Chapter Sixteen: Farming The Sea

The earliest accounts of overfishing occurred in the 1800s, when the demand of whale blubber nearly wiped out the whale populations. In the mid 1900s, the harvesting of Atlantic cod, herring, and California sardines drove them to the brink of extinction. These high disruptions cause regional depletions of animal resources which is starting to cause a global problem. There has never been a more urgent time for fishing nations to make a commitment towards the sustainability of our oceans. More than 80% of the world’s fisheries have been, or are being pushed beyond their limits and are in dire need of strict management plans. Populations of fish and elasmobranch fish such as tuna, grouper and sharks have been declining to the point where the survival

For centuries we have relied on fishing as a means for food. Over the years we have developed new methods of fishing and have enhanced our equipment to capture vast amounts of fish in a minimum amount of time. We now have industrial fishing companies that provide for our seafood demand. As we continue to capture large amounts of fish we begin to shorten supply for the future, reduce reproduction rates, disrupt food chains, harm habitats, and drive species to extinction. III.

Australia has small crystals that enables scientist map out earths existence; they are called Zircons. The earth began as dust. The planet was extremely hot at first and without a certain collusion it would not be what it is today. A planet with four seasons and with tides in the ocean from the moon. At first, there were no continents they would come along later, so it was mostly water. Next, single cell organisms and photosynthesis would start creating oxygen. In fact, oxygen was so abundant it froze most the planet. Eventually, oxygen would lead the planet to multicellularity. Life would come and go many times over the course of time. This would be causes by catastrophic events, but life would always be resilient. All life evolved from the sea.

Humans are the number one contributor to this problem. With the continuing rise in population that relies on fish in their diet and the demand to meet it there has been more need for fishermen and fisheries to meet these needs. With the increase in the number of fishermen and fisheries in industry, there has been an increase in competition to get the largest catch and make as much money as possible. The race by fishermen and fisheries to increase their catches and the need to meet demands has led to the discovery of the technology and techniques that would allow for this which are often destructive. However, this problem affects more than humans. There are other animals that have fish in their diet. Fish are also in the diet of many species in the water and are responsible for eating some species. With dwindling fish populations and the chance that we will one day be without fish, we face the balance of the species and habitats that are sustained by fish becoming unbalanced or losing many more species as a result.

The ocean makes up nearly three-quarters of the planet 's surface and contains about eighty percent of the life on earth. Millions of people all over the world depend on seafood heavily as a primary source of food. Americans alone consumed as much as 15.8 pounds of seafood per person in 2009 (NOAA). This is a lot of fish. In fact, it is so much that many populations of fish are going extinct. At this particular rate according to National Geographic, scientist predict that the earth is expected to lose all of its current fisheries by the year 2048 (Roach). The overfishing of our oceans leads to unmanageable practices that will eventually cause many species of fish to become extinct.

Oceana.org says, “The ocean feeds hundreds of millions of people and have the capacity to provide a healthy seafood meal to a billion people, every day.” As of now, the world’s population is seven billion, and by 2050, the population will be at nearly nine billion (Oceana). This means the oceans must produce at least twenty percent more fish for the upcoming population (Oceana). Overfishing will cause more of a problem in the future because it is an immense source of food for people across the world. If there is no action taken upon this, the world hunger rate will only continue to increase over time. Overfishing also has an economic impact because it does not guarantee protection in the fishing industry (ESchoolToday). Once the fish population is low, company's supply of fish will become low as well. Once the companies do not have enough food to supply their customers, it will put them out of business. This will lead to unemployment of many workers across the globe

Overfishing has been challenged by the rise of fish farming, or aquaculture, which allows popular fish such as salmon to be raised on farms. Aquaculture does help prevent the depletion of wild populations at an unsustainable rate, although the practice has its own issues. The process of raising fish on a farm raises ethical and hygienic questions, due to the fact that farmed fish normally grow up and live in cramped tanks or ponds their entire lives, and if not well-maintained, such environments can become filled with fish excretions, bacteria, and diseases that can then infect the fish. This issue is not present among wild-caught fish, which reside in large bodies of water or rivers that prevent a similar health and safety risk for people consuming the

People often take the ocean for granted due to its vastness since it makes up over seventy percent of the Earth, however the integrity of the ocean is deteriorating. One of the major, worldwide threats to the wellbeing of the ocean and its inhabitants is overfishing. Overfishing affects not only the ocean, but also the land dwellers. Many countries around the world depend on fish as their main source of food. Tons of fish are caught out of the sea daily, however, the rate that fish are being hauled is far too high where fish stocks are incapable of naturally recovering. There is a decline in population size of affected fish and some species have even faced extinction. Overfishing is the leading cause of ecological extinction, foregoing any other human disruptions to marine ecosystems, such as pollution, water degradation, and climate change (Jackson, et al). Overfishing causes an overwhelming devastation upon the oceans because it depletes food resources, disrupts the food web, and destroys habitats of aquatic organisms, due to this, overfishing causes an oceanic ecological collapse worldwide.

The food and aquaculture organisation of the United Nation’s (FAOUN) define Aquaculture as the farming of aquatic animals, which includes fish, molluscs, crustaceans, reptiles and aquatic plants for food and aquariums. Farming implies some form of interference

The definition of aquaculture is simply the farming of fish, plants and shellfish as well as many more aquatic organisms. Aquaculture refers to the cultivation of freshwater and marine species, and includes land based and opens ocean production. Aquaculture can be compared with commercial fishing, aquaculture involves cultivating of fresh and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, while commercial fishing is the harvesting of wild aquatic creatures and can be seen more as a form of “hunting and gathering”.

Most of us love to eat fish, don’t we? Fish is the source of protein and we also know fish comes from ocean. There were full of fishes many decades ago, but it’s not the situation today. Our earth now facing too much complex issues like pollution, climate change and of course overfishing. All of the problems are created by ourselves’ activities.

Another global effect of overfishing is fish farming or aquaculture. It was first started to help preserve the ocean and hoped to help people to obtain a reliable fish source. Unfortunately, what many came to realize is the downside of fish farming. One example is water contamination, where consequently waste products such as foods eaten, feces and other dead fish, are all dumped into our main water supply which contributes to water pollution. Moreover, chemicals that are used to treat the fish farms like antibiotics and algaecides are all released into the ocean; which is a real cause for concern for our oceans. Fish that come from the fish farms are pumped full of drugs, to prevent sickness in the fish but this is not healthy for us to eat. There is also a great environmental impact which includes the fact that to sustain fish farms, portions of

In order for there to be plenty of fish in the years ahead, fisheries will have to develop sustainable fisheries and some will have to close. Due to the constant increase in the human population, the oceans have been overfished with a resulting decline of fish crucial to the economy and communities of the world. The control of the world's fisheries is a controversial subject, as they cannot produce enough to satisfy the demand, especially when there aren't enough fish left to breed in healthy ecosystems. Scientists are often in the role of fisheries managers and must regulate the amount of fishing in the oceans, a position not popular with those who have to make a living fishing ever decreasing populations.

According to the United Nations, 17% of fish stocks worldwide are currently overexploited; 52% are fully exploited; and 7% are depleted. This means that only an estimated 20% of worldwide fish stocks are not already at or above their capacity(Seafarms, 2013). Catches of Pacific herring have decreased by 71% since the 1960s, with Atlantic herring catches falling by 63%. Atlantic Cod catches have fallen by 69% in the same time(Seafarms, 2013). These are just a few of many facts and statistics on the topic of overfishing. The effects of these statistics and facts impact people’s and animal's lives around the

In today’s global economy sustainability is very important; from the biological aspect to the industries they all play a role on the marine environment. As world population increases the demand of fish rises causing overfishing. Certain laws have been placed to limit the amount of wild fishing to reduce the risk of endangerment. To meet the demand of the population, fish farms are introduced. Pollution and health related issues are part of the challenges of fish farming. Sustainability also affects social areas such as beaches.