24. Exploitation of Natural Resources Purse Seining Bottom Trawling Traps and Pots
This involves catching fish which inhabit the mid-water regions or upper layers of water (pelagic fish), e.g. tuna.
Bottom trawling catches fish that inhabit the bottom layers of water near the ocean floor (demersal fish), e.g. flounder.
4. Modern fishing techniques Sustainable Exploitation of Fish Stocks
There are a number of ways to prevent overfishing, so that fish stocks can recover or at least stay the same while still being fished. These include:
Ensuring fishing trawlers fish only within their own waters. All countries with a coast have designated fishing zones off their coastlines.
Reducing the amount of fish ( fishing quotas ) that are allowed to be caught. In Ireland, quotas are set by the government and the European Union and are calculated based on the EU’s total allowable catches (TACs). TACs are limits on the amount of fish a country is allowed to catch over one year.
Surveying fish stocks to record if they fall too low. The catching of certain fish can be stopped completely if stocks are too low.
Reducing fishing fleets (number of super-trawlers) in our seas. Restricting fishing of certain types of fish at specific times of the year so as not to interrupt breeding seasons.
Traps and pots are mainly used to catch invertebrates like crab and lobster.
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FUN FACT! According to the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are 38 million fishermen or fish
farmers in the world today. The infographic on the next page gives a number of reasons why fishing must be done in a sustainable way.