Course:ECON371/UBCO2024WT1/NewsWiki/Group8/Week5

Source

https://dialogue.earth/en/ocean/china-starts-limiting-squid-boat-numbers/

Problem

Chinese squid fishing boats have been overfishing in the Pacific Ocean and it is affecting the long-term sustainability of squid populations. China is figuring out a sustainable system to bring squid catches to sustainable levels to enable long term fishing.

Summary

The news article introduces a new policy published by the Ministry of Agriculture. China will be limiting its squid fishing fleet by an annual vessel cap. The long term sustainability of squid populations is in jeopardy so China aims to decrease catch numbers by 3 million tonnes, below 10 million tonnes in total. To regulate squid catches the article highlights Chinas intent to use a familiar system they’ve used on other fish populations that has dual controls, taking account of vessel numbers, engine size, and catch quotas. In 2020 China voluntarily put closed seasons in place for its squid fishing boats to allow squid to spawn for three months, still there is no information on the effectiveness of those policies. This could still leave room for overfishing for the remaining nine months. That is where the quota system was introduced and with, Wang Songlin, the president and found of the Quindao Marine Conservation Society states that if the Chinese squid-jigging sector sticks to government policies, it will contribute to the sustainability of the squid populations in international waters. The system is not perfect though, Wang highlights that trawler and seine-net fishing vessels do not discriminate squid age in their catches, they also destroy ecosystems. This is difficult because even a few of these fishing ships have a large impact on sustainability, so every country will have to control their fishing methods to enable sustainable squid populations.

Economic concepts

Sustainable resource management: This concept promotes the management of natural resources, such as fisheries, to ensure that these resources are available for future generations. By limiting the number of blackhead fishing boats China is promoting strong guidelines to prevent overfishing. This is detrimental to the long-term health of blackhead fish stocks and the fishing industry.
Externalities: Refers to the unintended side effects of economic activity. Overfishing can lead to negative environmental externalities, such as ecosystem damage. and loss of biodiversity Chinese regulations aim to reduce these negative externalities by regulating fishing activities. For the benefit of both the environment and future economic stability.
Tragedy of the Commons: This concept describes the mismanagement of shared resources. When a person acts for his own benefit, . Faced with uncontrolled exploitation By limiting access through better sanctions. China is thus preventing this "tragedy" and ensuring that the black sapling population will be preserved for future generations once it is complete. Regulation will benefit both the environment and the wider economy. and maintain the availability of resources for future use.

Application of concepts

In this article we can see application of three key economic concepts: Sustainable resource management, Externalities and tragedy of the commons. Sustainable resource management ensures that natural resources like squid populations are used responsibly, preserving them for future generations. China’s new policy of capping boat numbers in key fishing areas and closed seasons, allows for the squid population to remain sustainable for the future. Externalities refer to the unintended consequences of economic activities. In this article the context of overfishing and the negative externalities that come along with it are present. These negative externalities include environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and other ecosystem problems caused by the overfishing of squid. This overfishing not only impacts squids but other marine life around them. These new regulations hope to combat these externalities. Tragedy of the commons refers to the overuse of shared resources where individuals acting in self interest deplete a resource everyone relies on. Squid fishing is an example of this as if left unchecked each fishing vessel would seek to maximize its catch without regard for the long term availability of the squid population. The new fishing restrictions which control vessel numbers should act as a solution to this.

Conclusion

China is taking steps to address overfishing in the Pacific by limiting its squid fishing fleet through an annual vessel cap and catch quotas, aiming to reduce squid catches to below 10 million tonnes. This policy is designed to promote sustainable resource management and mitigate negative environmental externalities caused by overfishing. While previous measures like closed seasons were implemented, their effectiveness remains unclear. Experts emphasize the need for comprehensive regulations to prevent the tragedy of the commons, ensuring squid populations and marine ecosystems are preserved for future generations and balancing economic interests with environmental sustainability.

Prof: One thing that struck me is that China is regulating a fishing fleet that operates in international waters. This is the classic situation of the commons, and on the surface it would seem that there is no good reason for China to undertake such efforts. Any squid that China does not catch could just be caught by someone else. However, it was mentioned that China accounts for something like half of all the squid caught in the world. It was also mentioned that the life cycle of most of the squid that are harvested is two years or less. It would probably take longer than this for there to be substantial changes in the number of boats able to fish on the high seas coming from elsewhere. Taken together, the Chinese fleet is able to capture something like half of the benefits of the squid left in the waters to reproduce. Therefore, China as a nation has a strong incentive to regulate this international fishery, even as it is under no obligation to do so.