Plenty more fish in the sea?

More or Less

BBC

News Commentary, Science, Mathematics, News

4.6 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2012

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Only 100 cod are left in the North Sea according to newspapers. Is this the most wrong headline in More or Less history?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading from the BBC.
0:03.0	The details of our complete range of podcasts
0:06.0	and our terms of use go to BBCWorldService.com slash podcasts.
0:13.0	Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service,
0:16.0	a haven of statistical straight talking in a world of nonsense.
0:20.0	Today we're starting with a particularly fishy statistic.
0:23.0	The daily telegraph of British newspaper recently carried this headline.
0:28.0	Only 100 cod left in North Sea.
0:31.0	A dim future for cod you might think.
0:34.0	Well, here's what Brian Buckenthort.
0:36.0	He's a trollerman who's been fishing in the North Sea for decades.
0:39.0	It may be so hungry.
0:41.0	In 34 years in North Sea fishing, we've seen more cod this year
0:45.0	and we've seen the last 30 years.
0:47.0	Then we'll get a headline from someone who doesn't even know what a cod looks like.
0:52.0	This makes my blood boil.
0:54.0	A hundred cod in North Sea.
0:56.0	More like a hundred million cod in North Sea.
0:59.0	It's not a trivial issue.
1:01.0	Over exploitation and conflicts over fisheries cause major problems worldwide.
1:05.0	So our reporter Hannah Barnes went trawling for the truth.
1:08.0	Well, let's start with the headline.
	...

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