Although it was initially assumed that the ocean has an abundant and limitless supply of food resources, the destructive impacts of fisheries have now come to light. It is becoming clear from decades of fishery activities that these practices are highly detrimental to the aquatic environment, be it freshwater or marine. Furthermore, fisheries are noticing declines in the abundance and variety of the fish and invertebrates that are harvested. This is not only due to overexploitation but also physical and ecological damage to the fishery environment (NOAA, 1998). In fact, fisheries or the commercial harvesting of fish and shellfish is by far the most destructive force in the oceans today.
Question 1 Overfishing which occurs witch occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction. This has serious consequences that can affect not only the balance of life in the oceans but also the social and economic well-being of populations who depend on fish for their way of life. Overfishing in Freshwater Fishing is a crucial source of livelihood in developing nations where they can mostly fish inland and also as a main source of food that provided protein. Overfishing has lead to some freshwater fish to become extinct especially those that are found close to the surface of the water that are large and can be easily captured. The Mekong giant catfish, which is possibly the world’s largest freshwater fish, is seriously threatened by overfishing.
This essay will be investigating the extent to which people must reduce overfishing in order to preserve animal populations. Overfishing can be defined as ‘the catching of too many fish resulting in the deterioration of marine biodiversity and food systems, as fish populations decline.’ This essay will overlay the perspectives of Hong Kong, the perspective of Japan, and finally the significance of overfishing on me and my family. Overfishing is a very important discussion because it has become a global issue, resulting in collapse of the entire marine ecosystem. Fish is also one of the main sources of food around the world. The collapse of the marine ecosystem would result in the a massive amount of loss in fish stocks, resulting in the loss of business and the starvation of many people around the world that rely on fish as their major supply of food.
I grew up in Westfield, with you as my state legislative representative. In the course we learned about one of the biggest, arguably the biggest, threat facing the world’s oceans today: overfishing. Overfishing is when fish are being taken out of the ocean faster than they can reproduce. This is occurring all over the world, including right off our very own shores. This has a myriad of impact in the marine ecosystem and well beyond.
Aquaculture may be the answer to sustainable commercial production of fish by no longer overfishing natural habitats, but it also needs to regulated to prevent negative effects. Instead of protecting the natural fish the senate introduced a bill by Tom Tiffany that removed some regulation on the fishing industry. Among the negative aspects of the cause according to an environmental group: the DNR’s ability to give fish and fish eggs to fisheries, the expansion of fisheries, and no accountability of fish farm to protect surrounding aquatic life (Midwest Environmental Advocates). Policies need to be made to regulate where and how these fish farms run. For example, rather than giving control to the fisheries in determining how they use the land, regulations should determine what practice can be used to protect the ecosystems around aquaculture facilities.
Overfishing is serious problem in the world today, more than half of the world’s population depends on the oceans for their primary source of food. Harmful fishing methods are unnecessarily killing turtles, dolphins, and destroying critical habitats. Global warming is increasing the temperature of the ocean water, reducing the generation of the base of the food web, plankton. The reducing of the plankton generation is causing major marine ecosystem change. Pollution is also a significant environmental issue HAL is facing.
Sharks have existed for over 400 million years, predating insects, mammals and dinosaurs. Being the apex predators of the world’s seas, sharks have been keeping the population of the oceanic ecosystem in check. However, the number of sharks is considerably decreasing. One of the main reasons behind this is shark finning, the brutal and barbaric practice of cutting off sharks ' fins then throwing the rest of the body, often still alive, back into the sea. The practice of shark finning should be banned worldwide.
From a biodiversity perspective, the lionfish is creating a profoundly negative effect on the health of several native species of fish. The lionfish is a fish that always looks to invade and has characteristics that provide them with an advantage in new areas. Lionfish reproduce rapidly and are the strongest creatures overtaking coral reefs today. The spines of lionfish contain venom and can kill numerous species of fish. Lionfish are damaging the communities that live in coral reefs.
When fish consume the plastic, it will move up the food chain and affect other aquatic animals that consume fish. “Endangered wildlife like Hawaiian Monk Seals and Pacific Loggerhead Sea Turtles are among nearly 300 species that eat and get caught in plastic litter” (“Ocean Plastic Pollution”). If an animal gets caught in plastic, then it could suffocate them. “In 2008, two sperm whales were found stranded along the California coast with large amounts of fishing net scrapes, and other plastic debris in their stomachs” (“Ocean Plastic Pollution”). When an animal eats plastic, it causes their minds to believe that they are full but plastic does not give them the nutrients that they need and will cause them to starve.
Petrol released by boats and factories, is then flowed into the sea, harming the coral reefs as well as sea life. Nutrient, increasing, encourage algal blooms that cause a population explosion of devastating crown-of-thorns starfish. Since 1985 coral cover has declined by half, along the Australia Great Barrier Reef, the population of starfish being responsible for 40% of this loss. Tourism also affects the coral reefs, because of people taking away the coral and killing a whole population of polyps. Tourism boats as well damage the coastal reef by crushing and destroying it when