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From 1950 to 2006 the United Nation Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) estimated that 12,700 metric tons of fish were caught in the Arctic, giving the impression that the Arctic was a still-pristine ecosystem, remaining underexploited by the world's fisheries. However, a recent study by the University of British Colombia Fisheries Center and Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences throws cold water on this widespread belief. According to the study, published in Polar Biology, the total Arctic catch from 1950 to 2006 is likely to have been nearly a million metric tons, almost 75 times the FAO's official record.

Community supported fisheries are springing up along the East Coast, taking a nod from local agriculture. But what do you do when your fisherman catches too much cod?

"Whalers cited "violent interference" and other clashes lasting 31 days with Sea Shepherd as "paralyzing" the hunt. Takashi Mori of Japan's Fisheries Ministry added, "The lack of samples could affect the accuracy of our research." According to Sea Shepherd calculations, their efforts cost Japan's whaling fleeting about $132 million, as the average value of each whale is a quarter of a million dollars. The same estimates show that this season the fleet lost money, as 700 whales need to be killed to meet operating expenses."

"In a place like Indonesia, top-down government control simply isn't possible, and community-based management is the only real alternative."