One Solution to Global Overfishing Analysis

Overfishing is a death sentence to the world’s oceans. As technology continues to improve a great deal of fish can be caught quicker; but at what cost? The effects of overfishing can lead to the extinction of not just the animals being fished, but also the predators that rely on fish to eat. Ninety percent of the ocean’s largest animals have been wiped out due to overfishing (“Overfishing- A Global Disaster”, 2011). National Geographic cites the academic journal Science (2006) that predicts by 2048, all fisheries will collapse due to lack of ocean wildlife. Fish are not the only animal caught in the nets used by fishing vessels. Often animals such as dolphins, sharks, turtles, and seabirds are

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

Thanks to the movie Jaws, many people are scared of sharks. Seeing a fin in the water terrifies all but the most experienced of beach goers. Sadly, this perception means that most do not really care if the sharks are hunted to extinction or not. However, society’s opinion on sharks needs to change if we want any hope of saving the world’s oceans. Sharks, as an apex predator, are an important part of the ocean’s food chain.

The predator role of the shark is invaluable to marine life. The Institute of Oceanography at The University of California developed a model of a Caribbean Marie ecosystem to research predator prey interaction. The food web created encompassed 250 species including sharks. The researchers found more than 3,000 links between the species. This gave researchers a better understanding of sharks and their significants as well as the consequences of human activity towards sharks. The over fishing of sharks is primarily attributed to shark finning; an inhumane activity that involves slicing off the shark’s fins while still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean where it can take days to die. Although shark fin is used in many asian traditions, supporting a global ban that strictly regulates shark finning will help save these magnificent creatures, local economies, and the ecosystem.

Commercial fishing has a great affect on the marine life for many reasons. Those reasons include species of marine life going extinct, or over population. Some marine life are going extinct from overfishing because as scientists said fish are able to produce only a limited quantity of fish over time this problem cannot only affect the fish but it can affect the entire ecosystem in the ocean. Some species of fish are also going extinct from bycatch. Bycatch is when other species of fish or marine life is captured in the nets with the target fish that is supposed to be caught. It is estimated by scientists that 25 percent of the commercial fishing industries around the world harvest is discarded bycatch. Some species of marine life cannot only go extinct but it can also overpopulate. Certain types of marine life can go extinct because their predators are going also going extinct. This issue arose in the early 1900s when commercial fishing industries expanded their fishing fleets.

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.

For millions of years, sharks have thrived, with nothing to fear. But in recent years that has changed. Over the past 10 years, an average of 100 million sharks have been killed every year. That’s right, 100 million sharks Every year. In some parts of the world, sharks have completely vanished. It does not have fanged teeth or strangling tentacles. It doesn’t even live in the sea. The creature killing the sharks is the human being. The disappearance of sharks had an effect on the ecosystem. Because of overfishing off the east coast of the U.S bull sharks have had

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

In contemporary society, human society is progressing rapidly on various fronts. Nevertheless at the same time, the problem of overfishing is becoming increasingly worrisome and attract extensive attention of the society. In this essay, I will address overfishing and propose some possible causes of this phenomenon which can give contribution to some solutions.

First, the alarming environmental issue of trophic fishing causes an imbalance in the ecosystem. To begin, while fishing at the trophic levels of the ecosystem, the predators of the ocean are overfished. Predators such as salmon and tuna are fished quite frequently because they are used in dinners around the world. Clearly then, as the predators rapidly decrease, the primary and secondary consumers overpopulate. Science News states, “We’ve eliminated the marine equivalent of lions and wolves and are moving towards the taking of rats, cockroaches, and dandelion equivalents.” (https://www.sciencenews.org/) Clearly then, when predators are eliminated, the prey overpopulate. Without any predators to limit population growth, the prey populations are able to reproduce. Since these populations are not being hunted, their populations need to consume more food, so the producers are consumed entirely and eventually eliminated, as well. In addition to imbalances in the ecosystem, trophic fishing also affects fish populations.

According to the National Geographic Society in the article Overfishing – Pristine Seas, “The earliest overfishing occurred in the early 1800s when humans, seeking blubber for lamp oil, decimated the whale population”. Overfishing grew worse over time from that incident, which has drastically interfered with the ocean’s food cycle. Since certain species of marine life such as fish and whales are vital to human dietary needs, rules and regulations needed to put in

The main causes of overfishing are poor fishery management with a lack of regulation, unrestricted access to the ocean and illegal fishing. During the last few decades the demand for edible seafood globally has skyrocketed and the high demand is causing us to overfish to keep up with the demand. Unfortunately, fisherman are catching more fish than can be naturally reproduced. There are only limited regulations in place, which means that fishing companies are basically fishing when and where they want to with out any oversite. Overfishing causes such serious effects such as the ocean life getting knocked out of balance. Coastal communities rely on the benefits of the fishing for social and economic health. When we overfish it

As far back as the history of man, humans have been dependent on the ocean and water resources for food and survival. While hundreds of years of single handed fishing rods in coastal and inland water channels have not alone been the root cause of overfishing, these common practices today still impact the environmental balance. Ocean overfishing is the removal or taking of wildlife from the oceans and seas at rates too high for fished species to replace themselves and is a threat that exists to our way of life. Overfishing can occur by commercial fishing, single person excessive fishing in a particular area of a body of water, or by other natural predatory activity. A recent report by scientists said that if commercial fish species – the fish caught for food – continue to decline at the current rate, by the year 2048 most commercial fish species will be in danger of never recovering because of the break in the natural ecosystem which would affect the diversity of wildlife in the ocean (Kurlansky, 2011). As a human species, we are responsible for educating each other on this worldwide concern to help save our planet. If this isn’t a reason to begin efforts of worldwide education on overfishing, what is? The impact of overfishing has long term consequences on the human race and the animal population as it threatens our biological balance and our ecosystem. The good news is that there are currently organizations, governments and entities working hard to make a

Overfishing is an enormous issue that needs to be corrected or there will be no more fish to catch in the future. The true definition of overfishing is as defined by the national fisheries act from 1996 overfishing is “a rate or level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes a fishery's capacity to produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY) on a continuing basis(kennedy, 2016)." Some of the facts of overfishing are so shocking they would blow you out of the water, as well as some of the effects overfishing can have on the fisheries. The solutions to overfishing are extremely simple and completely within our power to do.

Overcapacity: All over the world, many fishing industries have special equipment and technology that they can use deep in the oceans so that they can catch fish. They can stay at the ocean for months and try to sell the fish as fast as possible once they are back on shore.