I chose to discuss overfishing as my topic. The definition of overfishing is: form of overexploitation where fish stocks are reduced to below acceptable levels. Overfishing can be broken down to three main categories: overcapacity of vessels in the water, unsustainable fishing and food needs. Overfishing can occur in bodies of water of any shape and size.
Overcapacity of vessels in the water is one main reason for overfishing. It is said that there are enough vessels in the water to fish 4 planet earths—crazy, right?. There is so many powerful boats out there with intense competition for limited fish. Technological advances such as sonar detection leaving the fish no hope for escape. These vessels have become so efficient that they have
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We are also catching to many fish and the fish are not able to sustain their population. There are plenty of fish on the endangered list due to over fishing and some of these fish are surprisingly commonly consumed across the United States. I’ll fill you in on the top ten: Alaskan Halibut, it’s a largest flat fish and it’s found in the North Atlantic. #2 is the Beluga Sturgeon, it’s usually consumed for its fillets and eggs that are known as “true caviar”. #3 is Acadian Redfish. #4 is Orange Rough, #5 is the Winter Skate (usually made into fishmeal or lobster bait). #6 the Bocaccio Rockfish, the most endangered in the West. #7 is the European Eel, when these juveniles are caught out at sea they have not yet spawned. #9 is the Goliath Grouper, their harvesting has been banned. #10 is the Maltese Ray, that is now only found in one area of the world, The Strait of Sicily. Most of these fish are being caught as bycatch, meaning they weren’t the intended target species. Our methods of fishing are a big contributor to this problem and bottom trawling, which is mainly used, is one of the most destructive ways to fish. Bottom trawling uses heavy nets that are dragged across the ocean floor catching everything, letting nothing escape. Simultaneously, this kind of trawling destroys reefs and habitats along the way and It could take decades to repair the damage done by bottom
Whaling has been a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Whaling has cultural significance for several cultures in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and there is evidence of whaling since 3000 BCE (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).
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 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.
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
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
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...
It has once been said that there is an unlimited supply of fish in the sea, and because the ocean is so big, it will be virtually impossible for it to be over fished. Currently the world’s population is around six billion people, and the demand for fish has never been higher. According to the video, “90% of big fish have been pulled from the ocean, leaving fisherman to compete over the remaining 10%.” Over fishing has lead to a severe decline in certain types of fish populations, mainly the larger, more expensive fish. It is expected; over time that these fish populations will become extinct if we do not do something to protect them.
Overfishing has huge impacts on the biodiversity of our oceans as well as the lives of people across the globe
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.
Unless the current situation improves, stocks of all organisms that are currently fished for food are predicted to collapse drastically by 2048 (WWF 2.) 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
When laying out this topic, I have drawn five main questions that when answered, should give the reader a better understanding on overfishing and what can be done to stop it. Those questions are as followed. What is overfishing? Why is overfishing a problem? What will happen if overfishing isn’t stopped? How can mankind resolve this issue? Lastly, what will happen once the issue is resolved? These are the questions that the issue of overfishing has brought up, and I hope that once these questions have been answered the reader will have a better understanding on this
What is overfishing and why is it a problem? Overfishing is the act of catching more fish out of a body of water then what the ecosystem can support. This means that you are depleting the population of fish out of that water. For example whales are slow growing creatures that produce few young and are savagely hunted. Whales are hunted to the extent that eighty-five percent of whales in
As stated above, there are a multitude of causes for this “mass extinction”, and most all of them are caused by humans. One such causality is overfishing. Everyone loves to eat fish. However, with overfishing, humans are collecting more fish than we can consume as a population. Overfishing is when people collect more fish from the o...
A major resource in our oceans is fish and other marine species. In recent times, fish have been caught with less effort due to new technologies; improved equipment and humans need for money and fishermen are capturing fish at a faster rate than they can reproduce (Evatt G 2017). This is known as overfishing which leads to degradation of our oceans. The fishing industry is growing as the demand for seafood is increasing due to the growing human population. This leads to more jobs and a boost in the economy. There are many negative issues involved with ‘overfishing’. The loss of species and ecosystems which will eventually lead to loss of a valuable food source. What makes matters worse is that other marine species are caught and destroyed for no purpose in the process as bycatch. Scientists predict the commercial extinction of marine life if this trend continues. This raises the question “should more be done to sustainably manage ocean fishing?”