Their routes take them beyond areas that come under the jurisdiction of individual coastal states, and into the high seas. Under international law the high seas, which span 64% of the surface of the ocean, are defined as "the common heritage of mankind". This definition might have provided enough protection if the high seas were still beyond mankind's reach. And high-seas fishing greatly disturbs the sea bed: the nets of bottom trawlers can shift boulders weighing as much as 25 tonnes. A clutch of regional organisations have been set up to try to manage fish stocks in the high seas. By reducing fuel costs, subsidies bring the high seas within reach for a few lucky trawlers, largely from the developed world. As of 2014 less than 1% of the high seas enjoyed a degree of legal protection. So in parallel with efforts to protect wild stocks, another push is needed: to encourage the development of aquaculture, the controlled farming of fish. Whether you’re raising fish in an offshore cage or in a filtered tank on land, you still have to feed them. They have one big advantage over land animals: You have to feed them a lot less. Fish need fewer calories, because they’re cold-blooded and because, living in a buoyant environment, they don’t fight gravity as much.
Overall the research towards environmentally friendly aquaculture farms is growing tremendously. We should not only invest in alternative farms but also aquatic farming to improve land and water species productions. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21702196-how-stop-overfishing-high-seas-net-positive?zid=293&ah=e50f636873b42369614615ba3c16df4a
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