Sustainable fishing practices are crucial for maintaining marine ecosystems and preventing overfishing, which threatens seafood availability and the balance of ocean life. By targeting species that can reproduce quickly and adhering to guidelines minimizing environmental impact, the fishing industry can support healthy fish populations. Educating the public and implementing eco-friendly practices, such as those demonstrated by the Nisqually tribe and Hilo Fish Company, are essential steps toward restoring and preserving our ocean resources.

1. Sustainable Fishing
A lesson we can’t afford not to learn

2. What is sustainable fishing and why is it important?
Sustainable fishing is the act of fishing in a
way that the practices can be maintained
without reducing the target species and
maintaining its population and without
harming the ecosystem.
Sustainable fisheries target species that can
reproduce quickly and sustain their own
population.
Studies show that if current rates of fishing
continue, there will be no edible fish in the
ocean in 2048.
Overfishing of species can have
repercussions for the food chain. It also can
inflict damage on organisms such as coral.

3. Sustainability must be applied to all
aspects of the ecosystem. The ocean
comprises of 140 million miles and 71% of
the Earth’s surface. Fish are by far the
highest percentage of proteins consumed
by humans. Overfishing seriously
compromises the delicate balance of the
ocean and creates a disastrous chain
effect which threatens to weaken the entire
aquatic ecosystem.
Furtive efforts are underway to address
overfishing through sustainable methods
such as controlled fisheries and controlled
commercial fishing activity. Educating the
public shows them the importance in
selecting seafood raised through
sustainable methods. Support for these
eco-friendly fisheries will encourage the
spread of similar methods throughout the
fishing industry.

4. Ten commandments for ecosystem-
based fisheries
Keep a perspective that is holistic and adaptive.
Maintain an “old growth” structure in fish populations, since big, old and fat female fish have been shown to be
the best spawners, but are also susceptible to overfishing.
Characterize and maintain the equilibrium of fish stocks, so that management boundaries match natural
boundaries in the sea.
Monitor and maintain seafloor habitats to make sure fish have food and shelter.
Maintain resilient ecosystems that are able to withstand occasional shocks.
Identify and maintain critical food-web connections, including predators and forage species.
Adapt to ecosystem changes through time, both short-term and on longer cycles of decades or centuries,
including global climate change.
Account for evolutionary changes caused by fishing, which tends to remove large, older fish.
Include the actions of humans and their social and economic systems in all ecological equations

5. Friends of the Sea Sustainable Fishery
Guidelines:
There is no environmental impact where the farm is placed
Must follow all waste water guidelines
A very low percentage of fish escaping fishery.
No genetically modified organisms, growth hormones, or antibiotics
Reduction of the carbon footprint
85 percent of the
world’s fisheries are
fished at or beyond
their maximum
sustainable limit

6. GMO is when an organism’s genetic material has been altered using genetic
engineering techniques.
Purpose?
Luxury & to increase seafood consumption to meet demands of food industry.
Negative effects:
Release of untreated wastes & nutrients, increase risk of disease & parasite
transmission from farmed to wild fish, use & release of drugs & chemicals in
environment, & over-fishing of smaller fishes to feed carnivorous farmed fishes
(Salmon).
People aren’t the only consumers part taking in over-fishing. Species aren’t given the
chance to grow because they’re being used for consumption for larger fishes in farms.
Not given the chance to adulthood and to reproduce, fish species are declining.

7. Holistics as it pertains to sustainable
fisheries
Holistics is characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected
and explicable only by reference to the whole.
In medicine, holistic healing means to take account of someone’s whole body, such as mind and soul,
verses just the disease. In sustainable fishing, we cannot only think about fishing and the fish, we
must think about the whole body. If we view the ocean at a holistic medicine view, the ocean is the
body and the fish is the disease. It’s the ocean we must be concerned and what can harm it.
Pollution, debris, climate change, tourism and development, are all factors to causing disease to the
ocean. We must care for the ocean in order to care for the fish.
Nutritionists say that eating fish is a healthy protein to add to your diet. It’s also a great way to add
Omega 3’s to your diet too. Within the past 50 years, technology has allowed us to enter the ocean.
We are able to fish deeper and more effectively. Today we have lost 90% of large predatory fish such
as sharks and cods.

8. The Marine Resilient
Ecosystem
Resilience is the capacity an ecosystem
has to respond to a disturbance by
resisting damage and recovering.
The ecosystems are changing every
time & vulnerable to natural & human
caused stressors. Ex: Extreme
weather, fishing pressure, pollution, &
habitat loss.
Example:
In Western Australia up to 90% live
corals were lost due to severe
bleaching. Despite the loss, reef was
able to grow back 44% within 12 years.
Scientists find climate change to be
the greatest stressor to coastal
ecosystems.

9. Apps are starting to be
developed and launched
to direct consumers to
sustainable fishing
products.
The Monterey Bay
Aquarian app will even
uses GPS to direct you to
restaurants that serves
sustainable seafood.

10. Volunteer sites
Jenna and Nicole visited Hilo Fish Company located in Hilo, Hawaii
on Friday November, 3 2017.
Sam visited Nisqually Fishery and Salmon Hatchery located in
Lacey Washington on the Nisqually Wildlife Reserve November, 15
2017

11. The Nisqually Tribe has existed for over 10,000 years on over 2 million acres
along the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. Much like Hawaiians, the
tribe’s main sustenance was fishing and like Hawaiians that resource has
steadily become depleted due to overfishing and land seizing. Concerted
efforts have established a sustainable fish hatchery with the intent to regain
control of the declining salmon population and reinvigorate the resource that is
such a part of the Nisqually culture.

12. Yil-me-hu, Nisqually word that means “the
salmon dance, on its first arrival
A hundred years ago Puget
Sound was a major wild salmon
highway, with five different
species returning to the 14 rivers
that run into the Sound
Now after a century of
overfishing and dams the
chinook in the river or now
virtually extinct requiring the
Nisqually’s to develop a
sustainable fishery

13. Nisqually sustainable hatchery is
located in the Puget Sound estuary,
second largest in the united States
In the restoration, urban rain
gardens filter runoff and
augment river flow, new
logjams deepen and cool its
waters, and farms returned to
marshland provide new places
for young salmon to shelter and
grow.

14. Nisqually Glacier
provides water
for the Nisqually
river
Now after a century of
overfishing and dams the
chinook in the river or now
virtually extinct requiring the
Nisqually tribe to develop a
sustainable fishery

15. Larry Hicks, Nisqually computer tech and fishery volunteer explains the
process to me of the fishery. First step is isolating the chinook female
and baby population in order to preserve lineage. The fish are then
wrangled into a holding pen, further sorted, then released into the
hatcheries estuary for safe development.

16. We just viewed The Nisqually Fishery and Hatchery which represents the
production side of the sustainable fishing industry
Now, we will take a look at The Hilo Fish Company which represents the
processing and distribution of the end product.

17. HILO FISH COMPANY, INC. is a leading importer and processor of fresh and frozen seafood in the United
States. Through global sourcing from over 20 coastal regions,our operations support the seafood needs of a
wide range of clientele that includes restaurants, regional grocery chains, the national broadline food
distributors and other various sized businesses involved with food.
Hilo Fish Company is headquartered in Hilo, Hawaii. We maintain satellite sales
offices in Los Angeles, California and Perth Amboy, New Jersey. In April of 2006,
the Company opened a regional procurement office
in Manila, Philippines to handle all purchases in Asia.

18. Hilo Fish Company Mission Statement
Our mission is to consistently provide the best
quality products and services to our customers
while operating our business with:
•Pride and Humility
•Quality and Integrity
•Excellence and Innovation
•Trust and Honesty
•Care and Unity
Hilo Fish Company, Inc. is engaged in
worldwide distribution, processing,
harvesting and marketing of
assorted fresh and frozen seafood products.
We possess an in-depth knowledge of
the major fisheries targeting tuna and other
highly migratory species. We source from over
20 different coastal regions

19. Charles Umamoto was able to give us
a brief tour of Hilo Fish Company,
which are one of the many sales
offices across the country.
Their success is accomplished by work
closely with all business partners in
order to provide technical training in
seafood harvesting, handling, and
processing procedures.

20. We asked Charles how
his company regulates
and verifies
sustainability?
Answer: It’s about
traceability. Getting
accurate information
and traceability on
where and how the
snapper and grouper fish
are coming here. These
fish need to come from a
reliable origin and from
sources that aren’t
abusing the ocean.
This storage room needs to be below 40 degrees.

21. Hilo Fish Company has
entered the Sustainable
Fisheries Partnership (SFP)
and together they are working
on a project called Fishery
Improvement Project (FIP).
This project is to help protect
and sustain the grouper and
snapper fishes.
Picture: A worker at Hilo Fish is
weighing and packing cut fish to
deliver.

22. Here is a quick video.
It was so cold, I don’t know how the workers can handle it.
Please double click

23. The amount of fish that Hilo Fish Company sees a day varies. It
depends on the season and if they fish are biting. They only
catch fish that is appropriate size and if the fish are healthy.

24. Hawaiians caught three times more fish than current sustainable thresholds yet
were able to maintain the fish population for over 400 years.
Native Hawaiians caught 50% more fish as compared to modern fleets of today
From 1400 to 1800, Hawaiians caught 15 metric tons of fish per square kilometer
of reef annually which is 5 times the amount of modern island nations.
Hawaiians used sustainable techniques back then that are currently being
implemented today:
Temporary or permanent bans
Catch limits
Restriction on species and fishing techniques
Big difference is consequences of violating policies were more severe and
included up to death.
Hawaiians and Fishing Sustainability

25. What we can do to help
If the fish are too small, release it.
If the fish is unfamiliar, release it.
We can educate the keiki on how important it is to
not overfish.
Take a break from eating seafood.

26. Work Cited
Hilborn R (2008) "Knowledge on how to achieve sustainable fisheries" Pages 45–56 , Fisheries
for Global Welfare and Environment, 5th World Fisheries Congress 2008.
Grafton, RQ; Hilborn, R; (2008). "Positioning fisheries in a changing world" (PDF). Marine Policy
(United Kingdom). 32: 630–634. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2007.11.003.
Charles, A. T. (2008). Sustainable fishery systems. John Wiley & Sons.
https://smartbeing.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/why-sustainable-fishing-is-important/
Company, I. H. (n.d.). Hilo Fish Company, Inc. Retrieved October 22, 2017, from
http://www.hilofish.com
Fisheries, N. (n.d.). Ecosystems. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/ecosystems
GE Fish & the Environment. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from
https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/309/ge-fish/ge-fish-and-the-environment
‘.
https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/ancient-hawaiians-caught-more-by-fishing-less/