Turn the High Seas into a Fish Bank for the World?

Dr. Sumaila explores the vexing question of whether or not to turn the high seas into a “fish bank” by closing it to fishing, and how doing so would likely affect marine biodiversity and its resilience, fish catch and revenues, and their distribution among marine countries. Results reported in the literature suggest, among other things, that less than one percent of global catch and fish revenues are generated exclusively in the high seas, and closing the high seas would result in no loss in aggregate global catch compared to the current situation; the distribution of high seas revenues amongst maritime countries would improve significantly with the closing of the high seas. Additionally, marine ecosystems would become more resilient to the vagaries of climate change by closing the high seas to fishing. These findings suggest that turning the high seas into a “fish bank” for the world could be a good thing for fish and fishers alike.

Dr. Rashid Sumaila is a member of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit, Institute for Oceans and Fisheries & School for Public Policy and Global Studies at the University of British Columbia. He was awarded the 2017 Volvo Environment Prize for his work on this topic.