Argumentative Essay On Overfishing

Advancements in commercial fishing technologies and increase demand for fish have led to the overfishing of many species of fish in the North Atlantic. Overexploitation of this valuable resource threatens the health of the local ecosystem and the livelihood of the people that depend on this food source. However, as Garrett Hardin’s The Tragedy of the Commons explains; when individuals act in rational self-interest exploiting common resources for self-gain, with no regard for others, all resources will eventually be depleted. Overfishing has led to the reduction of many species of diadromous (migratory between saltwater and freshwater) fishes within the North Atlantic, in some cases reductions of 99% in a period of two decades have been recorded

Hardin argues that these solutions are ineffective because they require "a change only in the techniques of the natural sciences, demanding little or nothing in the way of change in human values or ideas of morality" (Hardin,1968). The most popular of these techniques is aquaculture, which involves the farming of fish in captivity. In theory, this approach privatizes fish stocks and reduces environmental impact by incentivizing farmers to maintain their stocks. However, this technique may prove flawed for a variety of reasons. Many of these farms require that natural aquatic or marine habitats be transformed into private fisheries, disturbing the natural movement of native species, and allowing for the appropriation of more resources (Lotze, 2004). To maintain a sustainable population of fish, farms must collect billions of wild fish to replenish seed stock, a process that discards up to 85% of wild fish collected in the form of bycatch. Additionally, many of these farmed species depend on wild fish as food and it is estimated that approximately 10% of all wild caught fish are used as aquaculture feed (Naylor, 2000). Furthermore, escaped farm reared fish pose other dangers to wild populations by means of “Disease, competition, and genetic introgression” (Limburg, 2002). Though aquaculture may prove to be one of the more promising

“By having a clear understanding of behavioral determinants, policy makers can harness an array of regulatory, fiscal, and tax policies” that lead to behavioral change (Whitmee, 2105). For this approach to work, stringent rules must be put in place and strictly enforced on a global scale. In North Atlantic fisheries managed by EU (European Union) members, where regulatory laws are more laxed, approximately 40% of fisheries were considered overfished. On the other hand, only 19% of North Atlantic fisheries managed by some Nordic countries were considered overfish (Beddington, 2007). Additionally, management tools that prove less effective should be replaced with those that provide better results. In the western coast of the United States, were management systems that consist of quota controls, approximately 44% of the overfished stocks managed by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council have now recovered. Fisheries in the north east, were farms are primarily managed by a days-at-sea scheme, only 2 of the 18 New England overfished stocks were considered recovered (Beddington,