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Problems of overfishing
What is the environmental impact of overfishing
What is the environmental impact of overfishing
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Slow Violence in the Fishing Industry Within today’s society violent acts are often viewed as harsh, instantaneous events of cruelty. However, upon reading Rob Nixon’s “Introduction,” surrounding themes of slow violence, it became evident that violence does not simply take one fast paced form. Evidence and examples of slow violence were clearly seen within Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel’s documentary Leviathan. Nixon defines slow violence as, “violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all” (2). Leviathan follows the story of a fishing boat and its crew members, often emphasizing the perspectives of marine life. Throughout the boat’s journey, it becomes clear that the fishing industry is a key player that causes destruction and slow violence onto both marine ecosystems and human livelihoods. …show more content…
These images depict some of the harsh cruelties of the fishing industries. Nixon’s work can be directly applied to the fishing industry as he emphasizes that slow violence encompasses “inattention to calamities that are slow and long lasting” (6). Overfishing is an astronomical issues that is the result of slow violence. Due to rapid fishing rates marine ecosystems do not have time to repopulate and replenish. Over time this results in the destruction of habitats and resources. Unfortunately, as Nixon points out, the slow deterioration of marine environments is not broadcasted because these gradual events will not “boost ratings on TV” (6). As the fish populations dwindle to point of extinction, minimal action is being taken to counteract overfishing and as Nixon suggests it is because the steady disappearance of fish isn’t broadcasted or highlighted as a major event that needs to be dealt with
uncovers the truth about the fish, and how it and its environment was abused by the old
In this entertaining, search into global fish hatcheries, New York Times writer Paul Greenberg investigates our historical connection with the ever changing ocean and the wild fish within it. In the beginning of the book Paul is telling his childhood fishing stories to his friends, that night Paul discovers that that four fish dominate the world’s seafood markets in which are salmon, tuna, cod, and bass. He tries to figure out why this is and the only logical answer he could come up with is that four epochal shifts caused theses wild fish population to diminish. History shows that four epochal shifts happen within fifteen years causing certain fish species populations to diminish. He discovers for each of the four fish why this happened to
In the past twenty years a large amount of bottlenose dolphin have been killed due to the tuna fishery. In the Eastern Pacific swim large schools of tuna, these shoals tend to be under herds of dolphins, for some unexplained reason. Because of this, fishermen can easily find schools of tuna. The tuna are being caught under purse seine nets, which encircles the shoals of tuna and then is pulled back on board the fishing vessel, catching both tuna and dolphin. Initially the mortality rate was 500,000 each year for dolphins alone. Although some efforts are made to encourage the dolphins to leave the net by backing down part of the net, which allows the dolphins to escape, there are still a large number of mortalities (Bryant). On the other hand, in the last few years there has been dramatic progress in stopping the fishing industries from using purse sine nets. It has been found that dolphins are in immediate danger of extinction if these fishing techniques don’t stop.
Simply, overfishing depletes fish stocks. The consumer demand for fish has risen dramatically over the past decade or so, so much that fisheries are designing new and innovate ways to catch more fish, and at a faster rate to meet consumer demands. What fisheries do not realize, though, is that their removal of fish from the oceans is too great and far too fast for new fish stocks to be made. So, no mating is occurring, leaving the oceans emptier each day. If this rate continues, all fish in the ocean will be almost non-existent. Already, we are experiencing a major decline in fish population: "In 2003, a scientific report estimated that industrial fishing had reduced the number of large ocean fish to just 10 percent of their pre-industrial population. "(par.6).Overfishing brings the main consequence of decrease in the fish population. People rely on fish for survival (in some countries, fish is their only source of food), and they rely on marine life for products (goods like lipstick, petroleum jelly, make-up, etc.)
Rupert Murray’s The End of the Line focuses on the depletion of the oceans fisheries and the devastating effects it has already begun to have on ecosystems and less affluent populations. The film opens with a description of the tribulations of Newfoundland. Once possessing waters so populous with cod that one could “walk across their backs in the water,” improved technology and larger fishing vessels began to deplete the fish stocks. Despite placing a moratorium on fishing in 1992, the fisheries had already been depleted to the point of complete collapse. Similar processes are occurring around the world, as only .6% of the ocean is restricted to fishing vessels. According to the film, much of the ocean’s catch has declined by 90%; the continuation of current trends if continue, stocks will collapse by 2048.
Before affiliating the crew aboard the ship with Moby Dick, there are some comparisons to be made between them and ocean inhabitants in general. While living in the ocean environment the men begin to acquire the same survival techniques as some of the organisms in the ocean. The manner in which the whalers go about slaughtering the whales is much like the way that the sharks react to the whale carcass being held stagnate in the water. "....because such incalculable hosts of sharks gather round the moored carcass, that were he left so for six hours, say, on a stretch, little more that the skeleton would be visible by mornong"(Melville 328). These sharks are savages in the face of sustenance. In most cases the sheer size of the whale prohibits it from being captured and consumed by the sharks. The only chance that they have at these huge beasts is when they are slung along side the whaling ships. Once they have their opening to this plethora of meat it becomes a barbaric feeding frenzy. These actions of the sharks reflect the actions of the whalers when taking part in the slaying of a whale. "Soon ranging up by his flank, Stubb, firmly planting his knee in the clumsy cleat, darted dart after dart into the flying gish.
When it comes to documentaries, many are made to look real, but the truth has been manipulated. Racing Extinction, however, is a carefully constructed documentary which aims to show viewers mankind’s role in potential losses of at least half of the world’s species. Racing Extinction is a documentary created by filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, director of Oscar winning documentary, The Cove. In 2005, Psihoyos co-founded the organization, Oceanic Preservation Society, also known as OPS. ‘’The objective of OPS is to educate the public on what is happening to the Earth, and to promote individuals to make a difference so that future generations will have an enriched environment, not a diminishing one.’’
With a coastline of over 202 000 km and over a fourth of the world’s freshwater resources, it is no wonder why Canada’s fishing industry is a huge part of its economy.1 Canada exports more than 75% of its fish to over 130 countries worldwide. Many of the 7 million people who reside on the coast depend on the ocean’s resources. In total, Canada’s entire fishing industry is worth around 5$ billion dollars a year, being one of the world’s most valuable. However, the coasts have not been treated by respect; overfishing, over consumption, and wasteful practices has deteriorated, not only the industry, but the ecosystems and fish populations. This is a huge global issue; the worldwide collapse of fisheries has been project for 2048. Slowly, as the trends continue, we will inevitably see many fish species start to disappear. In fact, the ill-treatment of species on the Canadian border has already devastated a large specie, the cod.
The story of the guppy fish, where the brothers “dammed it and smashed it,” uncovers the violent nature of this aggressive boy (21). Using violence to overcome grief is common. People that use this way want to put their pain on other living organisms, so that the other being can feel their pain. Also, the less hostile brother’s perspective on their killing explicates his guilt, compared to the other brother, who does not appear to feel much remorse. The
This research looks at Aravind Adiga‟s novel The White Tiger where Adiga focuses on a society where violence reigns freely and his protagonist Balram Halwai struggles to survive in the face of this cruelty. In such a social order, where corruption is at its peak, violence becomes a social norm and those who live under its influence start to accept it as a part of life. They not only observe violent behavior inflicted before them or on them, but they also incorporate it into their own lives. Such a person feels frustrated and this aggravation turns into a need to inflict further pain on others. It is a cry for help as one seeks to look for justification for his own misery but gets caught up in this endless cycle of discontentment and brutality.
Just like in the Tragedy of the Commons, there is a common that fishing companies can utilize to generate revenue. Fish that a corporation doesn’t catch can be viewed as unutilized capital that will just be exploited by a competing company. The problem compounds, and companies start taking more fish than what the population can naturally replenish, leading to a collapse. This is a disaster for not only the species being fished and the fishing companies themselves, but also for other species in the ocean, employed fishermen, seafood restaurants, and many
Several species of fish are becoming more and more sparse. “The fishing industry has introduced other types of fish as substitutes for cod, mackerel, shark, herring, and other species that have been overfished” (Driscoll 1). The fishing industry is having to find substitutes for fish that are growing ever closer to extinction. One argument against the regulation of fishing has to do with medicine. “The growing demand for fish has been spurred in part by nutritionists and doctors who promote the health benefits of seafood over red meat (Driscoll 1).
“The biggest danger we face is overfishing. We have too many boats out there. We literally could fish out our oceans, some scientists believe, in the next 40, 50, 60 years. We are trending in that direction. …
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
Did you know that more than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct? According to Pandey, the author of Humans Pushing Marine Life toward ‘Major Extinction’, nearly 10,000 species go extinct each year, and this rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate (1). Human beings are causing irreversible damage to the oceans and their wildlife, which is being led by two major reasons: Commercial fishing or over-fishing, which damaged the marine environment and caused a loss in the marine life diversity, and pollution, which is a primary way of the extinction causes that drastically modifies the marine life habitat. As a result of the commercial fishing and pollution, many of the marine species will start disappearing of the oceans. Briggs emphasizes that over-fishing “has induced population collapses in many species. So instead of having less than a hundred species at risk, as was the case some 30-40 years ago, there are now a thousand or more (10).”