Have you heard of the Patagonian Toothfish? Probably not. It lives far away, in cold water at the bottom of the world, south of Australia, around Antarctica, near the southern tip of South America, the land called Patagonia, which lends its name to the fish.
The Patagonian Toothfish is a carnivore, it eats other fish. In the deep waters of the southern oceans, the Patagonian Toothfish fills the same niche in the food web that is elsewhere filled by sharks.
Like many tough characters, the toothfish is often seen in the company of scoundrels, in this case pirates. But the toothfish and the pirates are not allies; they’re mortal enemies. These pirates are fish pirates and they are hunting the Patagonian Toothfish to extinction.
There are three reasons the toothfish is near extinction and the first is biology. Patagonian Toothfish have lifespans very much like humans, they can live to be 85 years old. Like humans, they are slow to reach sexual maturity and cannot breed until the age of ten. Slow-growing fish species are much more susceptible to the pressure of overfishing than a species like pollock, which begins to reproduce at the age of three.
The second reason for the demise of the toothfish is technology. Living in deep, distant oceans provided a natural barrier for scores of generations of toothfish, but freezers, ice-makers and cargo-carrying jumbo jets have brought the toothfish to within a fork’s reach of the world’s diners. Patagonian Toothfish are caught on long lines and I do mean long. Fishing boats may string out as much as 70 miles of line, with baited hooks strung along the entire length. Long-lining is an indiscriminate way to fish. A net can allow small fish to escape by swimming through mesh which is too large for them, but too small for their elders. On a long line, anything that takes the bait is caught. This often includes seabirds, like albatrosses, which dive on the bait from above.
The third reason for the looming extinction of the Patagonian Toothfish is piracy. Those pirates which hunt the toothfish so relentlessly are illegal fishing boats. Ninety percent of the toothfish taken are taken by pirate fishing vessels. This is because the toothfish lives in distant oceans, often in international waters. Representatives of all maritime nations will publicly deplore pirate fishing, but there are few actions taken to stop it and no questions asked about how the fish in our markets got there.
Some nations are worse than apathetic; they provide cover to the pirates. Every vessel must have a nation in which it is registered or “flagged.” Some nations are known as “flags of convenience” because – for a fee – they will let the worst vessels in the world fly their flags. Honduras, Panama, Belize, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines account for three-quarters of the pirate fishing vessels out there, Cyprus and Liberia are coming on strong.
But why should we care? Patagonian Toothfish are from an ocean far away and most people listening today have never even heard of the Patagonian Toothfish. There’s a reason for that, too and it’s because “Patagonian Toothfish” doesn’t sound very appetizing, but “sea bass” does. The next time you go to a fish market or pop open a menu and see “Chilean sea bass” or “Australian sea bass,” there’s a 90 percent chance that you’re dealing with pirate’s plunder and a 100 percent chance that the fish is question is swimming close to extinction.
What’s in a Name?
Have you heard of the Patagonian Toothfish? Probably not. It lives far away, in cold water at the bottom of the world, south of Australia, around Antarctica, near the southern tip of South America, the land called Patagonia, which lends its name to the fish.
The Patagonian Toothfish is a carnivore, it eats other fish. In the deep waters of the southern oceans, the Patagonian Toothfish fills the same niche in the food web that is elsewhere filled by sharks.
Like many tough characters, the toothfish is often seen in the company of scoundrels, in this case pirates. But the toothfish and the pirates are not allies; they’re mortal enemies. These pirates are fish pirates and they are hunting the Patagonian Toothfish to extinction.
There are three reasons the toothfish is near extinction and the first is biology. Patagonian Toothfish have lifespans very much like humans, they can live to be 85 years old. Like humans, they are slow to reach sexual maturity and cannot breed until the age of ten. Slow-growing fish species are much more susceptible to the pressure of overfishing than a species like pollock, which begins to reproduce at the age of three.
The second reason for the demise of the toothfish is technology. Living in deep, distant oceans provided a natural barrier for scores of generations of toothfish, but freezers, ice-makers and cargo-carrying jumbo jets have brought the toothfish to within a fork’s reach of the world’s diners. Patagonian Toothfish are caught on long lines and I do mean long. Fishing boats may string out as much as 70 miles of line, with baited hooks strung along the entire length. Long-lining is an indiscriminate way to fish. A net can allow small fish to escape by swimming through mesh which is too large for them, but too small for their elders. On a long line, anything that takes the bait is caught. This often includes seabirds, like albatrosses, which dive on the bait from above.
The third reason for the looming extinction of the Patagonian Toothfish is piracy. Those pirates which hunt the toothfish so relentlessly are illegal fishing boats. Ninety percent of the toothfish taken are taken by pirate fishing vessels. This is because the toothfish lives in distant oceans, often in international waters. Representatives of all maritime nations will publicly deplore pirate fishing, but there are few actions taken to stop it and no questions asked about how the fish in our markets got there.
Some nations are worse than apathetic; they provide cover to the pirates. Every vessel must have a nation in which it is registered or “flagged.” Some nations are known as “flags of convenience” because – for a fee – they will let the worst vessels in the world fly their flags. Honduras, Panama, Belize, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines account for three-quarters of the pirate fishing vessels out there, Cyprus and Liberia are coming on strong.
But why should we care? Patagonian Toothfish are from an ocean far away and most people listening today have never even heard of the Patagonian Toothfish. There’s a reason for that, too and it’s because “Patagonian Toothfish” doesn’t sound very appetizing, but “sea bass” does. The next time you go to a fish market or pop open a menu and see “Chilean sea bass” or “Australian sea bass,” there’s a 90 percent chance that you’re dealing with pirate’s plunder and a 100 percent chance that the fish is question is swimming close to extinction.