How Overfishing Hurts African Wildlife The author, Maggie Fox, argues that overfishing hurts local fisheries and causes the slaughter of wildlife. In the article “How Overfishing Hurts African Wildlife”, Fox first states that the “bushmeat trade in Ghana is strongly driven by a lack of fish”. Next, Fox claims Ghana is at risk of worsening poverty, social unrest, and loss of natural resources as an result of overfishing. Fox additionally quotes an assistant professor of ecosystem sciences who claims species are vanishing. Fox lastly discusses the potential results of overfishing, taking quotes from a study about the connection between local fish supply and the effects on bushmeat and wildlife. Fox also claims the results of overfishing can also have effects …show more content…
Lastly, the WWF states statistics and examples of the importance of the ocean to Europe and how “illegal fishing strongly contributes to this marine tragedy.” My Perspective When people think of overfishing and its effects, they just write it off as fish dying. But so much more is happening. Overfishing starves. Overfishing causes the slaughter of animals. Overfishing causes a disease. Overfishing uses the term slavery. Overfishing affects more than just fish. It destroys the ocean, from the coral reefs to the whales and sharks. Overfishing offsets the natural balance between animals, causing extinction in the ocean. It affects us from climate change to the economy and welfare. My opinion on this topic is that it affects us all. We must change for the benefit of all. People think overfishing is just a few fish dying that don’t matter, they don’t even feel. However, studies have shown fish have emotions and feelings. They feel pain, joy, pleasure, fear, etc. They have a lot of feelings. The ocean produces 50% of the oxygen we breathe. The ocean is much more important than we believe, and we’re still
First of all, the article Too Many Fishermen enlightens the readers about the dangers and risks of overfishing. For example, on lines 12 through 15 it states, “Overfishing depletes fish stocks by taking fish at a rate faster than they can replace themselves. Many fish are harvested before they are even mature enough to reproduce. As a result, marine species are dying at an alarming rate.” The author used this evidence to better show how real and harmful the situation is. This is used by the author to help support the idea that humans have a negative impact on the ocean and helps to spread the word easier.
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.
Overfishing can lead to sea creatures becoming extinct. This can ruin an entire food chain and continues
Earth's oceans make up over 75% of the Earth as a whole. With that being said, it is vital to understand the significance on the contents of the oceans. Since fish and marine products make up a large portion of our diet, fishing practices need to be properly managed. In this essay, overfishing will be defined, its consequences will be revealed, and plans for proper fish distribution will be executed.
Overfishing may have some benefits to it, but does it out way the negatives? By fulfilling our demand we can wipe out our whole oceans! Not just the fish, but water mammals too. Sure it can create jobs, but as what cost? It can help bring up our economy, but at the same time it can bring it down with many fish companies closing down due to lack of profit. Fish is a great source of nutrients, but too much can kill you! In other words, fish can be both beneficial and harmful to not only humans, but everyone and everything surrounding fish. There are three things people can do to help with overfishing, the first thing is to be aware of what you are eating. Is the fish on the fear of extinction list? Also asking yourself is the fish you’re about to eat really the fish you intend to eat? Another thing to ask is, was it shipped over seas? If it was it doesn’t benefit anyone, it won’t help the economy or you. Many fish shipped from a long ways creates pollution and may have lost its nutrients value from the long voyage. One last thing to do is if you see a sewer with a sign leading to the ocean, try not to leave trash near it, or better yet don’t litter at all! All the litter left out on streets or near sewers can cause pollution in oceans, lakes, and rivers which is very harmful for marine life. You can still enjoy fish, but not at such a high demand as
Overfishing refers to an act of fishing more than what the population can replace through normal reproduction (WWF, 2016). This was led by international government efforts to increase fishing capacity in the mid-20th century, which then led to the increase in availability and affordability of protein-rich foods. With this, profitable commercial fleets became aggressive, scouring the world’s oceans and developing sophisticated technologies to find and catch their targeted species. Thus, with a wide selection of fish species available at affordable prices, customers soon became used to them (Geographic, 2016).
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 a growing world problem. In 2013, 93 million tonnes of fish were caught
Now, fish is sold at almost every grocery store and a popular food today. However, over-fishing is a problem going on in the ocean today. It kills coral reefs and endangers different species of animals. Although fishing supplies humans with a substantial amount of nutrients, it is important to realize the detrimental effects it can have on the ocean too.
...ve significantly reduced available fish stocks by failing to limit catches of endangered or threatened species such as the Bluefin tuna. The regeneration of the marine biodiversity is slow, and citizens have done everything but help. Additionally, the slaughter of dolphins and protected animals like the whale shark adds to the downsides of overfishing. Also, in order to sell to consumers the desired fish species, astonishing numbers of by-catch have to be rid of. Sometimes, less than half of the captured fish is brought back to the shore. The problem of overfishing further disrupts intricate ecosystems maintained by the already threatened coral reefs. Their destruction is synonym to a loss of habitat and refuge to numerous different marine animals. Overfishing must be the main concern of modern society because billions of people depend of fish stocks to survive.
Global demand for Bluefin Tuna has pushed populations of this species to “decline over 70% in the last 30 years2”. The participants, fisheries and fishermen, acting in their own self-interest for the greatest short-term gain, will eventually deplete this common resource until it is exhausted. In this sense, the plight of the Bluefin Tuna can be described in economic vernacular as a “tragedy of the commons1”. The expression tragedy of the commons describes how free and open access to common resources, traditionally environmental, are typically overused and will eventually be depleted or destroyed. This negative environmental externality, the unint...
Overfishing is the most major problem related to oceans, but it is also the most overlooked. Fishing has been going on for thousands of years, and fish have always been seen as a renewable resource, that would replenish itself forever for our benefit. But around the world there is evidence that fish are not recove...
Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, or pirate fishing, is a huge threat to the marine environment, it's bio diversity in food development is dependent on it. Losses due to pirate fishing are estimated to be between 10-23.5 billion U.S. dollars per year. Representing 11-26 million tons of fish. West African waters are estimated to have the highest levels of pirate fishing in the world. Fish is a crucial source of protein for millions of people. Fishing is the major coastal employment along the coast's. During a dramatic two year investigation, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has documented mass amounts of pirate fishing on the West Coast of Africa. Pirate fishermen are literally out of control. They are fishing in protected areas, destroying local fishermens nets and sabotaging them, hiding their names, and shipping their catch illegally at sea. They evade arrest, attack local fishermen, and abusing their own crews. The catches of these pirates have been entering the EU. the worlds largest import market for seafood. This is despite a new EU regulation. The regulation requires all fish imported into Europe to be accompanied by a catch certificate that asks for name, address, validating authority, fishing vessel name, license, and homeport. This is all declares that the catches have been declared legal.y 90% of the vessels documented by EJF fishing illegally are bottom trawlers. Bottom trawlers are are vessels that drag heavy nets across the sea bed catching all marine life in their path. Up to 75% of call the catches made on these vessels are dumped back into the sea, dead or dying. Fish is the principal source of protein for 2.9 billion people. But the United Nations recognizes 80% of the world's fisheries are e...
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).”
Lake Victoria, the biggest of Africa's great lakes, dripped by a vertical inch a day for much of last year. The receding of these lakes, along with a change in temperature of the water, will now deplete the fish stock. As the fish sources decrease, this limits the amount of fish caught and sold by fishermen. When the regular food source is strained, Africans may turn to hunting wild game, which puts pressure on previously endangered species.... ...