Going, Going…Gone

Through 1989, when the annual global fish catch peaked at 86.1 million metric tons–a nearly fivefold increase over the recorded haul in 1950–the notion of unlimited bounty prevailed. Since then, we’ve witnessed a precipitous decline, especially in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean. Canada’s Grand Banks and New England’s Georges Banks–once among the most plentiful fishing grounds anywhere–have undergone complete collapse. With the virtual disappearance of haddock, cod and yellowtail flounder, an emergency federal closure of more than 6,000 square miles off the Massachusetts coast was ordered late in 1994, shutting down a $200-million-a-year industry.

Turning Seals into Scapegoats

Twillingate, Newfoundland—-Kill seals, save cod. That’s the rule followed by the Canadian government, which this year authorized the killing of a quarter-million harp seals, whose burgeoning population could be having an effect on depleted stocks of Atlantic cod, their favorite food. By early May, the hunters were mopping up, shooting the seals bobbing along Newfoundland’s northern shore.

Waste at Sea

It’s hard to believe, but the United Nations estimates that about 27 million tons of fish each year–a third the volume of the regular commercial catch–are caught and then tossed back (usually dead) because they are the wrong species, too small, damaged in capture or exceed a particular quota. And some estimates peg the real amount at closer to 40 million tons. In the industry, it’s known as unwanted "bycatch."

Vacuuming the Sea

At sea 200 miles southwest of Iceland last summer, the crew of a super-trawler big enough to contain a dozen Boeing 747 jumbo jets unloaded a staggering 50 tons of oceanic redfish into flash-freezers down below, as the Icelandic ship’s captain began maneuvering against nearby Russian and Japanese vessels for the next set. Emotions were running high, as there was a lot at stake. Each ship was trawling nets with opening circumferences of almost two miles; that’s the equivalent of 10 New York City blocks wide by two Empire State Buildings high. Soon the Russian boat steamed over the Icelander’s net, and the Japanese trawler ripped loose the Russian’s lines.

Fished Out

To early humans, the oceans seemed vast, without limit, their bounty unfathomable. Today, the seas that cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface seem very finite indeed, as more than one million fishing vessels worldwide–double the 1970 total–try to keep from running into each other as they pursue a dwindling catch.

Back From the Brink

Captive breeding of an endangered species can make the difference between its success or failure. The black-footed ferret, the cheetah, the Wyoming toad and the peregrine falcon have all spent generations in captivity, where they eat, drink, sleep and mate at the direction of biologists. All four have teetered on the edge of extinction but, at least partly as a payoff for "doing time" in captivity, they’ve dodged the bullet for now.

Buying High, Selling Low

Remember emissions trading? Six years ago, it was all the rage, a new way to reduce pollution that reconciled the seemingly intractable forces of market capitalism and environmental protection. When Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1990, politicians, some environmentalists, and many an industry executive, proposed market incentives as a way of curbing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, instead of the traditional (and here’s that bad word again) regulatory approach.

Mining Disaster

Armando Valbuena Gouriyu speaks with quiet pride about his people, the Wayuu, an indigenous tribe inhabiting the Guajira Peninsula in Colombia, the northernmost point in South America. With a decentralized, rural society, the Wayuu successfully resisted colonial conquest. They traded with the British, Dutch and French, fought off pirates, and stubbornly retained a barter economy, as well as their own language and customs. "That helped us to survive," Gouriyu says.

Down Deep

Environmentalists fight to protect the microscopic creatures that dwell on the ocean’s bottom.

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