the ocean, examine how global catch might change if catches of straddling species or taxon groups increase within EEZs as a result of protection of adjacent high seas; and identify countries that are likely to gain or lose in total catch quantity and value following high-seas closure. We find that <0.01% of the quantity and value of commercial fish taxa are obtained from catch taken exclusively in the high seas, and if the catch of straddling taxa increases by 18% on average following closure because of spillover, there would be no loss in global catch. The Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, would decrease from 0.66 to 0.33. Thus, closing the high seas could be catch-neutral while inequality in the distribution of fisheries benefits among the world's maritime countries could be reduced by 50%.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84923088263&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/srep08481
DO - 10.1038/srep08481
M3 - Article
VL - 5
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 8481
ER -