IS THIS THE END OF THE NORTH SEA COD?

September 16, 2012

The Sunday Times has reported that there are as little as a hundred mature cod left in the North Sea. Codfish can live for 25 years and they become more fertile as they mature, but studies found that in 2011 not a single cod caught was over 13 years old. The consequences of over-fishing were already evident 40 years ago and moves by Iceland in 1972 to extend their territorial waters and impose a fishing quota resulted in confrontations with British trawlers and the ensuing Cod Wars. The hostilities only ended when Iceland threatened to close a strategic NATO base in retaliation.  

Despite increasing quotas and attempts to redeploy fishermen and decommission their vessels, the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that some marine biologists are predicting the end of the fisheries industry by the middle of this century. Many of the issues leading to the depletion of fish stocks were highlighted in Charles Clover's 2009 film: The End of the Line, but still, nowhere near enough is being done to safeguard our marine life.

The problem is that our technological advancement has moved faster than our sense of responsibility. Being ahead of the race should not mean destroying everything in our wake. We have to stop burdening our future generations with with the consequences of our self-centred lifestyles and more importantly, the example of it.