Persuasive Essay On Overfishing

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

The aquatic wildlife in Canada are threatened and several species are over depleted due to the overfishing in Canada. Atlantic Cod was once abundant in the oceans near Canada especially in the Eastern Coast of Canada and was once among the world’s largest fish stocks, but overfishing has caused this to no longer be true (CanadianEncyclopedia: Overfishing Threatens Popular Seafood). Until the late 50's over 250,000 tons of Atlantic (Northern) Cod was caught on an annual basis due to how plentiful the northern cod was, but since the early 1960s cod populations in the northeast

Commercial fisheries can do tremendous damage to the marine ecosystem if they are not managed properly. This became apparent in Newfoundland and Labrador during the 1990s, when decades of overfishing caused the northern cod stocks to collapse and resulted in a moratorium on the centuries-old industry. These were huge ecological and economic losses, which dictated an urgent need to change fisheries policy and practice in a way that would make the industry sustainable and protect marine biodiversity.

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.

Myers’ and Worm’s article “Rapid Worldwide Depletion of Predatory Fish Communities” (“Rapid Depletion”) focuses on the same pressing matter of overfishing, but their article gravitates more towards statistics and figures. For example, Myers’ article states that a suggested 90% of large predatory fish are no longer present in our oceans. Myers uses blunt facts to reveal the severity of overfishing to readers. Studies have concluded that for a given area of ocean opened up to commercial fishing, an 80% decrease in target species may be found in as little as 15 years. With numbers like this, it is no surprise that our oceans are in such a crippled state. Harmful methods of catching species

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.

Recently, overfishing has resulted from an increased demand for fish and an advancement in fishing technology (Anonymous, 2012). It is important to recognize that overfishing is caused by commercial fishing. Large fishing vessels are capable of capturing enormous amounts of fish at a time. Technology has also allowed them to be able to fish in more areas and reach more species. Commercial fishing leads to overfishing because fish are captured at a rate faster than they can reproduce (Kiser, 2014). In the long-term, overfishing destabilizes the food chain and destroys the natural habitats of many marine species (Anonymous, 2012). Another issue with commercial fishing is the physical damage it does to marine ecosystems. The impact from trawls and dredges, which directly scrape and modify the seabed, is particularly damaging to the habitat. Other gear, like propellers and anchors, will also cause scarring, but to a smaller degree (Kiser, 2014). On the other hand, recreational fishing is not linked to overfishing, and generally has a reverse effect. Recreational fishing, with the compliance of fisherman, is often used as a way to monitor marine life through tagging (Anonymous,

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

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.

On November 3, 2006, the New York Times published a front-page article titled, “Study Sees 'Global Collapse ' of Fish Species.” Within the article, experts cited that if “fishing around the world continues at its present pace, more and more species will vanish, marine ecosystems will unravel and there will be 'global collapse ' of all species currently fished, possibly as soon as midcentury.” (Dean, 2006). The issue of overfishing, which is defined as “continuously taking more fish than can be replaced by reproduction and growth,” (Overfishing: What Everyone Needs to Know, Hilborn 5) has become prevalent in society today. This is because of the advancements in technology and the pressure made by food industries for fisheries to catch

Overfishing is defined in many different ways but they all mean roughly the same thing. The National

Overfishing has been a problem that we have faced for centuries. The thought that modern fishing technology was what had done damage turns out to be completely wrong. It explains as to why many types of sea animals have come close to extinction and why some have already become extinct. The practice of overfishing destroys the environments of marine life and causes an abrupt change within the food chain. Constantly fishing for particular species means soon that kind of fish will be extinct. Because of this, there must be measures put in place to allow fishes to re-populate. Though there have been some improvements made throughout the recent years, overfishing is still drastically growing. Sustaining the amount of fishing being done will