Op-ed: Spanish and Portuguese swordfish fishery must embrace change

Gonçalo Carvalho is the executive coordinator of Sciaena, a nongovernmental organization in Portugal that aims to promote a healthy marine environment through the promotion of sustainable ways of exploitation, the involvement of the population, and political intervention. Can the Spanish and Portuguese historic swordfish fishery still have a place in the 21st century? Only if it embraces the changes and possibilities it presents.Few marine species are as easily recognizable as the swordfish, with its pointed bill, elongated and streamlined body, wide crescent-shaped caudal fin, and dark skin. Its speed, strength, and keenness for acrobatic leaps high above the water have always left those at sea amazed but also with a great desire to engage in epic duels with this mythical fish. This relationship is so intense and turbulent that it inspired Hemingway to write one of the best and most famous books about the relationship between humans and the sea – The Old Man and the Sea.The ...