The Downfall Of Marine Life On The Brink Of Catastrophic Collapse

In Colin Woodard’s “Ocean’s End: Travels Through Endangered Seas”, major environmental problems facing our planet are exposed. Woodard exposes the creation of dead zones from pollution, the killing of our coral reefs and the negative effects of the rise of sea-levels. The common theme throughout this book is the dark fate of Oceans and marine life as we know it. Although it may seem like our bodies of water are limitless, vast, and indestructible, they are not. In fact they are vulnerable, and we as humans are destroying them daily through our reckless actions. Major sources of the depletion of our oceans is constant pollution, global warming, and harmful fishing practices.

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.

Sharks are known as one of the deadliest creatures in the aquatic ecosystem, but what would happen in the world’s ocean without those sharks? The depopulation of sharks is increasing dramatically due to human impacts. If this continues, it will negatively impact all aspects of ocean life and environment (Ferretti et al, 2010). The depopulation of a creature so high on the aquatic food chain can lead to the overpopulation of other organisms, which causes a domino effect on all creatures in the ocean. This could either rapidly increase or decrease their population, altering the food chain altogether (Ferretti et al, 2010). Focusing on how the population decreases is the only way to prevent it. Elaborating on the over-fishing of such important creatures, as well as the negative effects that go along with depopulation, is the most proficient way to relay the message of these processes being such an issue. It is remarkable how important one sea creature can be to the entirety of the oceanic food chain as well as to the aquatic ecosystem as a whole.

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

Millions of people rely on fishing for their livelihood and nutritional needs. For decades, oceans have provided us with a bounty of seafood for these needs, but there is a limit to everything. Unsustainable fishing practices and overfishing over the last few decades have pushed our oceans to the limit and they may now be on the verge of a collapse, thereby affecting the everyday way of life and source of income of those who depend on them. With no productive fish left in the sea to fish, fishermen and fisheries are bound to go out of business in no time.

First, the alarming environmental issue of trophic fishing causes an imbalance in the ecosystem. To begin, while fishing at the trophic levels of the ecosystem, the predators of the ocean are overfished. Predators such as salmon and tuna are fished quite frequently because they are used in dinners around the world. Clearly then, as the predators rapidly decrease, the primary and secondary consumers overpopulate. Science News states, “We’ve eliminated the marine equivalent of lions and wolves and are moving towards the taking of rats, cockroaches, and dandelion equivalents.” (https://www.sciencenews.org/) Clearly then, when predators are eliminated, the prey overpopulate. Without any predators to limit population growth, the prey populations are able to reproduce. Since these populations are not being hunted, their populations need to consume more food, so the producers are consumed entirely and eventually eliminated, as well. In addition to imbalances in the ecosystem, trophic fishing also affects fish populations.

The majority of fisheries around the world are pushed to their limits. Fishermen are aware of the critical need for safeguarding fish populations and the marine environment. However, illegal and pirate fishing are still in practice and regulations continue to be ignored. “Worldwide illegal and unreported fishing losses are estimated between 11 and 26 million tons, or one-fifth of the total global fisheries

As fisheries continually catch large quantities of fish, they deplete the ocean of large fish effecting fish populations, food chains, and the oceanic environment. Pauly and Zeller’s article, Marine Fisheries, contains the image on the right showing that fisheries catch large fish until they die out, while simultaneously destroying sea floor life. They call this “fishing down food webs”, a practice that occurs in almost all fisheries as large fish populations become less plentiful causing fisheries to catch smaller fish, which overtime usually alters or eliminates the organism along the ocean floor(Pauly, Zeller 1). Fisheries catching fish in productive shelves, topical, temperate, and polar waters are main forces changing the environment; “though extremely

The world has been industrializing for over a century, leading to better lives for people everywhere. Unfortunately, industrialization often results in an overuse of resources that can often have unintended consequences. In today’s world, industrialization of the fishing industry has led to a rapid decline in many fish species. This is due to a number of factors, ranging from changing ocean temperatures, acidification and degradation of many natural habitats fish depend on, to poor measurement of current fish populations. The main factor in the decline of fish populations worldwide, however, is overfishing on a massive industrial scale. The decline of fish populations could have massive consequences for ocean ecosystems and could result in shortages of fish many communities have grown dependent on not only for food, but to support their local economies. In order to find the best solution to the rapid decline in fish populations worldwide, evidence must be analyzed relating to the environmental, economic, scientific, historical, and futuristic lenses.

We are currently in danger of facing the sixth marine life extinction due to overfishing. Ocean life plays an important role in the human environment. Roughly three quarters of our planet is covered in oceans, giving us the oxygen and fresh air in the atmosphere that we need. A major extinction of fish in oceans around the world can cause dangerous harm to ecosystems, and negatively affect the lives of humans around all areas.

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.

Humans are the ones responsible for the damage caused to our oceans by overfishing. MPAs are essential to preserve and protect the biological diversity of the oceans (Kechington, Ward, Hegerl 7). In “The Benefits of Marine Protected Areas,” by Richard Kenchington, Trevor Ward, and Eddie Hegerl, talk about why MPAs are crucial to the prevention of overfishing. In a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study, over 70% of fish

Fish, one of the worlds’ leading food source in all regions of the world, but what if one day that food source was to deplete so drastically that one could no longer use it as a food source? What would happen to the people that rely solely on this source? What would happen to the people that relied on catching fish as a job? What would happen to the worlds’ economy? These are only a few questions that should be a concern in the result of Overfishing. The ocean is a big and mass world living among us, taking up seventy eight percent of our space on Earth. This makes the idea of overfishing sound ridiculous and people often ignore the idea. How could we possibly deplete such a large resource? However, overfishing is not a concept to be taken lightly. Not every fish in the ocean is editable and not every fish is able to be reached by fisherman. However, the fish we do commonly eat and catch is being caught at an alarming rate, faster than they are able to reproduce, but we will talk about this more later. For one to better understand overfishing, one must be aware of the causes of Overfishing and the effects it has on our society.

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

To expand on our oceans current status, large-scale evaluations of marine biodiversity loss have revealed that, “Human impacts have depleted >90% of formerly important species, destroyed >65% of sea grass and wetland habitat, degraded water quality, and accelerated species invasions.” (Lotze et al., 2006). Intentional or unintentional, it matters not, ocean exploitation and degradation is an ongoing crisis.