Swimming fish. Image credit National Geographic

ZIMSEC O Level Geography Notes: Natural Resources: Fishing:Solutions for sustaining the world’s fisheries

  • Increasing fishing disputes have pressured the United Nations into action.
  • Through the Third United Nations Conference on the law of the Sea of 1974, the UN established a 200 nautical mile zone along coastal areas.
  • The coastal has sole rights to all natural resources including fish.
  • This allows coastal countries to formulate policies for the sustainable management of their sea resources.
  • Aquaculture or mariculture is another recent solution to the sustainable use of fish resources.
  • Fish farming provide 20% of the world’s fish.
  • Fish farming has proved to be more difficult with sea fishes.
  • It is therefore mainly confined to fresh water species.
  • Over 80% of the world’s fish farms are found in South-East Asia, particularly China.
  • Fish farming has played a vital role in reducing pressure on ocean fishing, by providing a sustainable alternative.
  • It has helped to meet the growing demand for fish in the world.
  • It offers developing countries a cheap source of protein.
  • Aquaculture can be successfully practiced at both sustainable and commercial levels.

To access more topics go to the O Level Geography Notes page