Overfishing Our Oceans, Essay Example

Overfishing the oceans has been the reason that numerous marine species have been pushed to the threshold of extinction. The extinction of the marine species affects the marine ecosystems. The lifestyle and the future food supply of the global inhabitants rely on the marine ecosystems. Overfishing is defined as engaging in the activity of fishing with such a magnitude that the breeding stock of the marine species becomes depleted. Overfishing involves depleting the fish stock to a level where they will no longer provide sufficient fish for the commercial enterprise of fishing. Overfishing the oceans is a global issue that poses numerous environmental, social and economic outcomes (Royston 12). The research explored the global challenge of overfishing and the possible solutions regarding the international environmental policies.

The fish that are harvested from the oceans are used to provide nutrition for billions of the Earth’s inhabitants. In addition, there are many who based their livelihoods from the oceans. The oceans are being placed under stress in order to satisfy the requisites of the developing nations and the increasing need for fish in the industrialized nations. The global fishing fleet has been harvesting fish at a rate of 250% of what the oceans can sustain over an extended period of time. The global wild capture aquatic fisheries have surpassed the maximum production. Research has demonstrated that more than four fifths of the global fish stocks have been exploited to the point of depletion (Royston 16).

Overfishing impacts the populations of the various marine species. Furthermore, overfishing is the extending of the fishing activities beyond what is environmentally sustainable. The decline of the sea lion population in Alaska has been connected to the sea lions’ primary food supply. In addition, when the ecological balance of the oceans is disturbed, the result is a decrease in coral growth. As the coral become less numerous, the algae flourishes (Glover 105). The algae retain more heat than the coral and cause the Earth’s temperature to rise (Royston 9). This effect has been manifest in the Northern hemisphere with the disappearance of areas that were once dominated by glaciers.

There are a variety of causal attributes for overfishing. The majority of the problems that are connected with overfishing have been produced over the last quarter of a century. The fishing industry now uses large floating factories which have the capacity of packaging the fish once they are caught. The technological progresses including satellites, radar and GPS have enabled the fishing activities to become more efficient. The increased efficiency of the trawlers and the nets applied to harvesting has enabled the fishing industry to capture increased amounts of menhaden. Menhaden are small fish that are the primary food source for the commercial fish which are harvested. In the absence of menhaden, many of the fish would not develop properly (Glover 302).

The menhaden fish are sold to farmers in order to fertilizer the farms. In addition, the menhaden are sold to organizations which manufacture fish oils and vitamins. There are billions of members of marine species that are perishing on an annual basis. The animals which eat fish are dolphins, turtles and birds (Glover 303). These animals experience misery as an outcome of by catch. The by- catch includes the members of the species which are unintentionally trapped in the nets.  In any given trawler’s net, the composition is 30% by catch. The majority of the by catch takes place with a fishing process designated as trawling (Glover 201).

The trawlers apply a net the dimensions of a football field. The trawling nets are affixed to the undersides of the sea vessels. Anything that is between the two trawlers is caught in the net. The trawling nets have the capacity of being able to capture five hundred tons of fish. Notwithstanding, as the fish are captured, the marine species are damaged. The marine species caught in the trawling nets also include coral. The most inhumane part about the by- catch is that the birds, turtles, seals and dolphins that are trapped in the nets are usually released with untreated injuries incurred while attempting to escape from the nets (Glover 171).

In the event that the species populations are depleted, there is a domino effect. The cod population in the oceans has been decreasing. The decline in the cod population has caused the population of jellyfish to increase. The increased numbers of jellyfish affects the fish eggs. The decrease in fish eggs impacts the fish population. This is due to the jellyfish being predators of the fish eggs (DeBrusk 114).

During the past century, the numbers of predatory fish has decreased by nine tenths. The quantity of commercial fish has decreased by 80 % during the last century. Research has demonstrated that there is the potential of the edible fish becoming extinct by 2048 (Glover 216). The overfishing of the oceans has the potential of causing many business failures. In the aftermath of the business failures attributed to overfishing the oceans, employment positions will be lost. Overfishing causes the fishermen to earn more revenue. In the long term, the fishermen are affecting the long term sustainability of the environment by overfishing (Glover 218).

Sixty years ago, there had been abundant quantities of cod in the waters on the cost of the Netherlands. The cod are almost extinct on the Netherlands coast. The progresses in technology caused the cod to be harvest at an increased rate (Glover 217). The cod in the Netherlands almost became ext8inct in 2008. The fisheries were required to close down their operations for a period of two years in order to allow the cod population to replenish itself. As result, ten of thousands of employment positions were lost (Maher 263).

The consumers, governments and the fishing industry need to collaborate in order to resolve the practice of by catch and overfishing. In the case that production of a plan where the oceans could be properly administrated in order to enable the production of  a large supply of fish for an indefinite period of time, the policy would enable the sustainability of fish for future generations. One recommendation is to establish a policy which restricts the tonnage of fish that a fisherman can harvest in a year (Miyazaki 10).

In order to accomplish the implementation of this type of policy, there is the requisite of the creation of new supervisory positions that will provide supervision over the operations of the fishing concerns. In addition, there should be addition legislation that protects specific endangered species. The depletion of the cod population on the coast of the Netherlands is one example of depleting the fish stocks to extinction (Day 198).

Conclusion

Overfishing is the exploitation of the privilege of harvesting fish from the ocean until species become depleted. The marine ecosystem is interrelated with other ecosystems. The most responsible attitude would be to enact legislation limiting the amount of fish that could be harvested by fishermen during a year. The limits may cause the price of fish to rise. Notwithstanding, the limiting of the tonnage that can be produced by fisherman would enable the fishing industry to remain viable beyond the next thirty years.

Works Cited

Day, Trevor. Ecosystems: Oceans. London, UK: Routledge, 2014.

DeBrusk, Skip. Codfish, dogfish, mermaids and Frank: Coming of age on an open ocean. Stoughton, MA: Reginald vanFenwick Press, 2006. Print.

Glover, Charles. The end of the line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2008. Print.

Maher, Joanne. The Europa World Year Book 2008. New York, NY: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Miyazaki, Nobuyuki, Zafer Adeel and Kouichi Ohwada. Mankind and the oceans. Tokyo, Japan: The United Nations University Press, 2005. Print.

Royston, Angela. What happens if we overfish the oceans? USA: Wayland, 2013. Print.