LAST CHANCE FOR FISH

Climate change makes new fishing rules imperative to save species

Salt-codfish cakes with tapenade and fried oregano may be one of the healthier items on the lunch menu at the United Nations delegates8217; dining room in New York. But it8217;s also one of the more controversial. The cod, along with tuna, swordfish and other dinner-table favourites, has soared to the top of the UN agenda.

A recent World Wildlife Fund report says that if stocks continue to decline at the current rate, cod will be extinct in the Atlantic Ocean in less than 15 years. Last week the European Commission delivered a report to the UN General Assembly calling for an end to 8220;bottom gear8221; fishing8212;which employs towed dredges and netting8212;and requiring states to identify and map vulnerable marine habitats so they can be preserved.

Although scientists have known for years that fish stocks are being depleted, climate change has added new urgency to the issue. Although some ocean regions are governed by international regulatory bodies, many others aren8217;t. As sea temperatures rise, many fish that would have been relatively safe in the Atlantic, say, are moving north into the colder, unregulated Arctic waters, where they8217;re particularly vulnerable to 8220;pirate8221; boats. 8220;You can8217;t educate fish on where they can and cannot go,8221; says Simon Cripps, director of the WWF8217;s global marine program. Without worldwide controls on fishing, stocks could be depleted, with little chance of recovery. The EC wants the United Nations to set up more regional fisheries-management organizations, in which UN member countries would enforce rules on deep-sea trawling.

Some environmentalists have applauded the initiative, but critics say the plan won8217;t work. For one thing, by the time a resolution is debated and passed and enforcement begins, the fish stocks may already be too far gone. And even if the United Nations could act more quickly, enforcement is always difficult on the high seas. Countries like Mongolia and some Central American nations, seen as more lax in their licensing of fishing vessels, will have to be persuaded to tighten their controls.

Still, even if stricter regulations prove tough to enforce, creating stronger regional organisations is a step in the right direction, says Mireille Thom, spokeswoman for the EC8217;s fisheries directorate. More UN regulation of the oceans 8220;is not the perfect solution,8221; says Thom, 8220;but it is the most realistic solution, and one that is the most likely to bear fruit.8221; The frutti di mare can only hope that it8217;s not too little, too late.

8212;Newsweek / GINANNE BROWNELL