Mathematics Awareness Month - April 2013
Mathematics of Sustainability

Fishing

Worldwide, fish stocks provide millions of people with necessary food. We have seen some fish stocks crash due to over-fishing or poorly handled international treaties. Imposing new restrictions or fishing regulations is often controversial, because those changes impact the livelihood of those that depend on fishing for a living. And yet, if we overharvest the fisheries today, there will be no fish available to feed future generations and no jobs for the fishing industry of tomorrow. Resource management professionals use mathematical models, building on the logistic equation, to determine how best to manage renewable resources like fish, and possibly restore some of the world’s fisheries.

Sustainability is about improving “everyone's quality of life, including that of future generations” and fishing is a great example of seeking the balance of today and tomorrow. But we should also consider the inequalities that often exist between those that make a living in the fishing industry and those living in cities that enjoy eating the fish. What is a fair balance here?

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