过量捕鱼危害经济和环境

AS IT IS 2016-01-24 Fake Reports of Fish Caught Harms Economy, Environment 过量捕鱼危害经济和环境

The amount of fish caught worldwide is much larger than has been reported.

And that could mean serious problems for the environment and nations that depend on fisheries.

A new estimate places the world fish catch at 109 million metric tons. That is 32 million tons higher than countries have been reporting yearly.

The same report notes that the world’s fish catch has been declining since the late 1990s.

Countries report their industrial catches to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. But they do not report other kinds of fishing. These include the catches of small commercial fisheries, what are called artisanal fisheries, and fishing for recreation and individual food.

Daniel Pauly at the University of British Columbia in Canada led the study. He noted¹ that a huge amount of some catches is thrown away.

“For example, shrimp² trawlers retain only the shrimp and the fish that they catch – often eight to 10 times as much as the shrimp – gets thrown away.”

Pauly told VOA that better estimates of the actual global catch will help ensure there will be enough fish in the future.

“…But our figures suggest that since '96 a rapid decrease is happening. And if you project this forward you end up in a few decades having much less catch, literally³ no catch. So that is potentially dangerous.”

The online journal Nature Communications published the report Tuesday.  

Researchers also found ways the world’s fisheries are changing. They found that fishing fleets of larger nations are catching⁴ fish in the waters of developing countries more and more.

Pauly said he was surprised by the amount of fishing done by foreign fleets in competition with local fishers.

“In West Africa, the figure that was most astonishing is the enormous role of foreign fishing – of European and Asian vessels⁵ fishing legally or illegally – and competing against local fishers. On the other hand for the U.S., Australia and some developing countries, such as the Bahamas, what was apparent is the enormous contribution of recreational fisheries, which also never get reported to the FAO.”

Researchers say inaccurate⁶ data also harms the development and supervision⁷ of effective policy and management measures.

Words in This Story

fisheries – n. a business that catches and sells fish; a part of the ocean were fish and sea creatures are available

commercial – adj. concerned with earning money as a business

fleet – n. a group of ships that work together for a business or for a country

trawlers – n. a boat used to catch fish with a large net

potentially – adv. possible, able to be real

inaccurate – adj. not correct or exact

declining - v. shrinking

decades - n. 10-year periods; many years

astonishing - adj. causing a feeling of great wonder or surprise

enormous - adj. huge or really big

role - n. the part that someone has in a special activity or situation

contribution - n. a payment; the act of giving someone something

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。