{"id":23067,"date":"2022-08-05T18:27:14","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T18:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=23067&post_type=story"},"modified":"2022-08-11T19:07:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T19:07:20","slug":"reeling-it-in","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/reeling-it-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Reeling it in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fish is a major food source for billions of people, and in Florida, recreational fishing is a popular pastime and a major driver of tourism. But what if there were no more fish?<\/p>\n

As unbelievable as this\u00a0sounds, current trends\u00a0indicate that this grim reality\u00a0could come true in many areas\u00a0if fishing isn\u2019t sustainably\u00a0managed.<\/p>\n

The U.N. estimates that\u00a0since 1974, sustainable levels\u00a0of global fish stocks have\u00a0decreased by 23%. And the\u00a0situation in the U.S. and\u00a0Florida isn\u2019t much better.<\/p>\n

NOAA Fisheries estimates\u00a0that about 20% of U.S. fish\u00a0stocks are overfished. For\u00a0Florida, localized problems\u00a0include the collapse of\u00a0Apalachicola Bay\u2019s iconic\u00a0oyster fisheries, overfishing of\u00a0Florida\u2019s coral reef-associated\u00a0fish and rebuilding red\u00a0snapper stocks in the Gulf of\u00a0Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome 3.2 billion people\u00a0rely on fish for a fifth of\u00a0their animal protein, which\u00a0is often a source of vital\u00a0micronutrients such as fatty\u00a0acids, vitamins, zinc and\u00a0iron,\u201d says UCF fisheries\u00a0expert Kristy Lewis, an\u00a0assistant professor in UCF\u2019s\u00a0Department of Biology and a\u00a0Sustainable Coastal Systems\u00a0research cluster<\/a> member.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if stocks are overfished,\u00a0that means that they\u2019re below\u00a0their maximum sustainable\u00a0yield. If we continue fishing\u00a0at this level, fisheries will\u00a0collapse,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

And fish are not just an\u00a0important food source, they\u00a0are also part of the high-dollar\u00a0commercial and recreational\u00a0fishing industry. In 2016,\u00a0these industries generated\u00a0$212 billion in sales in the U.S.\u00a0and $27.8 billion in sales and\u00a0173,000 jobs in Florida.<\/p>\n

The U.N. estimates that since 1974, sustainable\u00a0levels of global fish stocks have decreased by 23%.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s for these reasons that\u00a0researchers are developing\u00a0innovative ways to ensure\u00a0that fishing is sustainable.\u00a0Lewis says that sustainable\u00a0fishing means protecting\u00a0and managing all aspects of a\u00a0fishery \u2014 the fish, the people\u00a0and the habitat.<\/p>\n

As a food web modeler,\u00a0she creates computer\u00a0simulations of complex\u00a0marine food webs that take into account different species\u00a0in the system and the changes\u00a0they experience, such as\u00a0disturbances caused by habitat\u00a0loss and oil spills.<\/p>\n

These models allow\u00a0fishery managers to view multiple\u00a0\u201cwhat-if\u201d scenarios to guide\u00a0natural resource management\u00a0decisions. Specifically, the\u00a0models can help prioritize\u00a0efforts in areas that are critical\u00a0for the sustainability of the\u00a0system.<\/p>\n

State and federal research\u00a0managers in Louisiana have\u00a0used Lewis\u2019 research for\u00a0fishery habitat restoration,\u00a0and her team is currently\u00a0modeling the impacts of\u00a0seagrass loss, an essential\u00a0fish habitat, in the Indian\u00a0River Lagoon and oyster fisheries in Apalachicola Bay. Her\u00a0work also examines control\u00a0methods for red tide, an algal\u00a0bloom that results in massive\u00a0fish kills.<\/p>\n

Lewis points to the example\u00a0of the Alaska fisheries, some of\u00a0the most sustainable fisheries\u00a0in the world, as an example of successful management as a result of informed decision making.<\/p>\n

NOAA Fisheries observes\u00a0the fishery data there in real\u00a0time and also works to educate\u00a0their fishers and consumers,\u00a0she says.<\/p>\n

Lewis says consumers\u00a0can do their part to support\u00a0sustainable fisheries by\u00a0choosing to purchase fish\u00a0that have the blue, Marine\u00a0Stewardship Council (MSC)\u00a0label on them. This label\u00a0indicates that the seafood\u00a0comes from fisheries that\u00a0are MSC-certified as fished\u00a0sustainably.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s these kinds of examples\u00a0that can inspire similar\u00a0success stories elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a healthy marine\u00a0system, and we also want to\u00a0make sure that people who\u00a0live on that system will always\u00a0have a way to put food on their\u00a0plate,\u201d Lewis says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23368,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[287,1591],"class_list":["post-23067","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-department-of-biology","issues-1575","issues-fall-2022"],"yoast_head":"\nUCF Expert Discusses the Importance of Sustainable Fishing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCF fisheries ecology expert Kristy Lewis is using innovative methods to help keep the state and the nation\u2019s fisheries sustainable and profitable.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/reeling-it-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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