Will the ocean ever run out of fish? - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet

翻译人员: Lipeng Chen 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Fish are in trouble.

鱼类有麻烦了。

The cod population off Canada's East Coast collapsed in the 1990s,

加拿大东海岸的鳕鱼数量在 上世纪九十年代呈现断崖式下降，

intense recreational and commercial fishing

过渡的娱乐性和商业性捕鱼

has decimated goliath grouper populations in South Florida,

使得南佛罗里达的石斑鱼几乎绝迹，

and most populations of tuna have plummeted by over 50%,

金枪鱼的数量暴跌了超过50%，

with the Southern Atlantic bluefin on the verge of extinction.

特别是南大西洋蓝鳍金枪鱼 已处在灭绝边缘。

这些只是许许多多例子中的一小部分。

Those are just a couple of many examples.

Overfishing is happening all over the world.

在世界各地，过度捕鱼都屡见不鲜。

How did this happen?

这是怎么发生的呢？

When some people think of fishing,

有些人想到捕鱼，

脑海中浮现的是悠闲地在船上， 慢悠悠地收起钓鱼线的场景。

they imagine relaxing in a boat and patiently reeling in the day's catch.

But modern industrial fishing, the kind that stocks our grocery shelves,

但是现代工业化的捕鱼—— 货架上的鱼就是这么来的——

looks more like warfare.

看上去更像是打仗。

In fact, the technologies they employ were developed for war.

事实上，他们使用的技术 本就为战争而生。

Radar,

雷达，

sonar,

声呐，

helicopters,

直升机，

and spotter planes

以及侦察机，

are all used to guide factory ships towards dwindling schools of fish.

它们都将商业捕鱼船， 引向日益减少的鱼儿。

Long lines with hundreds of hooks or huge nets

有着几百个钩子的鱼线， 或是巨大的捕鱼网，

round up massive amounts of fish, along with other species,

围住大量的鱼儿，还有其他生物，

like seabirds, turtles, and dolphins.

比如海鸟，海龟和海豚。

And fish are hauled up onto giant boats,

鱼儿被捞到巨大的捕鱼船上，

complete with onboard flash freezing and processing facilities.

即刻便完成了速冻和处理。

All of these technologies have enabled us to catch fish at greater depths

相比以前，所有这些技术都让 我们能够捕捞生活在海洋中

and farther out at sea than ever before.

更深以及更远的鱼类。

And as the distance and depth of fishing have expanded,

随着捕鱼距离和深度的扩大，

so has the variety of species we target.

我们瞄准了更多的鱼类。

For example, the Patagonian toothfish neither sounds nor looks very appetizing.

比如，犬牙鱼听上去、看上去都不好吃。

And fishermen ignored it until the late 1970s.

上世纪七十年代末之前， 渔民们都忽略了它。

Then it was rebranded and marketed to chefs in the U.S. as Chilean sea bass,

然后它被重新包装， 对美国的厨师宣传成海鲈鱼，

despite the animal actually being a type of cod.

尽管这种鱼实际上是一种鳕鱼。

Soon it was popping up in markets all over the world

很快，它就出现在了全世界的市场上，

and is now a delicacy.

而现在更是成了公认的美味。

Unfortunately, these deep water fish don't reproduce

不幸的是，这些深海鱼直到

until they're at least ten years old,

至少十岁才会繁衍后代，

making them extremely vulnerable to overfishing

这使得它们对过度捕捞极端敏感脆弱，

when the young are caught before they've had the chance to spawn.

小鱼在有机会产卵前就被捉住了。

Consumer taste and prices can also have harmful effects.

消费者的口味和价格 也会产生负面影响。

For example, shark fin soup is considered such a delicacy in China and Vietnam

比如，鲨鱼鱼翅汤在 中国和越南被认为是一种美味，

that the fin has become the most profitable part of the shark.

所以鱼鳍变成了鲨鱼 利润最高的一部分。

This leads many fishermen to fill their boats with fins

这让许多渔民把他们的船装满了鱼鳍，

leaving millions of dead sharks behind.

而把上百万死鲨留在了海里。

The problems aren't unique to toothfish and sharks.

这些问题不仅仅针对犬牙鱼和鲨鱼。

Almost 31% of the world's fish populations are overfished,

全世界大约31%的鱼类 都在遭受过度捕捞，

and another 58% are fished at the maximum sustainable level.

另外58%在以最高临界数量被捕捞着。

Wild fish simply can't reproduce as fast as 7 billion people can eat them.

野生鱼类不能跟上70亿人 吃它们的速度进行繁衍。

Fishing also has impacts on broader ecosystems.

捕鱼也对更大的生态系统造成了影响。

Wild shrimp are typically caught by dragging nets the size of a football field

野生虾类通常要在海底 拖着足球场般大小的网

along the ocean bottom,

进行捕捞，

disrupting or destroying seafloor habitats.

这改变或破坏了海底的生物栖息地。

The catch is often as little as 5% shrimp.

而捕捞上来的只有5%是虾。

The rest is by-catch, unwanted animals that are thrown back dead.

剩下的都是顺带被捞上来的， 无用的生物被扔回去时都已经死掉了。

And coastal shrimp farming isn't much better.

近海虾类养殖也不见得更好。

Mangroves are bulldozed to make room for shrimp farms,

红树林被铲平， 为虾类养殖开辟空间，

robbing coastal communities of storm protection and natural water filtration

这让海边生物失去了抵抗风暴的保护， 失去了自然的水过滤系统，

and depriving fish of key nursery habitats.

也剥夺了鱼类至关重要的生存家园。

So what does it look like to give fish a break and let them recover?

那么要如何给鱼类一个喘息的机会， 让它们逐渐恢复数量呢？

Protection can take many forms.

保护可以有很多形式。

In national waters, governments can set limits

在国家水域， 政府可以设定限制，

about how, when, where, and how much fishing occurs,

规定如何、何时、何地、 多少鱼可以被捕捞，

with restrictions on certain boats and equipment.

限制某些渔船和设备。

Harmful practices, such as bottom trawling, can be banned altogether,

有害的操作，比如海底拖网， 可以一并被禁止，

and we can establish marine reserves closed to all fishing

我们还可以建立海洋保护区， 对所有捕鱼业关闭，

to help ecosystems restore themselves.

帮助生态系统自我修复。

There's also a role for consumer awareness and boycotts to reduce wasteful practices,

消费者得节约意识 和对浪费的抵制也不容小视，

like shark finning,

比如鱼翅，

and push fishing industries towards more sustainable practices.

这会迫使捕鱼业朝着 更加可持续的方向发展。

Past interventions have successfully helped depleted fish populations recover.

过去的干预成功地帮助了 鱼类恢复数量。

There are many solutions.

有许多解决方案。

The best approach for each fishery must be considered based on science,

对于每种捕鱼业最佳的方案， 必须基于科学考虑，

respect for the local communities that rely on the ocean,

尊重依靠海洋的生态群体，

and for fish as wild animals.

尊重作为野生动物的鱼类。

And then the rules must be enforced.

法规必须加强执行。

International collaboration is often needed, too,

同样，也需要国际间的合作，

because fish don't care about our borders.

因为鱼类活动不以我们的国界为界线。

We need to end overfishing.

我们必须停止过度捕捞。

Ecosystems,

生态系统，

food security,

食品安全，

jobs,

工作，

经济，

economies,

and coastal cultures all depend on it.

以及海岸文化都取决于此。