Research is showing that fishermen will make even more profit than thought if they let stocks rebuild.
The simple reason is that when stocks are plentiful they become easier and cheaper to catch.
This is not rocket science but is a departure from traditional fisheries management, where the maximum highest sustainable catches are set so as to not deplete stocks.
The research shows that there would be higher profits if stocks were kept at a higher level.
“We calculate that we should be conserving about 65% of the virgin biomass whereas at the moment we’re down to about 30%.”
Source:BBC (Quentin Grafton, Australian National University,Canberra
This is good news for those of us that want to see marine biodiversity maintained. The Hong Kong Fishing Industry needs to take note.
The full report from the BBC can be found http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7127761.stm