Overfishing Persuasive Essay

I will be presenting the first affirmative of today’s debate. The United Stated federal government should substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or development of the Earth’s oceans. Before I go further I would like to define the key terms of today’s debate. The United States federal government is defined as the system of government in the Constitution which is based on the separation of powers among three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The ocean is defined as the whole body of salt water that covers nearly three fourths of the surface of the earth. To increase means to become larger in amount or number. Nonmilitary means not belonging to, characteristic of, or involving the armed forces. Exploration

means the act of traveling to a place or searching a place in order to learn about it. Development means the process of developing or being developed. Substantial means the “essential” part of something, important, and not imaginary. Solving overfishing by banning destructive fishing practices will be substantial to life.
These definitions come from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, The Macmillan Dictionary, The Cambridge Dictionary, and Baylor Briefs.

I strongly believe that we should increase exploration and/or development of our oceans.

Why? Our oceans cover nearly three fourths of the surface of our earth. According to overfishing.org, eighty percent of all life on earth is in the ocean, and us humans are threatening and driving them to extinction by overfishing. What is overfishing? Overfishing is defined as “To fish (a body of water) to such a degree as to upset the ecological balance or cause depletion of living creatures.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary) Recent studies from the Environmental Defense Fund reveal a bleak truth: Overfishing is depleting our oceans of sea life around the world. 87% of the world’s assessed fish stocks are at their breaking point, classified as overexploited or fully exploited. 1 out of 2 fish stocks in the U.S. are either overfished or at risk of being overfished. Moreover, 100 million sharks are killed each year. Carl Safina, world-renowned author of books such as Song for the Blue Ocean, once said, “If you're overfishing at the top of the food chain, and acidifying the ocean at the bottom, you're creating a squeeze that could conceivably collapse the whole system.” Overfishing is classified as the most dangerous threat our oceans are facing today. Worldwide, about 90% of fish stocks are gone forever. In 1990 our oceans contained at least six times more fish than they do today. Collapsing fish stocks create large ecological dead zones in our

oceans.
We are ruining our lives ourselves by overfishing.
This leads me to believe that we need to increase exploration of our oceans. Ocean scientist estimate that only five percent of our oceans have been explored. For the past three decades, NOAA (which stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), has pursued a course of ocean regulation and management without ever developing a comprehensive exploration program. Thus, our science lacks a fundamental understanding of enormous ocean regions and important ocean systems. According to a press conference held by authors Steven Gaines and Christopher Costello, Michael Arbuckle of the World Bank, Brett Jenks from RARE, an internationally known environment conservation society, and Amanda Leland, who is the Environmental Defense Fund's Vice President for Oceans, giving fishermen a concrete stake in the fishery means that they are invested in protecting it. When overfishing ends, the amount the entire fleet can catch increases, as does fishermen’s share of the catch. Economic interest and conservation interest go hand in hand and fishermen lead the way. Amanda Leland also said, “This study shows that recovering the world’s fisheries is absolutely critical, and, by working with fishermen, completely achievable.” Moreover, the Greenpeace International organization says in their 2013 Oceans in the Balance: The Crisis Facing Our Waters report, “Every second breath we take comes from the oceans. Billions of people rely on our oceans for their food and for employment. In return, we are plundering the oceans of fish, choking them with pollution and altering them forever with the impacts of human-induced climate change. Once seen as boundless, the world’s oceans are finite and the marine life they hold can indeed be exhausted. Soon our oceans will be unable to recover.” Additionally, the United Nations have taken action as well. In their third United Nations Global Biodiversity Outlook, they warned, “Unless radical and creative action is taken quickly, our oceans will collapse.” Moreover, the White House Council on Environmental Quality also emphasized the importance of the oceans. They said, “The importance of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems cannot be overstated; simply put, we need them to survive. It is clear that these invaluable and life-sustaining assets are vulnerable to human activities and, at the same time, human communities are rendered more vulnerable when these resources are degraded.” This absolutely proves that our world NEEDS to increase exploration of our earth’s oceans, and that it is completely feasible as well.
Therefore, my plan is, “The Department of Interior will ban all commercial fishing in Marine Protected Areas and establish guidelines and enforce regulations on the recreational use of Marine Protected Areas.”
Thank you and I now stand down for questioning.