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. Industrial fishing has had an enormous impact on fish communities all over the world, both in industrial areas and in the world’s oceans as a whole. Large-scale industrial fishing has already led to an estimated loss of “more than 90% of large predatory fishes” (Dietz, Ostrom, Stern). Today, industrialization continues to have a massive impact on fish populations throughout the world’s oceans. Further research shows that after
"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
The Atlantic and Pacific Coasts fish stocks overall show little improvement, despite the management strategies that have been implemented to try to increase fish population. This is primarily due to overexploitation
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
Economic activity and our environment have been closely linked since man first discovered the concept of trade. In the language of economics, the environment has itself, become an increasingly “scarce resource1”. Since economics is about managing these scarce resources, it will be a useful tool when considering some of the environmental issues facing our planet. One of the major concerns confronting the environment today is the overfishing of the world’s oceans, depleting some species to near extinction. With continued advances in technological and industrial proficiency, fishing vessels are able to fish across the globe, further exacerbating the effects of overfishing. Because the oceans are considered a shared or common
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.
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.
For human populations, particularly people in the poorest countries across the globe, fish is an important source of nourishment and food. As a result, fisheries catches represent a huge export of energy and mass that can no longer be utilized by trophic levels that are higher than those fished. For a long period of time, several human populations across the globe have continued to depend on fish as a significant source of food and nourishment, which has contributed to widespread overfishing. The widespread overfishing has in turn resulted in the decrease in the global catch of fish. Nonetheless, the links between overfishing and food security have remained largely unclear and uncertain. According to the findings of research, approximately 50 percent of commercial marine species have been overfished in the past five decades (Srinivasan, Cheung, Watson & Sumaila, p.1).
According to the United Nations, 17% of fish stocks worldwide are currently overexploited; 52% are fully exploited; and 7% are depleted. This means that only an estimated 20% of worldwide fish stocks are not already at or above their capacity(Seafarms, 2013). Catches of Pacific herring have decreased by 71% since the 1960s, with Atlantic herring catches falling by 63%. Atlantic Cod catches have fallen by 69% in the same time(Seafarms, 2013). These are just a few of many facts and statistics on the topic of overfishing. The effects of these statistics and facts impact people’s and animal's lives around the
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 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
To many people are dying due to fishing. Canada has to make fish industries less deadly. Fishing industry has cost about 190 Canadian lives since 2000 and it has to improve its culture of safety, the Transportation Safety Board. The causes of fatalities in the fishing industries is that most fishers decide to fish when the weather is in or is going to be in a bad condition, workers have to fish in those conditions because they need the money or they are behind in their quota for the year. Also, sometimes the vessels do not carry a distress communication device. “In Canada, falling overboard is the second highest cause of fatality in the fishing industry,”. “The safety of fishermen will be compromised until the complex relationship and inter
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.
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.
Marine fisheries make up some of the largest ecosystems/habitats that span from the coastal regions all the way through the various oceans of the globe. In addition, the habitats and ecosystems of marine fisheries contain some of the most diverse groups of organisms worldwide just because of the sheer amount of the planet’s surface that the oceans cover. Although the range and diversity of marine fisheries are vast, they are declining at increasing rates. There are many factors that have led to this decline which include climate change, pollution, and the introduction of invasive species into particular habitats. However, the two largest factors behind the collapse of marine fisheries are directly correlated with human interaction with the marine fisheries. One is the overexploitation by the fishing industry, while the other is habitat alteration (mainly around the coastal areas) (Layman et. al 2011).