Arctic Fishery Facts Greenland's fish exports 95% of tot. Amt. of Undersized Arctic Catch Up to 77% Iceland's Fishing Income 70% of total Principal Arctic Fish Species Salmon, cod, char, halibut, capelin, herring Principal Fishing Method Gillnetting Tot. # of Sea Birds Entangled About 300,000 a year Did you know? The Arctic is attractive for fishing as a few productive species dominate, thereby reducing wasted bycatch. The low number of species means that overfishing can have disastrous effects. Selective fishing practices have dramatically reduced populations of northern char and salmon. The herring industry declined in the 1970s followed by capelin stocks which collapsed twice since a peak catch of 3 million tons in 1977. Salmon farming may cause genetic loss in salmon as well as degeneration of local species populations due to competition from alien species.

Overfishing in the Arctic

The Arctic region contains some of the world's richest fishing grounds. The Bering, Barents, and Greenland Seas provide important sources of income (and nutrition) to peoples all along the Arctic coastline. In fact, many indigenous people maintain sustainable traditional lifestyles from the sea. Over the past 100 years, however, commercial overexploitation and new techniques have rapidly increased the levels of all marine catches. Many Arctic fisheries are at their lowest levels ever, resulting in higher percentages of smaller and immature fish being harvested. In addition, countless birds, seals, and other marine mammals die each year from starvation as important prey populations decline or from drowning due to fishing net entanglement. Meanwhile, the financial captains of the global fishing industry continue in their unsustainable, competitive rush to turn more fish into short term profits.

The Arctic region is attractive for fishing as only a few productive species dominate, thereby reducing wasted bycatch. However, the selective removal of the most commercially viable (and often the largest) fish can have disastrous effects on species lower in the food chain, ultimately leading to ecosystem breakdown. This domino effect of species depletion can have impacts even centuries later.

Overfishing of Arctic stocks disrupts the intricate web of marine biodiversity that makes the oceans such a vital and productive part of the Earth's life support system. Fisheries research and management institutions everywhere have fallen far behind the rapid advances in fishing technology. Instead of coming to grips with the need for dramatic cuts, nations argue over who will get how much of what remains of dwindling fish stocks.

Recently there have been examples of successful management resulting in increasing yields. The regulation of Barents Sea fisheries have had promising results. This is only possible through improved patterns of cooperation between the coastal fishing states of the high North. By working together, nations can move current conservation and restoration practices away from quota systems and no-fishing zones to a more broad-based ecosystem approach.