Overfishing: Article 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

Iconic Cape Cod Massachusetts is named after the Atlantic Cod. For centuries, this fish has provided food and trade for New Englanders. In this time, there have been several instances of overfishing by humans from the aboriginal era to colonial times but none so drastic as the present conditions of cod fisheries (Jackson, Kirby, Berger, and Bjorndal, 2001). Overfishing is a human induced occurrence where humans are fishing more than a body of water can sustain. In other words, humans are catching more adult fish preventing the existing population from growing to replenish the fish that were caught (Overfishing: A Global Disaster, n.d.). Worldwide, over 80% of the fish stocks are “fully- to over-exploited, depleted, or in a state of collapse” (Overfishing: A Global Disaster, n.d.). The results of this careless behavior has reduced the biodiversity in the Gulf of Maine and landed the Atlantic Cod on the endangered species list as being “vulnerable” (Cod, n.d.). In the neighboring region of Newfoundland, Canada, communities are already feeling the effects of overfishing. In 1992, at the beginning of the fishing season in the Grand Bank region, there were suddenly no more cod. The local economies collapsed and to this day, the region has not quite recovered (Brennan and Withgott, 2005).

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

Anyways it’s not like fast food fish sandwiches are required for us to survive. Also fish is wasted very frequently, it expires or is not eaten, so that is just harming our resources for no reason. People need to realize that fish is important, but could be used in a much smarter way. Many are reasonable and try not to be wasteful, but too many people are. Undoubtedly, if we continue this pattern of wastefulness with our ocean's resources there will be consequences. Many statistics and facts back this up. The rules and regulations we are putting on commercial fishing simply aren’t getting the job done. Our ocean’s fish population has declined so much in forty five years and the overfishing by commercial boats hasn’t gotten better, just worse. Remember the fate of the ocean’s resources is in our very own hands. Works Cited "The Threats of Overfishing: Consequences at the Commercial Level." DUJS Online. N.p., 29 May 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2017. Campbell, Andy. "Crucial Marine Populations Cut In Half Since The 1970s: Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Mar.

On 2nd of July, 1992, the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on the Northern cod fishery along the country's east coast.

The earth’s oceans are overfished. Nearly 80 percent of commercial fisheries are overexploited and some experts believe that global fisheries will completely collapse by 2048 (Barkin page 1). While these are just facts that tell the worst-case scenario, they should be alarms that spark change in the way we fish. This paper, however, will specifically target overfishing in the Grand Banks in Newfoundland, Canada, and analyze its impact on Earth, its Environment and Humanity. Over fishing is simply when fishermen catch more fish than are being reproduced. Eventually the stock of fish in the environment will be completely depleted. That is exactly what happened off the shores of Newfoundland in 1992. With Cod fishing at an all time high, the Canadian government discovered that the Cod population was almost exhausted. New technology and poor decision-making led to the complete destruction of the cod population in the Grand Banks and this is a mistake that we should never repeat.

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.

According to a study done by Living Planet Report in 2015, 29% of the world’s fishing stocks are considered overfished and an additional 61% is fully exploited with no possibility to produce more fish. Our environment is currently afflicted by a number of different problems, one of which is overfishing. Overfishing is defined by FishOnline as, “Fishing with a sufficiently high intensity to reduce the breeding stock levels to such an extent that they will no longer support a sufficient quantity of fish for sport or commercial harvest.” The overfishing situation is being exacerbated by non-sustainable and destructive fishing practices and unfair fisheries partnership agreements; while there are currently attempts being made at fixing these problems and their effects on overfishing, nothing has been extremely effective.

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.

The overharvesting of marine organisms has been an ongoing issue since the mid 20th century, but has never been more prevalent until the present day. Fishing in the 20th century was a massively rapid-growing industry. Because of international efforts aimed at increasing the availability as well as affordability of foods rich in nutritional value, government intervention took place to increase the availability of fish species to the human population. With the implement of policies, government loans and support, there was a dramatically huge increase in industrial fishing—eventually making marine organisms the world’s primary source of protein-rich foods. This was good for a while, but obviously, good things never last too long. Overfishing, as defined by Pepjin Koster, occurs when more fish are caught then can be replaced through natural production (Koster, 2012). The balance of life in oceans is affected, and the social and economic well being of

Overfishing began in the early 1800’s when it was discovered that whale blubber could be utilized for oil lamps. Overfishing is when fish are taken from the ocean at a rate that is too fast for them to adequately repopulate. In contrast to every damaging anthropogenic activity, overfishing has taken the biggest toll on the marine ecosystems and has led many fish species to reduce rapidly and others to become extinct. In order to stop this before it is too late, we must enforce sustainable methods, and eliminate the use of these extremely damaging procedures. Overfishing is a global issue, that has resulted in economic loss, marine life disruption and decreased food security, by supporting sustainable methods and campaigning to ban our

How often do we stop and think about the people that fish to provide the rest of the world with the supply of fish that is in demand. With many fisheries closing down due to poor managing and depletion, anglers are turning to the deep sea to fill their “fish orders”. Large fishing vessels also known as Super Trawlers are dragging fishing nets up to a mile deep. Doing this allows them to catch as many fish as possible, but it is also destroying natural habitat such as coral reefs that have been part of the sea for thousands of years. The effect of this is devastating to sea life.

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

The supply of fish is barely meeting standards due to such a high demand. As the years go by, fish continue to become a much needed resource for food, but will not be able to meet that demand. The fish are constantly being killed at such a high rate that is dangerous for marine life, This in turn brings a lot of destruction and terrible effects upon the ocean’s ecosystems. Overfishing upsets the food supply even more (Kowalski). There is not much time left before people start to realize how dire the situation has become. Overfishing is not laughing matter; in fact, it’s something that needs to be stopped.With not much time left before people all over start to realize that the situation involving overfishing is no laughing matter and in fact something that needs to be stopped. Fish are constantly being taken out of the water and eaten faster than they are able to reproduce. those fish being capable of having enough babies to replace themselves (Kowalski). With no babies able to replace the fish that are being killed, the fish species could go endangered or extinct. This in turn will make people realize that what they have done is wrong.