1. Educational Campaign- What YOU can do!, webcam, documentary, use of well-known people to lead campaign
  2. International Cooperation- Treaty, Flags of Convenience, NGOs, Regional Tribunals, Taxes, end major Subsidies,  Info-sharing
  3. Marine Protected Areas- Zoning, 10% plan, webcam, extend protected land areas
  4. Aquaculture- Mobile Cages, trophic chain farming, subsistence farming
  5. Environment and Climate- Global warming, wetlands, pollution, dams, invasive species, flexibility in solution
  6. Management- Location Restrictions, Quotas, Riparian buffers
  7. Technology- gear restrictions, ship tracking, '2-step' (give subsidies)
  8. Social Considerations- culture, retraining fishermen, new jobs
  9. More Research- Fish tracking, automating research, AUVs

Our Solution Broken Down:
Our solution is to preserve global fisheries by ending overfishing, preserve marine ecosystems, and developing alternative measures to meet nutritional needs. (NOTE: this does not include anything about the implementation of our solution. The treaty that we propose will implement these solutions).

  • End Overfishing:
    • Taxes/Quotas:
      • We endorse the use of regulations to control the number of fish that can be caught; we would also levy taxes against consumers. The idea of regulations is to limit the supply of fish (which will have an immediate, direct effect on reducing the strain on ecosystems due to overfishing), while the tax will limit the demand of fish, which will reduce pressure on fishermen to overfish. An important aspect of the plan is that the tax will not be levied against sustainably caught fish, only those that are caught in an unsustainable manner.
      • Taxes must be adapted to local conditions.
    • Other Management Practices
      • We advocate the use of management practices that effectively accomplish the goal of creating sustainable fisheries and take into account the full complexity of ecosystems.
    • Eco-labeled fish:
      • We advocate the development of an NGO program to certify fish as sustainably caught, to label them as such, and to educate the public about the importance of the label.
    • New Technologies:
      • We advocate the development and use of fishing technologies that reduce by-catch and other types of damage to the ecosystem (such as seafloor damage).
      • We advocate the use of GPS tracking systems on fishing boats to monitor fishing activity and enforce fishing regulations.
    • Subsidies:
      • We want to end subsidies that support unsustainable fishing. We support providing financial assistance to fishermen to help them transition to more environmentally friendly fishing methods.
    • MPAs/Restricted Areas:
      • We would like to set aside 10 percent of the global oceans as no-take protected zones. The 10 percent should be a representative sample, but with special emphasis on the protection of unique, fragile, and threatened ecosystems.
      • We also encourage the development of various other classes of protected areas with different types of restrictions on use.
    • Education:
      • We believe it is important to educate the public about the crisis facing global fisheries and what can be done to resolve it. Informing citizens about the fishery problem is an essential step to implementing the other aspects of our solution.
      • Nongovernmental organizations have an important role to play in this process.
  • Preserve Ecosystems:
    • New/less destructive technology:
      • The aforementioned new technology should be phased in to replace current destructive fishing methods. This will ensure the preservation of the marine environment. We encourage governments to support this transition by subsidizing the additional costs of sustainable equipment.
    • Curb Pollution:
      • Humans have had a significant negative effect on fish stocks, due to not only overfishing, but also polluting the seas. Additionally, global warming has threatened the stability of fish populations. We encourage the continued efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigating the negative impact humans have caused to the environment.
      • Global warming
    • Education
      • Get people involved and caring
    • Fish tracking
      • We realize that accurate scientific data is necessary for optimal fisher management. Without monitoring fish populations, we will not be able to implement efficient methods to keep them at a sustainable level.
  • Alternatives to capture fisheries:
    • Aquaculture:
      • We recognize that our plan will reduce the availability of food supplies; we also recognize that there is a serious debate over the merits of aquaculture. We conclude, however, that aquaculture may be necessary with the reductions in fishing that we propose; we therefore encourage the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture facilities.
    • Non Fish:
      • Given the problems associated with aquaculture, we also endorse attempts to find ecologically sound substitutes for fish protein.
  • More Research:
    • Lack of Knowledge:
      • Not enough is known about fish and marine ecosystems. More research into the oceanic world will enable us to make better management decisions for the world's oceans.
    • Fish Tracking:
      • We need more information about the migration, distribution, and behavior of fish. More tracking studies of fish are necessary.
      • Reductions in the cost of fish tracking technology would facilitate this goal.
    • Climate:
      • We should monitor the ocean and fish populations to detect changes related to global climate change.

Consequences of our Solution:

  • Cultural degradation
    • How do we help with this?
  • Job Loss
    • What do we do with displaced fishermen?
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