Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Steve Myersco,
Voice 2
And I'm Ruby Jones. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The boats came into the port. They were full of fish. There were fishing boats from the United States, Spain, Britain, Russia and other countries. They all came here to fish. The boats' crews knew they would catch plenty of one particular kind of fish here - cod. Together the fishermen caught hundreds of thousands of tonnes of cod every year. This was Newfoundland, an island on the east coast of Canada. It was the 1960s and the fishing industry was doing really well!
Voice 2
However, since then Newfoundland has experienced serious problems. Its fishing industry is now far smaller. Today's Spotlight is on what happened in Newfoundland. The programme also looks at how a similar problem is now happening all over the world.
Voice 1
For hundreds of years the sea around Newfoundland was famous for its fish. Thousands of people worked in the area's fishing industry. Boats from many different countries would come to the area to catch cod. In the late 1960s fishermen caught more and more of the fish. But the Canadian government wanted only fishermen from Canada to catch the fish. So it banned all other countries from fishing in that area. The Canadian fishermen continued to catch hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fish.
Voice 2
However, life for the Canadian fishermen then started to became more difficult. By the mid 1980s they were catching far fewer fish. Finally in 1992, it was clear that there were very few fish left. The government decided to ban fishing completely. This was to try to give the few remaining fish time to increase in number. Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs. And the fish in that area have still not recovered.
Voice 1
The problems in Newfoundland were caused by overfishing. This is when the fishermen catch more fish than the number of fish being reproduced. ‘Overfishing' is now an important word in the global fishing industry. This is because overfishing is happening all over the world.
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Scientists have estimated what will happen if fishing continues at the same rate. They say that by the year 2048 there may be no more fish that we can eat left in the ocean. Even now, overfishing is having a number of effects.
Voice 1
Firstly, many kinds of fish are now in danger of dying out. Some of the most seriously affected are sharks. People often think of sharks as being dangerous and frightening. However, humans are a much bigger danger to sharks, than they are to us. Scientists estimate that about half of the different kinds of shark are at risk of dying out. Fishermen catch the shark because parts of their body have become very popular to eat. But the problem is that sharks are slow to reproduce. So, when fishermen kill too many sharks, it is difficult for the sharks to increase in number again.
Voice 2
In February 2009 the European Union decided to try and protect sharks. The EU wanted to increase the number of sharks in the ocean. Joe Borg works for the European Union. He is responsible for the fishing industry. He says,
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‘Sharks are at great risk from overfishing. The effects of decreasing their numbers may be very serious. This is not only for sharks but also for other life in the sea, and for fishermen themselves. That is why we have written a plan of action. Our plan is to establish a more careful way of managing how sharks are caught. This will support the large amount of research that we still need to do. The research will help us understand better the part that sharks play in the life of our ocean. And, it will help us understand the effect that fishing may have on the sharks.'
Voice 1
As Joe Borg said, overfishing does not just affect the fish that the fishermen catch. It also affects many other kinds of life in the sea. One kind of fish may disappear. But this also affects many other kinds of fish in the sea. Some fish will increase in number, while others will decrease. The process of life in that area - the ecosystem - can be changed. If too many kinds of fish disappear from the ecosystem, then many more may also die.
Voice 2
But overfishing can also have a big effect on humans too. Currently a billion people in the world depend on fish as an important part of their diet. Also over 30 million people depend on fish to make money. So if there are no more fish to catch, there may be less food and fewer jobs.
Voice 1
In West Africa, people are already feeling the effects of overfishing. People have fished there for thousands of years. However, now boats from Europe are also fishing in these waters. European authorities have paid countries such as Senegal to be able to do this. But this means there are fewer fish for local fishermen to catch. Many fishermen can no longer survive on the money they get from fishing. So many are now moving away from their home country to look for work in Europe.
Voice 2
So what can people do to stop overfishing? International authorities and governments are beginning to take action. They only let fishing boats catch a limited number of fish. But environmental groups think this limit should be set lower. These groups also want them to set up protected areas of the ocean where fishing is not permitted at all. This could stop some kinds of fish from dying out.
Voice 1
But what about us? Is there anything that we can do? Many people are now asking this question. One group has made a film all about the problem of overfishing. The film is called ‘The End of the Line'. The producers of the film suggest some things that we could do:
Voice 4
‘The End of the Line' is not against fishing. It is not against eating fish. But it is for a responsible attitude towards the oceans. The film has three messages for people and companies.
One: Ask before you buy - only eat seafood which is not overfished.
Two: Tell elected government officials to listen to the scientists and reduce the number of fishing boats.
Three: support organisations that struggle for protected areas of the ocean and for responsible fishing.'
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