Overfishing: The Decline Of Ocean Life

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

Shark finning is the process of cutting off the fins of a shark and discarding the body at sea (“Stop Shark Finning”, 2009). People catch sharks for its fins, meat, oil, skin and so on. Sharks fins are most commonly used in Asian cooking which is shark fin soup. According to Maddalena, Sommeran and Leander (2007), people have been demanding for shark fins dramatically recently, it is unclear how many sharks are caught annually but some of the conservationists estimate the number to be upwards of 100 million. Besides, shark conservationists are aware about the consequences of the high demand of shark fins, they advocate people to stop killing sharks and eating shark fins. Practice of shark finning is causing imbalance marine ecosystems and it

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

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

A report from Recovering America’s Wildlife Crisis states, “More than 150 species have already gone extinct and about 40% of freshwater fish species are imperiled.” Animals are being killed off by the minute. Now the wildlife species are going to abolished from Earth.

"Big Fish in Troubled Waters" by Stephen Ornes informs you that our oceans and water life are being overfished resulting in a decrease in fish.

Modern fishing methods have first and foremost created serious problems for ocean ecosystems. Scholastic Scope states, “The populations of almost all fish species that we eat have shrunken, some drastically, as a result of overfishing, or catching fish faster than they can reproduce” (Dignan 14). Sadly, fish cannot reproduce fast enough to sustain their populations when different fishing techniques drain their ecosystem’s health. Because humans are relatively new organisms, fish, a much older species, have not adapted to modern fishing techniques and overfishing in the sea. Therefore, oceans are at risk because fish cannot compete with newer, more efficient fishing techniques produced by humans. Climate change is furthermore another major threat to oceans. As published by Scholastic Scope, “Warming ocean waters, rising sea levels, and violent storms disrupt the lives of many species and affect fragile marine ecosystems” (Dignan 14). Although climate change may now be a controversial issue, its footprint and effects have no doubt left their mark. Powerful and destructive climate change has also been the culprit of extinction for many other animals such as the marine animals during the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Since things often repeat itself in history, the ocean could have a Holocene extinction event, which would completely

Are they going extinct? There are over one million marine species that live in the ocean, and they're all codependent on each other. Over the last few decades, many marine species have been going extinct, mostly the marine keystone species. Humans have impacted marine species by fishing near the reefs where most fish are, we have impacted the reefs and are responsible for the destruction that is caused.

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.

There are lots of threats from the environment and from humans. Here are some of the many threats and some fun facts. The first threat is unsustainable fishing, it is the largest ocean threat. 90% of the world’s fisheries are already overfished, while other unwanted animals die needlessly each year. The second threat is pollution, over 80% of marine pollution comes from land based activity. Oil spills, fertilizers, seas of garbage, sewage disposal, and toxic chemicals can cause pollution. The third threat is shipping, substandard ships and poor shipping practices are leading to massive marine pollution, and damage. The last threat is climate change. The key impacts of climate change are coral bleaching, stormy weather, moving homes, rising sea levels, acidic oceans, altered lifestyles, and decreased mixing. Now here are some fun facts, or environmental factors. The marine biome is the biggest biome in the world, it covers 70% of the Earth, and accounts for 90% of the world’s water supply. The ocean biome is considered to be the oldest of all biomes, humans have only explored about 10% of the ocean biome. The oceans are normally very salty, there is about one cup of salt for every gallon of water in the ocean. At 36,200 feet deep, the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the ocean biome, oceans contain nearly 20 million pounds of gold. There is a semi-light part of the ocean called the twilight

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.

Our oceans have Declined drastically because of human related factors. Overfishing has caused several species to become endangered, almost to the point of extinction. The continuous fishing of certain species drastically reduces populations and affects more than just the hunted fish. The use of destructive fishing practices has also hurt the environment. Pollution is killing plants and animals alike. More importantly the coral reefs are being bleached and are unable to recover and are dying. Farming and industrial chemicals are promoting the growth of harmful algae that hurt not only people around the site, but the organisms like fish and plants living in the waters nearby. Climate change contributes to many of the problems

Shark finning is is a cruel and barbaric practice that involves sharks being hooked and dragged into boats and having their fins sliced off while they are still alive. Once this is done, the rest of the shark is thrown overboard to die a slow, painful death. A group of conservationists that run an awareness website on sharks says that “Shark fins are used as the principal ingredient of shark fin soup, an Asian “delicacy”. (Stop Shark Finning: What is shark finning?) This soup is in high demands and is very successful in Asian countries. In many places, it is illegal and banned to fin sharks, but that has never fully stopped anyone before. Some countries have passed laws stating that only whole sharks may be landed and brought to

Every year there are thousands and millions of sharks dying in the ocean simply, because of a soup? Not a soup that makes you feel or look any younger, nor does it cure a sickness, but because of a delicacy. Sharks are at a high demand mainly in East Asia. Shark Finning is the removal of the shark’s fins while they are still alive and throwing the rest of its body back in the ocean where it takes a painful death. Seeing that sharks are on top of the ecosystem, their population is also decreasing. Given the way they are being caught, which is clearly a form of animal cruelty, therefore the practice of shark finning must be banned.

Majestic animals that live in the ocean are rapidly dying and subsequently washing up on numerous shorelines that touch the Pacific Ocean’s waters. Disposal of a variety of toxins and damaging waste finding a path into our oceans are to blame for the deaths, which are largely preventable. Sharks, sea turtles, whales, dolphins and birds are just fraction of the marine life that are suffering because they are becoming sick or are dying of starvation. Their food sources are diminishing or disappearing as the cycle of destruction continues on down to the tiny, minute plankton that are the core of the food chain in the ocean. Contamination is causing the sudden increase of marine life deaths in the Pacific Ocean. The most recent reports of dead sea animals found washed up on shorelines don’t state scientific evidence of the cause of the mysterious deaths.