Many fisherman, according to Sam, would like to be environmentally friendlier, but the pressure on them (debt, market values) to generate fish is so high that they’re almost obliged to take a short-term view. To illustrate the point, he cited the “Tragedy of the Commons,” a type of social trap wherein finite resources (like a grassy commons for grazing—or the sea) meant to be shared between individuals are over-exhausted because the individuals prioritize their interest over the common good—leading, ultimately, to the ruination of the commons. How, the question is, can we avoid this happening to the ocean?

For Sam, one solution would be to turn fishermen into stakeholders, give them concrete incentives not to pillage the sea, because for now, with some exceptions, that’s still the easiest way to fish. Countries like New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. all have exclusive access to their own waters, so they’re more implicated in their own futures and have adopted more conservationist attitudes as a result. Ireland’s coastal pelagic fisheries have been more environmentally friendly than their deep-sea fisheries, because people are protecting their own patch, a patch they know they’ll have to come back to “ranch” further on.

In New Zealand, fishermen can accumulate and sell a portfolio of fishing rights, turning their quota into a bankable asset, a tangible incentive to take care of it. Sam also believes that fishing should be governed by more of a bottom-up rather than top-down system of government, using local fishermen’s knowledge to bolster the system (this is beginning to happen in the EU, apparently).

Not only do fishermen need to be implicated in the future of fishing, but other industries and consumers do too. Eighty percent of marine pollution throughout coastal Europe comes directly from the land, and polluters need to be held accountable for the damage they’re doing to the ocean as well. Finally, consumers need to understand the multiple sides of the debate over the ocean’s future and respond accordingly. We need more education on fish farming (which kinds are and aren’t healthy); better and more legible eco-labels; and more support given to those who fish in environmentally responsible ways.

A lot of land has already fallen prey to the tragedy of the commons. Let’s not allow the same to happen to the sea.