VOA慢速英语-Agriculture Report - 'Catch Shares': A Better Way to

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Too much fishing has reduced many fishery populations by ninety percent or more from their highest recorded numbers. Some fishing seasons last only a few days because the catch limit is quickly reached.

Two years ago, a Canadian scientist, Boris Worm, predicted the risk of a worldwide fishery collapse¹ by two thousand forty-eight. But a new study says a management system called "catch shares" could offer a solution.

It divides the total permitted catch in a fishery into shares. These are bought and sold like shares of stock in a company. Shareholders² in the fishery are each guaranteed a percentage of the catch.

Catch share systems are common in Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. And they have been gaining popularity³ in the United States and Canada.

Systems differ from place to place. But in general, experts set yearly limits, or quotas⁴, on a fishery. The number of fish that each company or individual may catch is usually based on past averages.

Shares become more valuable as fish populations increase. With more fish in the fishery, catch limits also increase.

Human nature would tell us that shareholders are more likely to think about the long-term health of the fishery. They have a greater interest to protect the supply than in traditional, open access fisheries. But does that really happen?

Researchers looked at more than fifty years of records from eleven thousand fisheries worldwide. They compared open access fisheries with one hundred twenty-one fisheries that use catch share systems.

The study found that almost a third of the traditional fisheries have collapsed⁵. But the number was only half that for the catch share fisheries. The findings appeared this month in the journal Science.

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Hawaii did the study. The economist⁶ who led the research, Christopher Costello at Santa Barbara, called the results very hopeful. He says the system can improve the world's fishing grounds and rebuild collapsed fisheries.

Still, not everyone likes the idea. Some environmental activists⁷ say the catch share system makes a public resource into a private enterprise⁸. Generally speaking, anybody can work a traditional fishery. There is no need to organize into a group or company. Yet if scientists' warnings are correct, those fisheries may not have many fish left to catch by the middle of the century.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Bob Doughty⁹.

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

3 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

4 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 enterprise   

n.企业单位，商业公司，事业，计划

参考例句：

• They are determined to carry forward the enterprise.他们决心把事业进行下去。
• The enterprise has excellent prospects.这家企业的远景极其美好。

9 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。