What Are The Major Threats To Atlantic Cod

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea aims to examine the seal hunting and the decline of cod stock in Newfoundland and Labrador. As cod face imminent biological distinct, the government officials and the DFO blame the grey seals for the decline of the cod stocks and its failure to

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 film speaks about how the local livelihoods are connected with the sea and how they have made a revolutionary return to traditional hand line fishing to drive up the fish market price with the 20-year moratorium that had been placed on cod due to overfishing with industrial fishing practices for the previous 50 years. Based on research by people such as Leonard Milich, he too writes about the collapse of the Northwest Atlantic cod fishery as shown in the film (Milich 2010). This research also talks about the strategies that were put in place for the management of fisheries for the locals who depend on the healthy stocks as well as the market values of the fish (Milich

The area of research that I have selected is the effects of overfishing in the Sea Otter ecosystem off the coast of California. The effects caused by the fishing pressure on the ecosystem will have different outcomes, depending on the strength and the types of relationships of the organisms present. (4) Red Abalone populations have declined drastically, to the point of the abalone fishery collapse. Several factors have led up to the collapse including Withering Syndrome, where the organism loses the ability to attach itself to rocks, making it more susceptible to predation, or the organism can eventually wither and starve to death. Sea Urchins and Red Abalone are a part of the same ecosystem, and are competitors of each other.(5) Both organisms graze on macroalgae and are a primary food source for Sea Otters. Sea Otters occurred from the North Pacific Rim down to Baja California, Mexico, but now only occur in small isolated patches (9) It is understood that Sea Otter presence can characterize community structure, where they can control and determine the size of Sea Urchin and Red Abalone populations. In the absence of Sea Otters, “Urchin Barrens” are created from the overgrazing of macroalgae by Sea Urchin. In these areas the ecosystem have changed dramatically, due to the overfishing, or in this case the over hunting, of Sea Otters causing a trophic cascade.(7)In some areas, Sea Otters have been reintroduced, in other areas they were never removed, and in others they

Salmon stocks in British Columbia are on the brink of collapse largely because the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has consistently allowed too many fish to be killed in commercial and recreational fisheries, according to a new research paper.The high exploitation of stocks – which draws parallels with the destruction of Atlantic cod by overfishing – may be more to blame for the decline of Pacific salmon than global warming or poor ocean conditions, says the study assessing salmon management practices, published today by the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic

Abstract: Fishing for Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) was banned in United States waters in 1990 after a noted dramatic decline in population numbers. After eighteen years of protection, the species is reportedly showing signs of recovery along the west coast of Florida, with increasing accounts of underwater sightings and capture on hook and line. These sightings have increased a desire to reopen the Goliath grouper harvesting ban. These species are commercially valuable and are historically and currently overfished by both recreational and commercial fishers, whether intentionally or as bycatch. They are also vulnerable to habitat loss. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) characterizes grouper as a particularly vulnerable group of fishes for extinction.

When the words spread about the large size of fishery, fleets from all over the world joined the hunt. Every year, the size of the fleets got bigger and every year, the size of the catch increased. In the late 50s the arrival of large factor ships from other countries hailed the first onslaught to the finely balanced renewable cod fishery. These factory trawlers came from England, the U.S., the Soviet Union, East and West Germany, Portugal, Poland, and some Asia nations such as Japan and Korea. Towards the end of the 20th century, over 3

Previously, we mentioned that fisheries are competing with penguins for food, however, a major issue remains climate change. According to The Huffington post, a study published by the World Wildlife Fund found that the world marine vertebrate population declined by 49% between 1970 and 2012. The rising temperature has caused coral reefs to decrease immensely, along with 33% of all seagrass to becoming lost due to rising temperatures. Commercial fish has decreased by 75%, these fish include mackerel and bonito. According to the article, if these fish serve as food sources to other species and animals, the lack of them could cause casualties in other animals.

The availability of seafood in Canadian and Argentinean waters is also dependent on the total allowable catch allocated to Clearwater in a given area. Although the totals allowable catch in these areas and Clearwater 's enterprise allocations have been largely stable, fishery regulators have the right to make changes in the total allowable catch based on their assessment of the resource from time to time. Any reduction of total allowable catches in the areas from which Clearwater sources seafood, or the reduction of stocks due to changes in the environment or the health of certain species, may have a material adverse effect on Clearwater 's financial condition and results of operations.

Delgado, C. L., Wada, N., Rosegrant, M. W., Meijer, S., & Ahmed, M. (2003). Fish to 2020: supply and demand in changing global markets. Retrieved from http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/books/fish2020/oc44.pdf

A fishery by definition, is “the occupation, industry, or season of taking fish or other sea animals (shrimp, squid, clams) and selling them for profit” (Webster Dictionary). Atlantic Cod used to be considered as one of the richest fisheries in the world. Atlantic Cod, scientifically known as,Gadus morhua, are heavily bodied, blunt snouted fish that are typically brown or grayish in color with a series of spots located on their bodies along with a pale lateral line. This species of fish have a schooling behavior when feeding but remain isolated when traveling. The Atlantic Cod once densely populated the waters of the Atlantic ocean, from Greenland to North Carolina. Despite the wide range in location, Atlantic Cod are a nonmigratory species

The Oceaneos Research Foundation stated that in the mid-1990 the Atlantic cod was caught to near extinction. “Newfoundland’s fishing industry collapsed due to overfishing and 40,000 jobs were lost and the ecosystem destroyed. Fifteen years after the loss of the cod industry they are still waiting for a recovery.” (“The Oceaneos Marine Research Foundation”, 2017)

Many breeds of fish are being captured at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Some species such as orange roughy fishing became popular in New Zealand in the 1970’s. Over time, it spread to many countries around the world. In the last 20 years, there has been a decline in catch up to 75%. It is no longer common to see in grocery stores as well as restaurants. The amounts of fish that are captured and distributed around the world are alarming opposed to the rate the fish can multiply.

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.