The Plight Of The Old-Fashioned Fisherman On A Changing Ocean

Genaro Moreno Bonilla has been fishing off the coast of Coqui, Colombia, for 53 years.

"I remember that I would paddle out in my canoe and propose to myself to catch 50 or 100 fish that day, and it happened," he says. Life was good. Colombia had a reputation for having one of the greatest variety of fish on the planet.

But things have changed. The plentiful supply of fish Bonilla depended on has dwindled dramatically in a changing world. And efforts to make his life better in the long run are actually exacerbating the problems he faces today.

Bonilla is an artisanal fisherman. Artisanal practices use traditional fishing methods like hook and line — think fisherman on a boat with a fishing rod. They're small-scale, low technology and low capital household-run fisheries.