The Negative Effects Of Overfishing

Since ancient times, fish has been used as food by millions of people around the world. Fish stocks, however, have dramatically dropped down in the past few decades, as a result of pollution and global warming, but above all as a result of overfishing. Biologists have alerted the society on different aspects of the problem of overfishing and have suggested certain strategies to contain or even reverse some of the harmful trends in this respect.

One of the most important nutrition for humans is the protein, which helps people build muscles and tissues. Fish is the main source of protein for large parts of the population in certain areas of the world, where other sources of food are scarce, and it is a highly valued nutrition source in the developed world for its healthy dietary qualities. Based on the high demand, it has become a profitable business, and the scale of fishing has reached unsustainable levels. Fish is an example of r-strategists and since they produce huge amounts of offspring, for many years people used to believe that the amount of fish in the seas has no limits. However, their decline starts being more and more obvious over time.

Overfishing happens when people catch fish faster than the speed of reproduction. It impacts ecosystems in several major ways: it causes the extinction of certain marine species and misbalances in the food chains. The act of fishing destroys aquatic animals’ habitat due to the fishing technologies, which are currently used. Fish