Overfishing Is Destroying the Oceans of the World

1551 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effect of overfishing on oceans

Since nearly the beginning of human history fishing has been an integral part of the culture and survival of coastal communities. These coastal communities and cities have always been some of the most prosperous and successful because of the added resource of the ocean. In the beginning many areas were so densely populated with fish and shellfish that often a day’s worth of food could be caught by simply wading into the shallows. For example, some of the first English settlers to see the Chesapeake Bay described “The abundance of oysters is incredible. There are whole banks of them so that the ships must avoid them. . . . They surpass those in England by far in size, indeed, they are four times as large. I often cut them in two, before I could put them into my mouth” (Miller). This abundance had every appearance of being as infinite as the ocean that produced it but the reality was far different. Many fish stocks, including the oyster, stayed near these high levels even into the beginning of the industrial era. However the new rapid pace of technological advancement proved too much for many stocks to handle. Close shore stocks took most damage as they were the easiest to exploit. Those same oyster colonies that were once an obstacle for boats were nearly eradicated by “the 1890s harvests began to decline. Many oyster beds were destroyed and reefs had been mined away. By the 1920s, the boom was over…” (Miller). While catastrophes like this inspired many sustainable practices there are still fisheries worldwide that are headed for a similar end. Through ignorance and misinformation from the fishing industry most of the general public does not know that this is occurring. The following will serve to inform about the t...

... middle of paper ...

...devoid of the abundance of life we have come to know.

Works Cited

Crawford, Phil. “Pacific Island countries strive to save their tuna fisheries.” Pacific Ecologist 20 (2011): 42+. Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

“Factory ship from hell. (Shipping Briefs).” African Business Apr. 2002: 34. General OneFile. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

Faye, Denis. “Marine protection Learning to give and take.” Ecos Jan. 1999: 17.Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Longhurst, Alan. “Doubt and certainty in fishery science: Are we really headed for a global collapse of stocks?” Fisheries Research 86.1 (2007): 1-5. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Miller, Henry M. “The Oyster in Chesapeake History” St. Mary’s City. Web. na

Muir, Magdalena A.K. “Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the circumpolar Arctic.” Arctic 63.3 (2010): 373+. Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Four Fish Summary

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Newfoundland and Labrador's Cod Collapse

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Greenpeace. (2008, May 8). The collapse of the Canadian Newfoundland cod fishery. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from Greenpeace International Home: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/seafood/understanding-the-problem/overfishing-history/cod-fishery-canadian/

    Read More

  • The Cause and Effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster Decline on the Bay

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food, then they condense the food down to nutrients and sometimes developed pearls. Filtering the water helps the oysters to grow, and also helps clean the Chesapeake Bay. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However, these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.

    Read More

  • tragoed Essay on the Tragic Flaws of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    At one time in our lives there is a moment that we may think of ourselves as better than someone or something else. There may also be a point when making a decision leads to a great error in judgment. In the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, both of these characteristics can be seen in the main character. These characteristics are known as tragic flaws. These flaws are known as hubris meaning excess pride, leading to overconfidence, and hamartia meaning errors and weakness in judgment. Both of these characteristics are the main reason of destruction and downfall in mankind and the tragic hero in this play. The tragic hero is unable to escape his misfortune that is destined to happen. There are many more tragic flaws other than these two that also contribute to the falling of the hero. The destruction and downfall can be seen as fate. Even though the hero chooses his own actions, the resulting consequences that come about are ones that are unable to be changed. As seen, no one is able to outrun his or her own fate.

    Read More

  • The Oyster Population of the The Chesapeake Bay

    2779 Words  | 6 Pages

    One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food for them, then they condense the food down to nutrient and developed things like pearls.Filtering the water also helps the oyster to grow. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.

    Read More

  • Essay On Canada's Fishing Industry

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 specie. Overfishing causes a ripple effect that hurts the entire ecosystem. The balance of chain depends largely on the interaction between the predator and the prey. For example, if the larger fish are removed than its prey begins to overpopulate, due to the lack of population control. The balance in the oceans are a urgent problem, around 90% of predatory fish stocks are depleted. The ripples can extend even further to land creatures like

    Read More

  • Chesapeake Bay Pollution

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    Species such as the blue crab, oyster, and atlantic menhaden are three main commercial fishing outputs in the Chesapeake bay, but the recent algae blooms are devastating the harvest numbers of several different species. According to the oyster company of Virginia, over 20 million bushels of oysters were harvested every year during the peak of the oyster rush of the mid 1880’s. These numbers

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at Overfishing

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Overfishing is a major problem in economy today. The practices of fishing too much or too often result in a decrease of the fish population. Constant removal of fish from the oceans (fishing) accounts for both adult and baby fish. With the consistent decrease in adult fish, mating becomes more difficult or even impossible, resulting in an overall lack of fish in the oceans. Pepijn Koster defines overfishing as, "Overfishing can be defined in a number of ways. However, everything comes down to one simple point: Catching too much fish for the system to support leads to an overall degradation to the system. Overfishing is a non-sustainable use of the oceans." (par.1). When fish stocks cannot be replenished faster than they are being depleted, a reduction in fish population occurs, which is what is referred to as overfishing.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Commercial Fishing

    1991 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis of The End of the Line by Rupert Murray

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • earning a living

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    My grandfather, J.B. Landry, grew up during the early to mid-1940’s. Better known as Paw Paw J.B., he was born and raised in the small town of Lettsworth, Louisiana. My grandfather’s parents strongly believed that physical labor was the best way to earn a living. Paw Paw J.B. always lived on a farm, where money was scarce and manual labor was plentiful. Soon he will realize the importance of an education and making a better means for yourself.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Overfishing on the Restaurant Industry

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Overfishing

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction”. CITATION

    Read More

  • Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play, there are many examples that support the argument that Oedipus is a tragic hero. By definition, a tragic hero is “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat”. Oedipus is a concerned and loving king whose people trust him explicitly. However, throughout the play, he makes choices that put him in bad situations. The play tells the story of Oedipus' journey to try and uncover the mystery of Laius' murder, as told by the oracle. Throughout his journey, he commits horrible crimes, and destroys both himself and his life. Oedipus also drags innocent people down with him. Oedipus is a tragic hero because of his fatal flaws, he was born of noble birth, he showed excessive pride and he became more self aware.

    Read More

  • Role Of Fate In Oedipus Rex

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    All of Oedipus’s woes could be traced to his own actions and choices. “Pride breeds the tyrant violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin- clawing up to the heights, headlong pride crashes down the abyss- sheer down.” (Sophocles 963-967 pg. 1446). Oedipus’s tragic flaw was pride. He heeded not the words of the blind prophet and did not see the darkness in himself. “So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this. You with your precious eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life,” (Sophocles 468-471 pg 1434). This is evidence of Oedipus’s fall being caused by his own freewill and where fate had no

    Read More

More about Overfishing Is Destroying the Oceans of the World

Open Document