Fishing regulations are used to restrict the amount of fish a recreational fisherman can catch, and there are separate regulations for those who hold a commercial fishing license. The problem with these regulations, is that much like other forms of law, there are either loop holes or people who simply do not bother to abide by the rules. The World Wildlife Foundation states on their website that both of these facts are reasons why the fish population is becoming depleted.
I am interested in this topic because I myself am an avid fisherman. I have been fishing since I was a little boy, and I have witnessed the depletion of some of these fish myself. In particular, the various types of salmon along with grayling and trout have been greatly effected. My father and I have memories of catching grayling on nearly every cast in certain rivers, but because of over-fishing, catching ten fish in a full day now constitutes a “good” day. Not only have the numbers of fish been dwindled, but the size of these animals is not what it used to be. The older this fish, the bigger it gets, (up until a certain age) but the problem is that most of the fish are being caught at a young age, and so the chances of finding a “whopper” on the other end of your line has greatly decreased.
I would be more than willing to spend the rest of the semester on researching and thinking about this topic. As a matter of fact, thanks to the long winter here, I often think about fishing while anticipating the coming of summer. While most of the time I am day dreaming about bragging to my friends about the killer fish I’m going to catch, I do often think about the problems with over-fishing here in Alaska. It would be very interesting for me to not only learn more about the problems we have her in Alaska, but about the global problem as well.
If you’ve read this far, it’s probably not hard to see which side of this argument I am on. I love to fish, and I love seeing others, especially younger kids, enjoying fishing as well. The passion we share is floating a lure down the river and feeling the tug of a monster fish on the other end. Unfortunately, because of overfishing problems, that feeling is becoming less and less common. Not only does the problem take some of the fun out of fishing, but it also has other bad side effects as well. According to the National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC), the decreasing amount of fish in the sea also means a decrease in food for other marine life. The NCMC also lists problems such as a decline in fishing jobs, and depletion of food source for people who are dependant on fish. I believe these are all major problems that need to be fixed, and the sooner the better. Because of the advancement in fishing technology, large fishing ships are depleting the fish population faster and faster every year. The government needs to step in and tighten up the fishing regulations, especially those regulating the number of fish commercial fisheries are allowed to take.
Of course on the other side of the argument are the commercial fishing companies. The owners of these companies earn their living by grabbing as many fish as they can so that they can sell them to canneries, restaurants, or grocery stores. The funny thing about this is that while they are earning plenty of money now, they are ruining their business for the future. Over fishing leads to smaller numbers of fish, and the result is that these companies end up running out of fish to catch, and therefore lose their own business. Greenpeace gives a good example in the 1992 collapse of a cod fishery in Newfoundland, Canada. In this particular example, over 40,000 jobs were lost.
There are plenty of other subjects to go over on the topic of overfishing, and that is why I believe it will make for a good research topic. As an avid fisherman myself, it will also help keep me interested in the topic, and in return, help me write a quality research paper.
Sources
“Problems: Poorly Managed Fishing. Our Oceans Are Being Plundered.” World Wildlife Foundation. © May 10, 2007. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/problems/problems_fishing/index.cfm
“The Threats to Our Ocean Fisheries: Overfishing, Bycatch and Marine Habitat Loss”
National Coalition for Marine Conservation. © 2008. http://www.savethefish.org/about_ocean_fisheries_overfishing.htm
“Overfishing.“ Greenpeace.
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