Blueprint for Oceans in Parrotfish Paradise

The tragedy of the commons is thriving in our oceans. A fisherman aiming to maximize profit or provide for his family contributes to over-harvesting. A community looking to cut costs turns a blind eye to wastes entering coastal waters. Billions of people around the world make rational decisions like these every day based on their historical practices and economic interests -- and it's adding up to gigantic shifts in the abundance and diversity of ocean life. Achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal #14 will require nothing less than restructuring the relationship between humanity and the oceans. It is right to place significant emphasis on creating economic value for ocean stakeholders, like local populations that depend on fishing or Small Island Developing States. It is this value that creates an opportunity for management and conservation actions that protect and restore marine life. But what does this look like in reality? I just returned from a visit to the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, where a set of management policies and practices have been established that emphasize managing ocean resources to meet multiple long-term economic interests. Bonaire is a scuba-divers paradise, where the expenditure by tourists is estimated around $125 million annually. Bonaire has a strong interest in maintaining tourism as part of its economic future, and it has acted to protect this interest while working to balance competing interests, like fishing. Bonair...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news