Energy Consumption by North Atlantic Fisheries
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Energy Consumption By North Atlantic Fisheries By Peter Tyedmers s a result of rising abundant energy that • The energy intensity of fossil energy prices, enables most a fishery, or the amount Awe have all been contemporary fisheries to of energy consumed reminded in recent continue even when stocks per kilogram of fish or months that western are in decline. In addition, shellfish landed, is industrial society is from a management affected by both profoundly dependent on perspective, energy biological factors, such the availability of cheap, consumption provides a as resource abundance abundant energy. means of comparing and distribution and by Unfortunately, the world’s fishing effort between the technological major industrial energy diverse fisheries, and aspects of a fishery. For resources are not only changes in effort over time example, the type of finite, but globally their per within fisheries. fishing gear employed, capita availability has been and to a lesser extent in decline since the late Not surprisingly, most the size of vessel used, 1970s. Furthermore, it is research into the energy can influence the now widely recognised consumed by commercial energy intensity of a that the scale of fisheries followed the oil given fishery. In general, humanity’s industrial price shocks of the 1970s. trawling and longlining energy use contributes to The results of this and tend to be more energy major environmental more recent research intensive than seining, problems including global indicate that: purse seining or more climate change and passive techniques, biodiversity loss. • Direct fuel inputs to such as gillnetting and fisheries typically trapping. Like all human activities, account for between 75 commercial fishing entails and 90% of total s part of the Sea the dissipation of energy in industrial energy Around Us Project support of their primary inputs. The remaining Aat the University of activity, the harvesting of 10 to 25% are typically British Columbia, I have aquatic organisms. And comprised of direct undertaken an analysis of although energy and indirect energy the energy intensity and consumption by fisheries inputs associated with total energy consumed by receives less attention than vessel construction and contemporary North the direct impact that maintenance, the Atlantic fisheries. In fishing has on targeted provision of fish gear addition, where data stocks and associated and ice, and labour. permits, I am also marine ecosystems, it is evaluating changes in precisely the availability of Continued on page 2 - Energy The Sea Around Us Project Newsletter Issue 6/7 – September-December 2000 Sea Around Us Sea Around Us September-December 2000 Page 2 Figure 1: Energy intensity of Icelandic and Canadian scallop dredge fisheries. Energy - Continued from page 1 vessel construction, fishing North Atlantic. energy consumption over time gear, etc., are difficult to for specific fisheries. As direct quantify, this analysis is sing both of these fuel inputs account for the focussing exclusively on fuel techniques, to date I lion’s share of energy inputs, inputs. Uhave estimated the and because indirect inputs to energy intensity and total fuel Two methods are being used to consumed by approximately 50 quantify the fuel consumed by North Atlantic fisheries. Taken fisheries. The first entails together they account for The Sea Around Us project newsletter is soliciting fuel consumption, almost 5.5 million tonnes (live published by the Fisheries Centre at the Uni- fishing effort, vessel weight) of fish and shellfish versity of British Colum- characteristics and catch data landed annually and range bia. Included with directly from fishing from the high-tonnage purse the Fisheries Cen- companies. While this method seine fisheries for Atlantic tre’s newsletter yields robust results, it is a menhaden, and capelin, to FishBytes,six is- relatively slow, labour intensive mixed stock groundfish trawl sues of this news- process. As a result, a second fisheries, to high-value trawl letter are pub- technique is being employed and dredge fisheries for shrimp, lished annually. that uses data provided by lobster and scallop. Notably, for Subscriptions are fishing companies to establish almost half of the fisheries free of charge. generic fuel consumption rates, analysed, time series estimates Our mailing address is: UBC Fisheries Cen- in terms of litres of diesel of energy intensity and total tre, 2204 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Co- burned per horsepower•sea- fuel consumption have also lumbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4. Our fax number is day of effort expended, for been possible for periods (604) 822-8934, and our email address is various gear sectors. These ranging up to 20 years. For [email protected]. All queries (in- generic fuel consumption rates example, Figure 1 illustrates cluding reprint requests), subscription re- are then used to estimate total recent changes in energy quests, and address changes should be ad- fuel consumption and energy intensity of both Icelandic and dressed to Melanie Power, Sea Around Us intensity for fisheries for which Canadian scallop fisheries. Newsletter Editor. fleet-wide catch, average fleet The Sea Around Us website may be found horsepower and total days at Peter Tyedmers is a Research Consultant at www.fisheries.ubc.ca/projects/saup, and sea data are available through with the Sea Around Us Project. He recently received his Ph.D. in Resource contains up-to-date information on the the efforts of Sea Around Us Management and Environmental project. Project collaborators and Studies at UBC. consultants from around the Page 3 Sea Around Us September-December 2000 Presenting the Sea Around Us Approach By Daniel Pauly and Reg Watson wo international fishing should remain a viable information and expertise conferences, the Annual occupation; that the available in the fields of TScience Conference of the ecosystems and their oceanography and in fisheries International Council for the biodiversity are allowed to science into a compatible Exploration of the Sea (ICES), persist). framework to produce the held in Bruges, Belgium, from synergism required to tackle Sept 27-30th, and the IX Annual This presentation – the first pressing global issues of over- PICES (North Pacific Marine time conservation issues were fishing and other impacts on Science Organization) meeting, addressed in the context of an marine ecosystems. The joint held in Hakodate, Japan from Open Lecture – was apparently paper was presented by Dr Ken October 20-28th, recently very well received, and Sherman, the main architect of provided opportunities for provided a neat starting point the Large Marine Ecosystems presenting the concepts for the mini-symposium that (LME) (Sherman et al., 1990; underlying the Sea Around Us followed up on that lecture, Sherman and Duda 1999) It is very project, as also described in our devoted to biodiversity issues, which are now defined for mostpleasing to recently released to which several speakers, of the world shelf and adjacent ‘Methodological Report’ (Pauly notably Dr Jake Rice, referred oceanic areas, and whose see the and Pitcher 2000). (See Page 5 to, suggesting that ICES should integration with the system of interest that for the table of contents of the give far more attention to this ‘Biogeochemical Provinces’ has been report.) than it has so far. (BGCP) developed by A. expressed in Longhurst, T. Platt and S. forming a The first of these two ICES The ICES governing body, Sathyendranath (Longhurst, presentations was the invited composed of national 1998) form the core of this framework for ‘Open Lecture’ entitled delegates from around the paper. describing “Fisheries and Conservation: a North Atlantic decided, two marine areas Program for their days after these events, to This presentation deepened which can Reconciliation”, given by the create a new, high-level the interactions between Ken hopefully senior author. Advisory Committee on Sherman’s group and the FC, Ecosystems (ACE), on par with and the commitment to transcend This presentation, which its fisheries-orientated develop compatibility of global what have started by contrasting the key Advisory Committee on LMEs where possible with the been features and ‘clients’ of fisheries Fisheries Management. It BGCP of Longhurst and traditional biology and conservation tempting to believe that the colleagues. This collaboration boundaries biology, went on to outline the contents of this year’s Open was strengthened by a recent enormity of the challenge Lecture nudged a few visit by Peter Celone from between caused by relentless delegates toward this positive, NOAA. research overexploitation of fisheries potentially very important fields. resources, and their impacts on decision. hanks to support by ecosystems, both culminating PICES, and in particular Dr in ‘fishing down marine food We also used the opportunity TIan Perry, Dr Reg Watson webs’. at the ICES Annual Science had the opportunity to present conference to present another an invited paper entitled The elements of reconciliation contribution, outlining our “Mapping fisheries onto marine between fisheries and vision for a consensus ecosystems: regional, oceanic conservation biology were then taxonomy of the world’s marine and global integrations” at outlined. They included ecosystems (Pauly et al. 2000). PICES IX in Japan. This paper recognizing the legitimacy of The goal of this taxonomy is to presented our proposals for the key tenets of each (that bring together the extensive Continued on page 4 - Conferences Sea Around Us September-December 2000 Page 4 Fig 1. Schematic representation of ‘fishing down marine food webs’ as presented at the ICES 2000 Open Lecture. The horizontal axis represents both time and the sea bottom, the vertical axis the trophic level; the arrow represents global fishing, which increasingly concentrates on organisms of lower trophic levels, and depletes the large, long-lived species. Based on a colour drawing by Ms Aque Atanacio. Conferences - Continued from page 3 References: Methods for Evaluating the harmonising the boundaries Impacts of Fisheries on North used by BGCP and LME areas. Longhurst, A.R. 1998. Ecological Atlantic Ecosystems.