By Thea Cimmino

The world's fishing stock are slowly diminishing due to a fishing overcapacity.

An international plan of action is underway to regulate the world's fishing capacity. This action will allow fishing stocks to replenish. The plan is being organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Pamela Mace, a leading scientist at the National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS), said over capacity is the leading cause of the dwindling fish stock.

"The number of fisheries that the world is involved in are either severely exploited or fully exploited. Fishery can't support the number of people involved in the industry," Mace said. "We have more people now and fewer fish… (but) if you ease up enough on fishing stocks the stocks can come back."

The FAO's plan is to reduce international fishing capacity within the next six years. Participating nations will then slowly increase their fleets allowing time for stocks to replenish. The new plan also calls for an elimination of subsidies and companies that supposedly overfish.

Approximately 70 or 80 member nations of the United Nations (UN) are actively involved in the plan including the United States, Canada, the European union, China, Iceland, Norway, Mexico and Brazil. International fishery specialist with the NMFS, Matteo Milazzo, said government involvement is almost inevitable.

"I think there will probably be an increase in government involvement in vessel buyouts. Fewer people in the boats catching fish and more people involved in other sectors," Milazzo said. "If we are able to relieve the pressure from one sector (of the fishing industry) and move it to other sectors, those remaining in the sectors will be better off."

Previously, regulations passed to regulate overfishing dealt with the size of fish allowed to be caught, the quantity allowed to be caught, the type of fishing equipment used and the length of the fishing season. This is the first plan to address overfishing from the perspective of capacity. The United States has been the leading nation in dealing with the fishing capacity issue. The Clinton administration has proposed to reduce New England's fishing capacity in response to the severe decline of the cod stock in the Gulf of Maine. World Wildlife Fund fishery expert, David Schorr, said the plan will affect the fishery work force.

"The bottom line is that some folks are going to have to find a new job," Schorr said. The plan of action may have some relevant economic effects on participating nations, but nothing too severe Milazzo said. "There will be adjustments. There will be some hardships," he said. "But overall I would say the impact won't be that bad." Milazzo also said the politics involved may become very heated. "The politicians will have something to say," Milazzo said. "The policies are decided politically. The decisions on how to manage this problem will be extremely political." The FAO's participating nations agreed to begin cutting their fishing capacities by 2005.