The Pros And Cons Of Overfishing

The oceans are crucial to the success of the human population. They provide sustenance, employment, and a balanced environment. Unfortunately, the health of the oceans is currently failing. The destruction of the oceans by overfishing, environmental degradation, global warming, and civil conflict can only be halted through international cooperation.

Simple fishing techniques have existed for thousands of years. Industrial fishing began around the 1950’s in an attempt to secure a plentiful protein-rich source of food (nationalgeographic.com). Industrial fishing is commonly described as fishing using high levels of technology and machinery, and can include trawlers and purse seiners (World Fisheries Trust, 2008). The FAO states that there

(Agnew et al., 2009). This is significant because unregulated fishing can cause a reduced food supply in the long-term, environmental damage, and a substantial loss of economic benefits (Agnew et al., 2009). Areas which have high levels of illegal fishing also tend to have fewer stocks of fish. Furthermore, illegal fishing also causes a great deal of environmental damage, due to the disregarding of international ocean protection laws, the Arctic and Africa being two popular areas (Agnew et al., 2009). Agnew et al. suggests that overfishing may be exasperated by distorted data estimates (2009). The fish caught illegally were estimated to be worth approximately $10 to $23.5 billion annually (Agnew et al., 2009). According to Agnew et al., illegal and unreported fishing was most prominent in the Eastern Central Atlantic, and lowest in the Southwest Pacific (2009). The Public Library of Science discovered a direct correlation “between the level of illegal and unreported fishing and indices of governance” stating that “it points to the benefits of improving governance” (Agnew et al., 2009). The UN’s FAO recently reviewed 53 of the top fishing countries and failed 30 of them in regards to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Agnew et al., 2009).

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a flag of convenience as “a foreign flag under which a merchant vessel is registered for purposes of reducing operating costs or avoiding government regulations.” Africa commonly licenses ships from countries such as China, Russia, Korea, and the EU (Agnew et al., 2009). It is common for less developed countries, such as Africa, to be exploited by more developed countries. ADD