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The negative effects of overfishing
Environmental problems with overfishing
Impact of overfishing
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Recommended: The negative effects of overfishing
Fish are dying, people know and they’re still killing them. End of the line is a documentary that focuses on how we know that fish are depleting and people are still overfishing. This video really opened my eyes to all the problems with the fishing industry and how we are treating fish. In Newfoundland, the fisheries have been fishing Cod for decades; collecting tonnes and tonnes of fish every year. They knew that the cod was starting to run out, but they didn’t do anything about it. Now the Cod is practically gone and probably will not recover in our lifetime. This shows the tragedy of the commons because they knew it was declining, but for their benefit, they kept overfishing the cod. This is happening with fish all over the world because no one is listening to the catch limits. For example, the recommended catch limit for the bluefish tuna is 15,000 tonnes globally, but 10,000 tonnes for it to recover. The European Union has set the limit at 29,500 tonnes and still, the actual catch is 61,000 tonnes which is ⅓ of the bluefish tuna. …show more content…
They figured out that the Chinese were making up their numbers which covered up the global numbers because the Chinese make a big part of the fishing industry. They lied about their numbers because the more they “caught” the more the communist officials got paid. But China was still catching as much as the rest of the world which was less and less. No one knew how bad the global catch was getting so by the time they figured out it was too late. This means now they have to scramble to fix the declining fish
Larabee, John, and Richard Price. "Tide of Troubles has Fish Industry Reeling/ Crisis Caused by Pollution, Development, Over-Fishing." USA Today 10 Mar. 1994: 9A
Due to the demand many packaging for the fish can find its was back to sea, or when fishermen are out at sea they can leave their garbage. Many nets from the boats and gears can also be found in the water, that fish can later see as food, eat it, and die; this ties back to extinction in fish. There is much pollution and decline stocks in fish because it is very hard to regulate the seas. To fulfill the growing demand for seafood, many companies are forced to fish beyond areas that are supposed to be non-fishing zones. This is because there are hardly any laws or restrictions telling them where they can and cannot fish. Sally Driscoll and Tom Warhol report in, ‘Overfishing’, that itt wasn’t until 1956 where we saw our first regulation, the United Nations organized the first UN Convention of the Law of the Sea or the NCLOS which helped promote rights of all countries by establishing boundaries off shore. Meaning that some seafood fished in certain areas of the ocean cannot be sold in certain countries, and in some areas it is illegal to fish unless you have a permit from that country. Economy also helps make it harder to regulate the seas, in ‘Overfishing’ it is explained that Preisdent Barack Obama brought up Antiquities Act of 1906, that let fishermen expand their fishing areas. The United Nations FAO estimates that 25 percent of all fish trapped in nets are labeled unusable or not licensed for fishing by the
The 1800’s the George’s Banks off the coast of New England was very generous to the fisherman who fished the sea for a living. There was a balance between what the fisherman took and what the sea could provide. By the mid-1900 that balances began greatly to shift. Technology developed during the 1950s allowed fishermen to take in much more fish than previous years. Through continued over fishing and lack of controls in place at the time, the fish stock depleted to the point the George’s Banks could no longer support the fisherman.
In the late 1990s fishermen were getting stressed and many of them turned in their boats. This is because the government made new rules and regulations for the fishing industry. These rules are supposed to help endangered fish, although some are not helping at all. The government allows small boat fishermen to catch only 500 pounds of cod per day and requires them to toss any extra overboard before they reach shore.
Jack: Yes, Overfishing is a global disaster. Over three quarters of the world is covered by oceans and are full of fish. You see, lots of people love to fish, but some people take it a bit over the top. Fishermen fish almost everyday but some of them fish for hours and hours catching a ton of fish. Millions of people rely on the ocean every day and other people in other parts of the world that need the fish in the water to eat and survive on.
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.)
Countries, fisheries, and consumers all need to share the responsibility for conserving endangered marine life. First, governments should base their policies on scientific factors and should look for better economic incentives to stop fisheries from overfishing. Second, fisheries should use methods that are not so destructive to the fish population. Finally, consumers should avoid buying endangered seafood, even if they have to pay a little more. If these parties recognize that it is worthwhile to conserve marine species, then they must accept this responsibility.
The film could easily be criticized for exaggerating issues at some points, containing claims that the end of sea food could be realized within 50 years. The End of the Line is interesting in this regard, however, as it directly states that it is less concerned with the exact numbers. In response to claims that the fishery decline of 90% was "totally invalid" and was brought about in “haste to get a big picture,” Dalhousie University’s Jeffrey Hutchings states that “whether the number is 90, 95, 80, or 70 is irrelevant; focusing on the particulars is not helpful.” Any number regarding fish stocks is vulnerable to attack because of the difficulty of counting fish. While counting the populations in one area is a near-impossible task, fish are also capable of frequent and large-scale migration. In this regard, it is in the best interest of the film to use the most eye-catching statistics as the number will be deemed arbitrary by...
Parliament of Canada. (n.d.). Northern Cod: a failure of Canadian fisheries management. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from Parliament of Canada: http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2144982&Mode=1&Parl=38&Ses=1&Language=E&File=21
The Tragedy of the Salmon The United States Pacific Northwest has historically been a significant player in the global fishing industry. However, over the last half-century, the fish population in the area has been declining at an alarming rate. Popular species of fish such as cod and salmon have been particularly susceptible to these decreases. What once was a region flourishing with abundant fish populations, is now in danger of being exploited to the point of extinction of certain species. The majority of these population drops is attributed to increased industrialization and overfishing in the region.
There are many impacts that fishing and land animal farming have on the ocean, which are detrimental to ocean ecosystems as well as many other aspects of the environment. Overfishing, killing fish at a much quicker rate than the fish can repopulate, is one major problem. Three-fourths of the world’s fisheries are either fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted (Cowspiracy). Researchers have estimated an end of all viable fisheries by 2018 if the current trends of fishing continue (Mason). According to the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, hundreds of thousands of animals die every year as bycatch, with one of the worst offenders being shrimp fisheries, catching up to six pounds of bycatch per pound of shrimp. Endangered species are also caught, including predators which are important in keeping the balance in ocean ecosystems (Smith). While many organizations such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch recommend consumers to eat more “sustainable” fish, this will not stop the massive environmental impacts. Sustainable fishing for one does not account for the natural flux in the population of species of fish; what is considered a sustainable amount of fish to harvest one year may deplete the fishery in another year (Smith). Sustainable fish also are becoming even less sustainable as companies that label sustainable fish must find more For example, after Wal-Mart pledged to selling Marine Stewardship
Overfishing is defined as a form of overexploitation where fish stocks are brought down to unacceptable levels. In the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2 yearly report (SOFIA), it states how over half of the fish stocks, worldwide, are fully exploited. Other research has shown it only takes 10-15 years of industrial fishing to obliterate a tenth of the intended species. Overfishing causes a ripple effect that hurts the entire ecosystem. The balance of the chain depends largely on the interaction between the predator and the prey.
To fish or not to fish is a personal choice. The fact that the oceans are being overfished is a growing concern for individuals, organizations, and governments throughout the world. In this paper I want to discuss the effects of overfishing on the restaurant industry, and possible solutions to solve the problem. Fishing is an ongoing source of food for people around the world. In many countries it is a food staple in their everyday diet. In more modern societies eating fish has become a sensual experience, and not just for the wealthy. It hasn't been until population explosions in the last century that the demand for seafood has led to more effective fishing techniques and technologies. Now the demand for popular fish like the salmon, tuna, sea bass, cod and hoki, which is the key fish in McDonalds filet o' fish, is diving wild populations to dangerously low levels. The methods used to catch the amount of fish demanded by the industry do not leave sustainable populations in the wild. In an attempt to preserve the fish population, governments have set limits on the minimum size that may be harvested and how many of each may be taken. Boundaries have been set up saying which areas can be fished and which ones should be left alone. A number of smaller fisheries have gone out of business because of the limits imposed by the government. This leads to even less fish being harvested and brought to market. Therefore the amount and varieties of fish at markets are smaller and can cause shortages for wholesalers and restaurants. Some restaurants will no longer have the variety on their menus that they used to enjoy. If a restaurant thrives on its seafood menu they may be unable to cope with the shortages and will go out of business. In the ...
“Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction”. CITATION
But drawing this line between them basically puts whaling in the same category as industrial fishing. And as we learned in the past with the too fast development of whaling, that led to many whales being driven into near extinction. This proves that just like there is overfishing there is also “over whaling”. The problem of over whaling might be solved by placing specific restrictions and quotas on the whaling industry in order to keep the population of whales steady.