Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.06.2009, Blaðsíða 6

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 8 — 2009
Fishy Tales
Is Icelandic cod on the brink? And why are the powers that be not listening?
According to genetic scientist Einar
Árnason at the University of Reykjavík,
unless there are significant changes in
Icelandic fishing practices, cod stocks
could plummet within ten years. Yet,
despite a paper published in May in
the scientific journal PLoS ONE, and
Árnason’s recent open letter to the
Marine Research Institute (MRI) and the
Ministry of Fisheries, his findings have
fallen on deaf ears. This seems rather
strange considering much of Árnason’s
research was funded by the MRI itself.
This news hits Icelandic authorities
only a few months after the nation is
pinning its hopes on a fishing industry
that accounted for more than one third
of Iceland’s exports last year. Nearly a
month since Árnason’s findings were
published there has been little debate
with the government and virtually
no mention in the Icelandic media.
Speaking to Árnason in his office, he
tells me he is stunned by the silence.
‘Believe it or not, you’re the first
journalist in Iceland to contact me. This
is not something to just brush under the
carpet.’
Scientists predicting the collapse of
local cod stocks in the 1980s also met
with little reaction from the Canadian
government until 1992; and by then, it
was too late.
History in the making: The end of
canadian cod
Five hundred years after Leif Eriksson
discovered Newfoundland, the explorer
John Cabot reported cod so thick that
you could practically catch them with
your bare hands. Cod became a food
resource that would fund the first
maritime colonial power, Britain.
Newfoundland’s shores were rife: giant
oysters lined the beaches; streams were
bursting with salmon and sturgeon.
Today, another five hundred years later,
the Newfoundland seas and rivers lie
empty.
By the 1950s cod fishing had taken
on an entirely new meaning; the first
commercial fish factories emerged:
the factory-freezer-trawler. This new
breed of fishing vessel could haul up
to 200 tons an hour, work seven days a
week, and process fish on board ready
for consumption. By the late 60s, cod
catch reached over 800,000 tons. In
1977, following Iceland’s lead, Canada
extended its territorial waters to 200
miles offshore and foreign factory
trawlers, including the British, were no
longer permitted access.
All was smooth sailing until 1988
when stock surveys revealed that cod
was collapsing and that fishermen had
been netting over 60 percent of the adult
cod for many years. In the early 1990s
only around 60 percent of quotas were
being filled. By July 1992, the Canadian
government finally closed the fishing
banks in an attempt to allow the stock
to recover. It never has. Over 40,000
Canadians lost their jobs. It was one of
the worst economic catastrophes to hit
the Canadian nation. Today there are
signs that other species further down the
fish food chain are also on the decline.
Now there is scientific evidence
to show precisely how this may have
happened in Canada, and how it could
well be happening here in Iceland right
under our noses.
An Emerging Pattern: First Canada,
Now Iceland?
In a 2004 paper published in Nature,
Canadian and Norwegian biologists
expressed that fisheries-induced
evolution lead the populations of North
Atlantic cod to mature at far earlier
ages and smaller sizes than previously
known. They suggested that genetic
variation required for age resides within
populations, and that the collapse of cod
in Canada was due to early maturing in
late maturing genotypes. In other words,
over-fishing forced fish to mature earlier
in order to be able to spawn—with lower
sustainable cod yields. Fishing methods
were effecting the genetic composition
of the cod stock, dramatically reducing
its fitness.
Árnason took the direction of this
research one step further into the
genotypes, and applied it to the fisheries
in Iceland. His findings appear
dramatic.
Some years ago, using data trackers
attached to the fish, MRI researchers
discovered that there are two major
cod genotypes. These two genotypes
carry a distinct variation of the gene, or
allele, pantophysin I: AA, the shallow-
water cod; and BB, the deep-water cod
who only rise to the shallows to spawn.
Árnason maintains it is AA that is rapidly
evolving due to Icelandic shallow fishing
methods. Currently cod is decreasing in
size on average one centimetre a year.
There is now only a 50% possibility of
them becoming mature at all. According
to Árnason’s extensive research—with
over 8000 specimens—evolutionary
mutations in the genes of fish appear to
be directly related to inadvertent habitat-
specific fishing practices.
Is there a sustainable future for
Icelandic Cod?
Iceland has often been cited as a model
for sustainable fishing practices, setting
quotas based on a scientific basis, and
one of the few countries that meet British
supermarket chains’ sustainability
criteria. Why then, does Árnason’s
science not meet with immediate
concern?
Currently fish prices are down by
40%, demand from traditional markets
such as Spain has been severely effected,
the Icelandic fishing industry is deeply
in debt (estimated at 400-500 billion
krónur), and the new government is
suggesting an entire overhaul of the
quota process: quotas would no longer be
assigned, but rented. This, and Iceland’s
fast-track membership into the EU, has
fishermen deeply concerned. Right now,
no one needs to hear anything about
rapid depletion of cod stocks. Recent EC
figures indicate that 90% of Europe’s
fish species are being pulled out at an
unsustainable rate. Árnason’s research
seems to indicate that the same could
well apply to Icelandic cod.
Árnason has proposed large ocean
reserves as a solution to the immediate
threat, yet neither the Ministry of
Fisheries nor the MRI feels any need for
worry.
In a last-minute interview, Jóhann
Sigurjónsson, Director General of the
MRI said, ‘Although we consider all
studies pertinent, our preliminary
examination of Árnason’s findings is
that they provide no evidence that the
cod fishery is in danger of collapse.
Árnason bases his conclusions on
genetic methodology and questionable
interpretation of fisheries data. Presently
there is another group of researchers
looking into this more carefully, and
naturally we are contacting Mr. Árnason
to start a dialogue; but essentially we see
this as a non-starter.’
Here’s a wild hypothesis: Could it be
that suggested lack of central controls
that effected Iceland’s crippled banking
sector may also be evident elsewhere?
So many have so much to lose. For
the moment, at any rate, it appears cod
mutation, evolution, and genetics are
issues that are not on anyone’s mind
except one university professor.
Words
Marc Vincenz
Article | Cod life Health | Catharine Fulton
Aids in Iceland
So, we discovered a couple of issues back
that Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, and the like
are hilarious little STI’s – especially if you
generally enjoy burning sensations when
you pee and open, oozing sores all over
your most delicate of anatomical regions.
Oh wait, that’s not hilarious at all and it’s
decidedly disturbing if you enjoy such
symptoms. Seriously.
What is even less hilarious, however,
are two related big name viruses not
touched upon last time: the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its
offspring, acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS). HIV and AIDS are
serious acronyms, people. No joking
matter.
HIV is a nasty virus that executes a
full-on assault on some key cells that
are meant to keep you healthy and fend
off other viruses and diseases – namely
your helper T cells (a type of white blood
cell), macrophages (another type of white
blood cell) and dendritic cells (a key cell
in your immune system). But how does
the HIV gain access to these cells, you
ask? Blood, semen, pre-cum, vaginal fluid
and breast milk. Of course, the bump and
grind is one way to swap said fluids with
an infected partner, but sharing needles
and consuming breast milk will get the job
done too. Mothers can also pass along
the virus to their foetus, and to their baby
during childbirth or when nursing.
When HIV has attacked enough cells,
encouraging them to regenerate the virus
within the body, an infected person can no
longer fight off infections that an otherwise
healthy person would generally have no
problem combating. This is when HIV
becomes AIDS, typically 5–15 years after
the virus is contracted. Since antiretroviral
drugs have been developed to stave off
the serious infections that lead to full on
AIDS, infected people can remain in the
HIV stages for longer periods of time. Once
AIDS takes over, however, the immune
system deteriorates to the point of not
being able to fight off any virus, causing
tumours, rampant infection and leading to
death.
And this shit’s in Iceland? Yes. At the
start of 2009, there were 218 diagnosed
HIV positive people living in Iceland – 162
men and 56 women. Of these, 60 have
been diagnosed with AIDS, 37 of whom
have died from the disease. Apparently,
there is insufficient HIV and AIDS
treatment available in Iceland so nearly a
third of those diagnosed move abroad to
seek out better care.
Don’t be a fool, wrap your tool!
This is serious, people. Sex is awesome,
I know, but it’s even better when you’re
not wondering what nasty viruses
you’re picking up. Use condoms and get
tested. As always, the Dermatology and
Venerology Outpatient Ward has got your
back and will happily take some of your
blood and give you some peace of mind in
return. Why not call them at 543-6050? If
you’re out of credit on your phone, just stop
by Þverholt 18. You’ll be happy you did!
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Check for more details and updates on the issue
of possible cod extinction on our website: www.grapevine.is