Overfishing Is Destroying The World's Oceans

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 oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The well-being of the ocean is constantly being threatened and needs to stop. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems suffer and become endangered along with the lives of people and marine life. The importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world 's coasts must be recognized because they are truly irreplaceable. If humans are not educated , and become careless about what is thrown on the ground or sprayed on lawns, disastrous effects follow when it comes to the condition of the ocean’s ecosystems, which can endanger life itself, leading to a problem only we can correct. There is historical evidence of ocean pollution, although the problem still shadows us today.

Oceans cover approximately 75% of Earth 's surface and are vital to this planet and the people who inhabit it. Oceans provide food, natural resources, and recreation for nearly everyone in this world. Unfortunately Oceans have been receiving mass amount of pollutants including oil spills, toxic waste dumping, and industrial dumping. These pollutants will have negative impacts on the wildlife in the ocean, as we are seeing already with the Coral Reefs, and soon enough it will begin to affect our lives as well.

Right now, the oceans are facing destruction. Each day new pollutants find their way into the ocean's waters. The pollutants that contaminate the ocean take many forms. Each year millions of gallons of oil are put into the ocean. Toxic materials are dumped into the oceans and add up to deadly proportions. Tons of trash such as plastics and paper are pulled out of the ocean each day. This trash contaminates the water and causes many deaths of marine animals. Everyone on the planet has polluted the oceans one way or another. Factories that are in various industries make an enormous contribution to ocean pollution. These factories use unbelievable amounts of water to make their products. The Natural Resource Defense Council says, "More than four out of every ten gallons of water used in the US are used for industrial purposes." A large amount of this water is dumped back into the oceans. This water is usually not clean, and may contain thousands of different chemicals. When this happens it can kill marine life, contaminate food supplies, and endanger people who use waters for fishing, swimming, or drinking. Water is also dumped back into the oceans by power plants who use it to cool reactors. This water is placed back into the oceans at high temperatures. Dumping water at these high temperatures causes a disruption in the marine environment. According to the book by Peter Weber, "The water from power

Earth's oceans are dying. “About 80% of the ocean around the world is polluted with chemicals industrial and residential waste, all of which comes from the land” (“Marine Problems…”).  Pollution is mainly coming from the people. Marine pollution should be stopped because it is the cause of many problems and if something is done about it, people will see an increase in sea life and healthier waters. It makes its way into the ocean and kills marine life. Ocean pollution is affecting the way of fisherman and their everyday lives. It is also very bad on the community because pollution is very bad on tourism. Ocean pollution should be stopped because it is poorly affecting marine life, it is not good for fishermen, and is very bad on tourism.

People are polluting the oceans which not only affects us but also affects the beautiful underwater habitats and interesting sea creatures. Two billion people within 30 miles of the coast create 100 metric tons of coastal plastic waste (Doc.1). This plastic waste can get caught around sea animals, injuring them or even killing them (OI). Oils spills can really hurt marine life (Doc.2). Some creatures could eat it or get covered in it. If the fish eats the oil and then someone or something eats the fish they could get extremely ill. When there are excess nutrients in the water algal blooms occur, which is when algae has too many nutrients and reproduces in large numbers, this can also hurt people (OI). For these reasons and many more we should

In 2009, Dr. Sylvia Earle wrote The World is Blue to educate and alert the reader about human impacts on marine ecosystems. Through this book she conveys her passion and methodical arguments concerning the importance of the conservation of the ocean, which encompasses approximately 80 percent of the earth’s surface. Dr. Earle states “the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume” (17). This statement emphasizes the significance of the ocean, not only for marine life, but all life forms on earth. The book implies that currently in today’s world, the conservation of the ocean requires a global effort to reduce human damage from the past generations. Using facts gleaned from credible scientific resources, she defines the problems of overfishing, bycatch, and pollution. By analyzing human impacts on marine ecosystems, Dr. Earle determines successful and unsuccessful solutions to these problems and suggests various ways individuals can change their lifestyles to reduce impact on the environment as a whole.

World's ocean capacity is predicted that the overall marine species will not be sustainable to feed future global population of 9 billion and this due to the significant environmental issue, overfishing. Overfishing is caused by catching overrated numbers of fish, especially when we depletes the adult fish population and does not leave enough fish to breed and restock their numbers so that they can be sustainable. On top of catching over the limit, many fishing methods are unsustainable, which also impacts the function of the ecosystem.

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

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.

As I researched how overfishing affects the ocean, I came across an article, from the credible source, World wildlife fund; titled “Overfishing”. As I read more about what it does to the ecosystem; there I learned that “More than 85 percent of the world 's fisheries have been pushed to or beyond their biological limits and are in need of strict management plans to restore them” ("Overfishing"). I thought to myself, that’s insane. As I continued to read I learned that most of the protein the world gets comes from those fisheries; most of the world depends on the ocean for the daily caloric intake ("Big-Fish Stocks Fall 90 Percent Since 1950, Study Says"). Illegal fishing is another culprit of the decline of the fish stocks worldwide. Illegal fishing can range from fishing fleets taking more than they can and ignoring protocols to recreational fishermen who don’t follow set regulations. All of these factors play a vital role in the declination of biodiversity not only at home but around the world ("Big-Fish Stocks Fall 90 Percent Since 1950, Study Says"). One specific way that fleet fishermen are using that destroys fish populations but also that actual ocean floor is, bottom trawling. Bottom trawling is when they rake the ocean floor to drive up the fish to the surface, thus annihilating the fish on all the levels of water ("Big-Fish Stocks Fall 90 Percent Since 1950, Study Says"). This is incredible affectful to the size of the haul, but it destroys the fishery and the

The oceans face many types of pollution every day, every second. The ocean is our greatest ecosystem and out most valuable resource. A common misconception is that the rainforests are the lungs of the planet however, the majority of our oxygen is made via the algae in the sea. The oceans feeds, hydrates, and provides us with oxygen; ironically enough, despite its monetary value to mankind, it is what is treated the worst. For ages we have been dumping our trash, chemicals, and waste into the oceans with no fear or regret, almost an “out of sight- out of mind” mentality. People once and still assume that the oceans are so vast that all of the pollution is diluted and would be dispersed through out, going unnoticed. However, dilution is a myth and an idea that renders ocean dumping to be less impactful. Even so much of the man made pollution is becoming even more concentrated and have entered our natural food chain. However vast the waters of the ocean are, they are not meant to house all of these external factors. There are many alternatives to marine pollution including recycling, finding alternative trash dump sites, cutting down on harmful chemicals for agriculture, and most importantly having the ability to recognize when a problem is developing and counter act, immediately.

Since the beginning of the human race, the ocean has been a major source of food. People near the shores have been taking of advantage of the ocean’s rich and diverse source of nourishment for centuries, both as a source of food and a livelihood. However, since the dawn of the industrial age, humans have begun to take from the ocean more that it can give. As a result, the ocean can no longer provide the human race with the abundance that it once did. As technology rapidly advances, populations skyrocket, and global warming spreads havoc, the ocean’s biodiversity and once abundant supply of fish is dwindling, calling marine scientists and experts to race to find solutions that will restore the oceans health while battling world hunger.

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

Marine pollution is a serious ocean water resource challenge that can affect human and animal food resources. Unfortunately human activities are the largest contributor and cause of problems resulting from the oceans being polluted. Furthermore, as the human population continues to grow and extend the range of its activities, as well as increase its demands for marine goods and services, the world’s oceans and coasts will be increasingly stressed. In fact, growing coastal populations and overuse of marine resources are the main source of the problem. The pollution linked with rising coastal populations, availability of inadequate treatment infrastructure of sewage and other waste handling facilities is putting at risk human health and