Water Resource Plan for Declining Fish
- Submitted by: Bricesmom
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 08/19/2011 05:56 PM
- Pages: 5
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Water Resource Plan Declining Fish
One could think of an oil spill that occurred over the recent summer of 2010, as being one of the most devastating things that could happen to our oceans habitats. However, if we look further into this, I think that a lot of people would be shocked to learn that this really is not the worst thing that is happening to our ocean. You might say yes right, however it is true. I know that it is hard to believe that there could be something worse out there that is destroying our ocean. Now you are probably thinking ok then if the spills and the contamination to our oceans is not the worst thing that is happening what is? Overfishing would be the answer to this, and after reviewing the video Declining Fish Stock VLR, put a whole new light on this for me, I personally did not realize there was such an issue with this. However after reading and researching further, there is realization this is a huge and sometimes silent issue.
As one could sit and wonder and ask themselves what exactly is “overfishing? Overfishing can be defined in a number of ways. However, everything comes down to one simple point: Catching too much fish for the system to support leads to an overall degradation to the system. Overfishing is a non-sustainable use of the oceans. Worldwide, fishing fleets are two to three times as large as needed to take present day catches of fish and other marine species and as what our oceans can sustainably support. On a global scale we have enough fishing capacity to cover at least four Earth like planets.
On top of the overcapacity many fishing methods are unsustainable in their own way. These methods have a large impact on the basic functioning of our marine ecosystems. These unselective fishing practices and gear cause tremendous destruction on non-target species. Bycatch discards and bottom trawling destruction are two examples of this. Unfortunately, bycatch would best be described as marine life that is thrown back into...
One could think of an oil spill that occurred over the recent summer of 2010, as being one of the most devastating things that could happen to our oceans habitats. However, if we look further into this, I think that a lot of people would be shocked to learn that this really is not the worst thing that is happening to our ocean. You might say yes right, however it is true. I know that it is hard to believe that there could be something worse out there that is destroying our ocean. Now you are probably thinking ok then if the spills and the contamination to our oceans is not the worst thing that is happening what is? Overfishing would be the answer to this, and after reviewing the video Declining Fish Stock VLR, put a whole new light on this for me, I personally did not realize there was such an issue with this. However after reading and researching further, there is realization this is a huge and sometimes silent issue.
As one could sit and wonder and ask themselves what exactly is “overfishing? Overfishing can be defined in a number of ways. However, everything comes down to one simple point: Catching too much fish for the system to support leads to an overall degradation to the system. Overfishing is a non-sustainable use of the oceans. Worldwide, fishing fleets are two to three times as large as needed to take present day catches of fish and other marine species and as what our oceans can sustainably support. On a global scale we have enough fishing capacity to cover at least four Earth like planets.
On top of the overcapacity many fishing methods are unsustainable in their own way. These methods have a large impact on the basic functioning of our marine ecosystems. These unselective fishing practices and gear cause tremendous destruction on non-target species. Bycatch discards and bottom trawling destruction are two examples of this. Unfortunately, bycatch would best be described as marine life that is thrown back into...