Exploited lobster divers in Honduras; missing the point?
Discussion
C4 just showed an 'Unreported World' on this subject. It wasn't bad, if slightly handwringy as 'Unreported World' often is, but while it covered the divers and their plight well it completely ignored the root cause of their plight; the unregulated fishing of lobster necessitating going further out to sea and diving deeper and deeper to find them. If they hadn't fished out the lobster population next to the beach there wouldn't be a problem!
hidetheelephants said:
C4 just showed an 'Unreported World' on this subject. It wasn't bad, if slightly handwringy as 'Unreported World' often is, but while it covered the divers and their plight well it completely ignored the root cause of their plight; the unregulated fishing of lobster necessitating going further out to sea and diving deeper and deeper to find them. If they hadn't fished out the lobster population next to the beach there wouldn't be a problem!
They need more laws then?Randy Winkman said:
hidetheelephants said:
C4 just showed an 'Unreported World' on this subject. It wasn't bad, if slightly handwringy as 'Unreported World' often is, but while it covered the divers and their plight well it completely ignored the root cause of their plight; the unregulated fishing of lobster necessitating going further out to sea and diving deeper and deeper to find them. If they hadn't fished out the lobster population next to the beach there wouldn't be a problem!
They need more laws then?Then the market will take care of it.
johnfm said:
Randy Winkman said:
hidetheelephants said:
C4 just showed an 'Unreported World' on this subject. It wasn't bad, if slightly handwringy as 'Unreported World' often is, but while it covered the divers and their plight well it completely ignored the root cause of their plight; the unregulated fishing of lobster necessitating going further out to sea and diving deeper and deeper to find them. If they hadn't fished out the lobster population next to the beach there wouldn't be a problem!
They need more laws then?Then the market will take care of it.
To be fair, they didn't have 'many' kids.
They were pulling in $100,000 catches of lobsters, doing it all by having 100+ divers on a 60ft boat. Lots of pressure to catch lobsters at +100ft depth = the bends and potential paralysis. They charged good market rate for their product, hence the willingness to take risks.
I thought it was a bit of a non-issue really: The divers had the knowledge and equipment to avoid problems, sometimes they got it wrong. The first night aboard was telling: 100 men in bunks getting out of their tree on Weed and rum when they would be diving in 6 hours.
A completely different outlook on risk vs. Reward in that part of the world, but I didn't see anyone being forced to dive or take risks they were unaware of.
It was more like an interesting insight into another culture than a call to only buy ethically caught lobster, I thought.
They were pulling in $100,000 catches of lobsters, doing it all by having 100+ divers on a 60ft boat. Lots of pressure to catch lobsters at +100ft depth = the bends and potential paralysis. They charged good market rate for their product, hence the willingness to take risks.
I thought it was a bit of a non-issue really: The divers had the knowledge and equipment to avoid problems, sometimes they got it wrong. The first night aboard was telling: 100 men in bunks getting out of their tree on Weed and rum when they would be diving in 6 hours.
A completely different outlook on risk vs. Reward in that part of the world, but I didn't see anyone being forced to dive or take risks they were unaware of.
It was more like an interesting insight into another culture than a call to only buy ethically caught lobster, I thought.
Er, why don't they create lobster farms at safer depths?
'Seed' the shallower reefs with lobster populations, cage a few off, etc etc. (notwithstanding issues with breeding & migration patterns of fully laden African lobsters etc)
Problem is, that is a 'long game' and I don't think many people think like that.
'Seed' the shallower reefs with lobster populations, cage a few off, etc etc. (notwithstanding issues with breeding & migration patterns of fully laden African lobsters etc)
Problem is, that is a 'long game' and I don't think many people think like that.
This is down to a lack of enforceable property rights in the sea. There is no incentive for anyone to do anything other than lift out as much as they can carry today, because it won't be there tomorrow.
It's the equivalent of the unfenced land of the American west or the stop over in Bangkok, where all the incentive is to make hay today because tomorrow will be too late.
Give fishermen their own patch and make it legally enforceable and there is no incentive to destroy today what could feed you for a lifetime.
Of course that doesn't leave much scope for David Attenborough to make documentaries, or the UN to set up a multi-million dollar mission to preserve lobsters, but it just might make fishing sustainable the way that land based property rights have made hunting cows sustainable on land.
It's the equivalent of the unfenced land of the American west or the stop over in Bangkok, where all the incentive is to make hay today because tomorrow will be too late.
Give fishermen their own patch and make it legally enforceable and there is no incentive to destroy today what could feed you for a lifetime.
Of course that doesn't leave much scope for David Attenborough to make documentaries, or the UN to set up a multi-million dollar mission to preserve lobsters, but it just might make fishing sustainable the way that land based property rights have made hunting cows sustainable on land.
Edited by AJS- on Saturday 3rd December 11:47
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