00:00It's 2 a.m. in Galicia on Spain's Atlantic coast.
00:05This crew at Salero's fishing port have been working throughout the night.
00:09They're unloading crates from a vessel full of catch after a week on the Celtic Sea.
00:13These boxes are filled with hake that can be distinguished by their elongated bodies
00:17and slim pelvic fins.
00:19This silver-bellied fish is the backbone of the local fishing economy.
00:34It's hard to imagine now, but not so long ago, this all-important species almost disappeared
00:39from the Atlantic Ocean, only for stocks to rebound later, stronger than ever.
00:44In the waters of the northwestern Europe, the hake population has bounced back impressively
00:49over the past two decades.
00:52But what's behind this remarkable recovery?
00:55And why do we rarely see such success stories repeated elsewhere?
01:04The unloaded hake quickly goes to auction.
01:07The fish are large and undamaged thanks to selective fishing gear.
01:15Minimising harm to the hake population is paramount, and a bigger priority than ever
01:19before.
01:20Marine scientist Javier López leads the Sustainable Fisheries Campaign at Oceana, a conservation
01:27advocacy organisation.
01:30In the 1980s and 1990s, the Atlantic hake was subject to a strong over-exploitation,
01:40which caused a drastic drop in abundance.
01:44The hake was very close to having a critical and collapsing situation.
01:48This really has not only implications for the environment, for the state of the population,
01:51but there is also a human factor behind it.
01:53That is, many of the fishermen and coastal communities that depend on this resource
01:57If hake were to disappear, it would also be a big loss for local chefs.
02:09Hake is a member of the cod family and is everywhere in Galicia and a favourite throughout
02:14Spain.
02:15Its tender, flaky fillets pair beautifully with dishes like roasted vegetables or fried
02:20mollusks.
02:25You can bet your bottom dollar that you will find hake on the menu of almost every seafood
02:30restaurant in Spain.
02:44So how do people here in Galicia and across Europe's northwestern coast manage to have
02:49their hake and eat it too?
02:51The answer lies in timely conservation measures and a bit of luck.
02:55Let's take a closer look.
03:03European hake is widely distributed over the shelf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean.
03:08In the 1990s, overfishing reduced numbers to well below sustainable levels.
03:12Scientists who observed the decline raised the alarm and warned that the northern hake
03:17could disappear.
03:18In response, the European Union took decisive steps in the early 2000s.
03:23They established strict catch limits based on scientific advice, increased the size of
03:28fishing net meshes to allow young hake to escape, and created two large protected areas
03:33for the little ones to grow.
03:35Fortunately, sea conditions were favourable, which also played a big role.
03:40These efforts paid off.
03:42The northern hake population surged to unprecedented levels.
03:45This rebound allowed for a gradual increase in catch quotas so that hake could be fished
03:50sustainably.
03:51The same method could be applied to other species in decline.
03:58López says the key is to set concrete long-term recovery goals, enforce measures and stick
04:04to them.
04:05Local fishermen face many challenges in the current climate, from low market prices to
04:32stiff competition from cheap imports, but they're happy with the health of the hake
04:37stock.
04:38The restrictions in the past seem worthwhile.
05:10While Atlantic hake is now sustainably fished, Mediterranean stocks are in a precarious state.
05:26Let's move from Galicia to Mallorca.
05:28According to a recent European Commission report, Mediterranean hake numbers would need
05:32to increase tenfold to reach sustainable levels.
05:36Beatrice Jaro leads fishery stock assessments in this region and says the hake situation
05:42has been sustained unsustainably.
05:44The underwater terrain seems to have helped some hake-of-age trawlers enabling their survival.
06:11The Mediterranean is diverse and complex, making hake recovery a long-term challenge.
06:17Area closures, the use of more selective gear and efforts to regulate the number of fishing
06:22days were enforced here, 20 years after measures in the Atlantic.
06:27And it's still too early to assess the outcomes.
06:31At the port of Alcudia, Ocean met with the captain of a bottom trawler who had just returned
06:36from a day at sea.
06:38Hake makes up only a small fraction of this vessel's mixed catch.
06:41The captain admitted that the fishing sector resisted the restrictions at first, but now
06:46he says they are justified, even though he is limited to fishing just four days a week.
07:06Today Mediterranean hake numbers are slowly rising, but López warns that the species
07:10remain vulnerable and numbers could drop.
07:13But with the right measures in place, there is a strong chance for recovery.
07:44The state of our oceans is in many ways alarming, however, hake's resilience in the Mediterranean
07:49and its remarkable rebound in the Atlantic offer hope.
07:53The question is, could we use what we've learned to bring back more marine species?
Comments