DW:
Dr. Zimmermann, do you actually eat fish yourself?
Quite a lot!
DW:
In terms of preserving fish biodiversity, what fish is OK to eat? What would you recommend?
Well there is no general answer to this. Consumers or retailers should look at the status of the fish stock and the way this fish stock is harvested. If we take cod for example, there are stocks which are in pretty good shape or in excellent shape, like the biggest cod stock in the world - the Barents Sea, or Northeast Arctic cod. And there are other stocks further to the south, the North Sea cod or the Irish Sea cod, which are in pretty poor shape. So they sort of need a rest to recover.
DW:
I remember when I was growing up in Ireland, it was always the story that cod was becoming extinct, and we shouldn't eat it. How long does it take fish supplies to boost back up again after they've gone down?
That actually varies quite a lot. It very much depends on the measures taken to make the stock recover. So if you reduce the fishery appropriately, it might take up to 25 years. The Barents Sea cod is an example. It was overfished for 25 years, then there were 25 years with virtually no fishing going on. But in the Baltic Sea, for example, it only took the cod six years to recover fully.
DW:
So it depends from area to area. What kind of research does your own institute do?
We are responsible for the monitoring of - in this case - Baltic Sea commercially-exploited fish stocks.
DW:
Do you yourself go out to sea?
Yes. Rarely now, but I have been out to sea quite often in the past.
DW:
Do you think fishing can be made more sustainable with new nets with big meshes?
I think this is definitely a good idea. Increasing the selectivity is a good idea, and I don't think that we are at the end of the development. We could look at gear which has less impact on the environment. But we have to accept that each kind of fishery impacts the environment. So
There is no way that we could say that there is no impact to the environment at all. That is what we have to accept if we want to eat marine wild fish.
DW:
This approach to fishing is not particularly new, is it?
This specific approach is not really new, but there was a problem in implementing it in the fishing. And actually the increased fuel prices had a positive influence on the adaptation of these new technologies.
DW:
So it is kind of a win-win situation. They have reduced their fuel prices and also the drag isn't as bad. What other technologies do you suggest that could help fishing in a more ecological way?
Again, you have to look at each individual fish stock and each individual area. And you should always try to reduce the impact on the ecosystem as much as possible. But there is no general answer to that question.
DW:
Dr. Zimmermann – thank you very much for the interview.
Interview: Anne O'Donnell