Overfishing, Crisis Or Overthought?

Somewhere in the world an innocent group of dolphins is getting caught and killed in a giant net used to capture thousands of fish at one time. Around 25 percent of all fish caught in nets are caught unintentionally and sometimes killed. Have you ever wondered where all the fish went? Or why the fish population is decreasing? I believe that overfishing laws need to be enforced in all bodies of water around the world because it is overall bad for the environment, for us as humans, and our needs.

Nearly seventy-one percent of Earth is covered by oceans. This massive body of water provides homes to millions of species of marine life. Over the years, the amount of fish has decreased rapidly due to the practice of overfishing. Overfishing has become such a massive problem that if there is no stop put to it, it could destroy the ocean’s and the Earth’s future. Fortunately, an organization named Oceana was founded for the sole purpose of saving the oceans. Due to the overuse of fishing, the population of sea life is decreasing rapidly and the organization, Oceana, is helping to put a stop to overfishing to save world hunger, ecosystem destruction, and economic destruction.

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.

Ocean overfishing is the process of removing wildlife from the ocean (or any other water sources) at unsustainable rates that lower their replication rates. Overfishing began around the mid-20th century. At this time, there were many attempts to increase the pricings and variety of protein-rich foods; this led to the government trying to increase the fish capacity. While the fishing operations advanced, the fish populations deteriorated. These operations ended up turning into profit-hoggers and started to steal the ocean’s wildlife. Considering that this was just the onset of overfishing, the buyers became adapted to having a variety of fish at reasonable prices. In 1989, after about 90 million tons of fish were taken from the ocean, the products

“Why should the leaders of chemical businesses be held responsible for polluting the marine environment with a few grams of effluent, which is sublethal to marine species, while celebrity chefs are turning out endangered fish at several dozen tables a night without enduring a syllable of criticism” (Charles Clover, 2004).

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

In comparison of David Allan’s masterfully sculpted Overfishing of Inland Waters to Myers’ vastly informative Rapid Worldwide Depletion of Predatory Fish Communities, the two contrasting writing styles embodied in the journal entries are blazingly evident. While each article shares the same postulation of mankind milking our oceans dry, the similarities stop there. One presents itself in circuitous manner and the other undeviating, not slowed by the baggage of excess verbiage. Regardless of the authors’ approach, each article contains largely similar evidence. The importance lies within the information: not presentation.

Overfishing is a global issue that has many negative effects on the environment (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). Fish are a major resource that many people rely on for not only nutrition, but also for a means of income (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). As the population of the world increases, so does the demand for fish, which puts oceans under a lot of pressure (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). Due to advanced fishing technologies and equipment, going out further into the oceans and catching huge amounts of fish is easier than ever (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2009). Froese (2004) defines overfishing as capturing the fish before they reach their full growth potential and diminishing their chance of reproduction. In other

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.

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 the population on earth increases ,overfishing has become a growing issue in all parts of the world. Fish is a vital food source for many, in the world and counts for many of the cultures and heritages in the world, which means there is a high demand for it . This high demand has caused overfishing to occur. This is a cause for concern since due to the development of better technology, there is a higher risk of overfishing if not managed properly. Canada in particular has been facing the problem overfishing for years now. Due to Canada’s issue of overfishing, the environment and wildlife as well as human settlements all have negative impacts ,therefore a sustainable solution must be implemented. If action isn’t taken, Canada’s issue of overfishing will continue to worsen.

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.

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.

Signs of overfishing is the decrease in number of seawards animals based on the yearly data based. The fishing industry often responds to these signs by moving to new areas to catch, and overtime it’s might cost the same result as the initial result.

Overfishing is an issue that not everyone is aware. People tend to think that the ocean is infinite, as well