“Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction” (World Wildlife Fund, 2016). People who are not correctly informed think that our oceans are a limitless source of food, but that is far from the truth. 85 percent of United States oceans are overfished, and will soon be barren if this trend continues. Since 1996, NOAA Fisheries have been required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to report the status of the U.S. fisheries annually (NOAA, 2016), but to their findings, they have noticed that in the last 50 years overfishing has rapidly gotten worse. To solve this growing issue, we need to create more marine protected areas around the United States waters, …show more content…
2). Which means that even less is protected in just the United States. A solution to this massive problem is to create more marine protected areas; a marine protected area is an area of the sea that restricts human activity. These no-take zones allow wounded fish to recover and provides housing for endangered species. For example, sea animals are exposed to climate change impacts called bleaching, and they need safe environments to recover, prosper, and reproduce. Its purpose is to preserve natural resources, and in this case, the natural resources are sea life. By creating these save zones, it reduces the amount of aquatic life being caught and will lower the chances of certain fish and other species from going extinct. The benefits provide food, security, and long lives (World Wildlife Fund, …show more content…
Trawling is when huge nets with heavy weights are drug behind boats picking up every animal in its path. These nets are meant for micro life such as shrimp and cod that live on the sea floor; but since they are so large, and the heavy weights drag, they end up getting caught on important coral that fish can feed on. This leads to habitat destruction and will result in loss of shelter and food. Nets can even scoop up fish! Many times, sea animals that are pulled up in these nets are thrown overboard, dead, because they are not the “right” animal the fishermen were searching for. Which leads to the population decreasing; and our oceans cannot afford that kind of cruelty. Bottom trawling is common on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts. In 2007, trawlers captured over 400,000 tons of marine life (Marine Conservation Institute, par. 4), which forever damaged the ecosystem. This occupation is brutal, for it depletes the fish population; and severely damages the seafloor. If it is still permitted for much longer, it could cause some parts of the United States waters ecosystems to collapse. So as a solution, the United States should put a ban on trawling in specific areas, and only leave small areas, a few times a year, to be