Off the African Coast, a Struggle to Revive a Battered Fishery

The Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration initiative (SOAR), coordinated by the Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, and various state agencies, NGOs, and universities, spent millions buying oysters from 100 farms in seven states to put back into the oceans for reef restoration. Working in areas that already have reef monitoring programs, SOAR is supporting 20 reef restoration projects to create habitat for more oysters and other marine species, clean the water, and mitigate coastal flooding. SOAR also helped mitigate potential losses for shellfish farmers due to COVID-19.

In the mid-1990s, a small fishing community in Baja California Sur stopped fishing to give their depleted reef a chance to recover. Thirty years later, Cabo Pulmo National Park stands as one of the most documented cases of marine conservation success in the world. Scientific monitoring confirmed a 463% increase in marine biomass within a decade of protection. Drawing on this evidence, marine scientists have developed the Marine Prosperity Areas (MPpAs) framework, a replicable model that integrates ecological restoration with community well-being.

Lobster is a crucial economic resource in New England, but entanglements with the fishing line from lobster traps are a major cause of death for endangered North Atlantic right whales. Scientists and lobstermen are testing ropeless, on-demand gear that minimizes the risk for whales and allows fishing to continue in areas that would otherwise be closed for months as the whales pass through.

Coral reefs play a vital role in the ecosystem, but are facing a dire future in many parts of the world. In Jamaica, however, "grassroots-run coral nurseries and fish sanctuaries" have been established over the last decade, which has helped bring reefs in this area back to life.

In Jamaica, locally-led coral nurseries are working to restore the coral reef that have been lost to natural and manmade disasters. These organizations have small coral gardens where they can grow free of danger and when they’re big enough, are transported to a reef. With coral and fish being so codependent in the underwater ecosystem, the regrowth of coral has meant an increase of fish and fishing for the country, which many people rely on for their livelihood.

Bonaire's coral reef is one of the few in the world that is thriving, rather than dying. Thanks to a combination of local efforts, such as reef maintenance and restoration as well as rules that limit fishermen and divers, the reef is proving to be a model for other regions that are struggling.

Adapting to climate change in coastal areas means adjusting local fishing and cultivation practices. Residents of Velondriake, a locally managed marine area in southern Madagascar, have introduced seaweed and algae farming as an alternative to fishing. With the help of Blue Ventures, an NGO based in the UK, and the University of Toliara, residents are monitoring their ecosystem and finding new markets for their harvests.

Giving fishermen a business incentive to fish sustainably can “unleash their creative capacity” to help solve the problem, says one expert.

As oil rigs stop producing fossil fuels and become decommissioned, many are being repurposed into artificial reefs that support populations of marine wildlife with food and shelter. In the United States, more than 500 oil and gas rigs have been converted into artificial reefs. The California-based company Blue Latitudes has worked to raise awareness about this solution throughout the world, though has struggled to make traction with the Golden State’s oil platforms. Yet, reefing a platform is less expensive than completely removing it.

A small, southeast-Alaskan fishing community banded together to protect the source of its livelihood from industrial fishing. Legislation officially protected 70,000 square miles of pristine waters in 1998. The ban on industrial fishing has resulted in much smaller, sustainable fisheries that have kept the ocean habitat flourishing and business booming for local fisheries. A cooperative model prevents overfishing and maintains a healthy ocean habitat.