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The Pros And Cons Of Overfishing

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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 …show more content…

(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

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The seafood market is probably worth over $100 million (including imported seafood), there is a $10-15 million char­ter boat industry, probably an equiva­lently valued tournament fishery, and there is a recreational and subsistence marine fishery with direct expenditures of $24 million. The estimate of the Hawaii seafood market supply in 1990, is 20 million pounds ($50 million) from commercial fishing, 9 million pounds from recreational fishing, 15 million pounds ($30 mil­lion) from foreign imports, 24 million pounds ($45 million) from the main­land U.S., and 3.5 million pounds ($10 million) exported. There are many elements to these recent changes in Hawaii's seafood in­dustry. Perhaps the first harbinger of change was the arrival of albacore troll­ers from the west coast en route to newly discovered fishing grounds north of Midway Islands late in the 1970's. This caused a new perspective on the nature of Hawaii's role in the Pacific­ wide fishery and led to some substan­tial changes on the Honolulu water­front.

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To begin with, we must have some history on fishing worldwide, but most of the entire North American continent, in the Atlantic. Ocean fishes have been shot by humans for hundreds of years. Due to overfishing, they are beyond their maximum sustainable yields. Scientists are not sure if the rising water temperatures are responsible for poor egg hatching or UV radiation from reduced ozone, but bottom trawling has had the worst effect. As one after another species of fish have disappeared, commercial fishermen have turned to other species.

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Once the sharks are caught and finned they are then tossed back into the ocean, left barely alive. The sharks sink to the bottom of the sea motionless, like an anchor being dropped from a boat. In spite of the illegalities associated with poaching, people in developing countries perceive it as “found money”, without considering the impact it has on the aquatic ecosystem. If sharks were to become extinct,

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A surprising finding in the fishing industry is that economic studies have shown most of the time, longlining results in a marginal commercial enterprise at most. On average, longliners of the Atlantic lose over $7000 annually, and also have to battle the depreciation of their vessel. Every single year, longliners are forced to pay off the extravagant mortgages on their vessel, which forces them to continue to fish, in hope of a great catch. The industry of fishing has been criticized by many in the scientific and conservation field, but it creates many jobs and opportunities for people who are on their last leg, the opportunity to make money and support themself and or their

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There are several causes of overfishing, such as fishing vessel in large number in one area, using a mesh net in a small size and high demand of fish. One example of overfishing was happened in Canada. Since 17th century, local fisherman in Canada has caught cod fish using a simple fishing gear. Simple fishing gear makes limited the volume of their harvest, limited the size and the age of fish. Because the demand of cod fish was in a high level, the industries were also decided to run the infiltrations in order to overcome that.

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In this essay, I will argue that the practice of shark finning should be illegal in China as it results in major impacts on the oceanic environment. Shark finning is a practice of cutting a shark’s fins off the rest of the body whilst the shark is alive. Once the fins are successfully cut off, the rest of the body is thrown back into the ocean where it begins to die slowly. “It is estimated that 100 to 200 million sharks annually are killed” for a Chinese dish known as shark fin soup. Shark finning majorly affects the oceanic environment’s plant life and its food chain.

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Slaves catch fish that are eaten by Americans every day. In early April of 2015, hundreds of men were found on an island in Indonesia who were tricked into leaving their countries and were forced to catch fish in terrible conditions for little or no pay. This fish is caught "for consumers around the world…". One of the countries these fish are sent to is the United States.

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These methods can cause injury and suffering to fish, and can result in high levels of bycatch, where non-target species are caught and killed. Animal rights activists also argue that the practice of catching and killing fish for food or sport is morally wrong and perpetuates a culture of violence towards animals. Furthermore, animal rights activists argue that the fishing industry has a negative impact on the environment and the ecosystem. Overfishing, for example, can lead to the depletion of fish populations, which can have a cascading effect on the entire ecosystem. The destruction of marine habitats and the use of harmful fishing practices can also have a negative impact on other marine species and the health of the oceans.

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Whaling has been an activity pursued by several countries, many of them have abandoned the practice, but not Japan, Norway or Iceland. According to Marrero & Thornton (2011), humans have been whaling for thousands of years. The whales are killed not out of pleasure but to use their meat, skin, and practically all of their organs and body parts for nourishment and to provide material goods (Marrero & Thornton, 2011). The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was formed in 1946. Its mandate is two-fold: provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and enable the orderly development of the whaling industry (International Whaling Commission, 2016).

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Many people live off fishing whether it’s catching and selling fish or catching and eating fish. Anyways, the reasons why I think we need to come up with a solution for this crisis is because we have seals and sea lions killing off salmon, ODFW making rules that makes it tougher to catch salmon, and we have dams that are raising the water lever. My first reason why I think we need to solve this problem is because we have seals and sea lions that are eating a bunch of salmon in the Columbia river. And yet the worst part is, they aren’t even native. The sea lions just follow the fish from California.

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For instance, Anna Ling Kaye wants to look into other options than finning, saying that there are cheaper ways to save the sharks than an expensive ban, which will make fins a black market product. This has already happened with bear gall bladder and rhinoceros horn and shark fins have already become more expensive because countries have been beginning to ban it (Kaye). Just because it makes the product more expensive does not exclude the benefits of a ban, because it actually makes them more of a hassle to acquire. So even if it does cost a lot of money that means that it will eventually dwindle down to where very few people are able to purchase it and will therefore save the lives of many sharks. Moreover, in “Why Shark Finning Bans Aren't Keeping Sharks Off The Plate (Yet)” by Alastair Bland, he says “Clarke says bans on finning could actually be driving new markets for shark meat.

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As evidence has proven, we now know that this issue has serious repercussions on marine environment and wildlife. Oceanic pollution is linked to an abundance of causes, and because of this, it becomes virtually impossible to solve. It is impractical to think that we would ever be able to remove every form waste from our water. This topic is of present political importance, as there is an immediate need for action. World leaders should prioritize our planet, using their platform and position of power to bring attention to these environmental concerns that every citizen should be aware of.

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Sharks, dolphins, turtles, seals and seabirds all get tangled in these nets, as by-catch, with no way to get out. Some of the animals that are caught die, either while they’re being dragged along the bottom of the ocean or when the fishermen bring them on deck and don’t put them back fast enough. FAO experts assessment concluded that there are roughly 27 million tonnes of global by-catch for every 77 million tonne catch. This statistic means almost 1/3 of every catch is by-catch. Fish populations are on the decline, no thanks to carless fishermen and their pollution.

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Many countries like the United States have had over fishing crisis that have been resolved 1. Many countries such as Australia, Chile, Belize, Namibia, Denmark, and the United States, have faced similar problems but the fishing rights they have enforced have helped transform struggling fisheries. Which would be key for the lower status countries. 2.

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