Overfishing Our Worlds Oceans (Final Paper Rough Draft 2)

Living in today’s world gives humans many advantages. Thanks to advancements in technology, accomplishing almost any task has become much easier, and everyday activities have become much more convenient. The world of commercial fishing is no exception to this fact, and our world is suffering because of it. Technology on today’s fishing boats allow fisherman to hunt down schools of fish and simply drop there nets and scoop them up. By doing this, commercial fishing boats are able to catch multiple tons of fish in just a couple hours of work. Although there are currently rules and regulations on commercial fishing, the government should increase enforcement because fish populations are being depleted, aquatic ecosystems are being destroyed, and those who depend on the fishing industry will suffer.
Commercial fishing regulations vary from country to country, and are often hard to enforce. Here in the United States, there are Federal commercial fishing regulations that must be fallowed. On top of the Federal rules, there are also rules for individual states. State fishing regulations are to be fallowed as long as they do not exceed limits that are set by the Federal Government. Most state regulations are in place in order to protect species of fish that are not covered by Federal regulations (The Gulf Council). All fishing regulations lay out criteria such as minimum size limits, which state how big a fish needs to be in order to keep it. Criteria can also include trip limits and total quota caps. Trip limits are limitations for how much fish a vessel can come in with, and quota caps limit how much each vessel can catch in one fishing season. In addition to catch criteria, rules are in place that regulate where vessels can catch fish, and what kind of fishing techniques they can use (such as drag netting or single-hook line).
It would seem that having all these rules would help limit the damage done to the fishing population. However, taking a closer look at these regulations shows that they really aren’t all that effective. In a commercial fishing pamphlet that is handed out by the Fishery Management Council, it shows that there are in fact no trip limits or quota caps for many species of fish. Where there are limits, they are often amounts such as “6,000 lbs gutted weight” for trip limits, and quotas of 1.02 million pounds “gutted weight” (The Gulf Council). These numbers were for “Deep-water Groupers,” but there were other fish species that had similar amounts. The truly scary fact about these restrictions is that they are for single shipping vessels. This means that there are hundreds of boats out there that are potentially bringing in over a million pounds of fish each. Also remember that this is one classification of fish in a single fishing season, and restrictions are based on “gutted weight.”
With poor regulations such as these it’s not so hard to imagine the impact fishing vessels have over the world’s fish population. As a matter of fact, “52% of the world’s fisheries are fully exploited, and 24% are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion.” (WWF). This means that over 76% of the world’s fisheries are in danger of being completely wiped out. Numbers like these are astonishing, and at the rate we are going, the unthinkable could become a reality. WWF goes on to say that if commercial fishing keeps up the same pace, every single species that is currently being fished for food could be completely collapsed by the year 2048. This may seem like a long way away, but future generations could be facing a world without the joy, and sometimes necessity, of fish for food.
There have been efforts all over the world to try and control fish population, but they simply aren’t enough. Besides laughable Federal regulations, there have also been bans on fishing in some areas. While this tactic does work, banned areas are usually fairly small, and limited compared to how many their should be. This is pointed out in a 1998 article from the national publication, Science. The author points out that “findings indicate that more such protected areas must be created if there is to be any chance of salvaging vanishing ecosystems” (N. Williams).
Sadly, since his article in 1998, it would seem that little has been done about the overfishing problem. This can be seen not only in the continually decreasing fish population, but also in the overall structure of the marine ecosystems. More specifically, the marine food web has begun to shift due to the fishing efforts of large commercial fishing vessels. Scientist classify each aquatic organism and place them in a specific niche in the food web. The bottom is classified as 1, and consists of plants and algae. The classifications progress up to level 5 which is reserved for killer whales and the largest sharks. According to an article by Janet Raloff, “humans have traditionally fished primarily from levels three and four.” Janet goes on to explain that because these larger fish are being fished out, smaller fish start to become more sought after by commercial fishing companies (J. Raloff). This creates a problem because not only do we begin to see a decline in population from these smaller fish, but the reducing numbers make it even harder for the higher ranked fish populations to recover.
A common adage says that “desperate times call for desperate measures.” By the statistics given by the WWF, there is no question we are in desperate times. Extreme measures have been taking place in some regions, and luckily it appears that we may still have time to fix our problem. According to a study done by Ball State University, the Indiana commercial fishery on Lake Michigan was closed down completely in 1997. Their study indicates that 10 years after the closure, mean length of local yellow perch had increased, and so had the proportion of female fish (Ball State). Of course this was just one fishery, and in truth, it made little difference in our global problem. However, successful experiments such as these do give a sliver of hope to those concerned about the current condition of our oceans.
Unfortunately, fish populations aren’t the only thing suffering from current fishing methods. Over the last half-century, huge advancements in fishing technology have increased catch production, but have also created a huge problem for our world’s coral reefs. Trawling is a technique that has been used for decades. Coral reefs used to be safe from this fishing technique because the sharp coral would rip up the fisherman’s nets. The World Wildlife Foundation points out that this all ended in the 1980s when large rubber tires were added to the end of the nets, allowing the trawlers to move over the coral without getting damaged. According to the same article, a study was done here in Alaska which showed that after a single pass by a drag net, 55% of the effected coral still showed signs of damage a year later (WWF Trawling). This is truly devastating when you take into consideration the fact that the same nets are often drug over the same spot more than once, and can be drug for many miles. It’s no wonder these corals have such a hard time recovering when they are continually damaged year after year.
In most places new laws and regulations are being put in place that prohibit the use of trawling in shallow reef areas. The regulations usually limit the commercial fishing vessels to fish with multiple hooked lines. While this helps tremendously with reef damage near shorelines, deeper sea waters continue to be affected by insufficient protective guidelines. Technology again plays a big role in the creation of these problems. Where trawling at large depths used to be near impossible, it is now very common for vessels to fish at depths nearing a mile or more. In 2002 there was a study done by the Royalty Society in the northeast Atlantic Ocean which researched the amount of damage done to deep coral during normal fish trawling operation. During the study the fishing vessel would troll at depths up to 1500m. The study report noted that “coral by-catch” was common, and that some pieces were up to 1 sq. meter in size and up to 4550 years old (Royalty Society). The damage done during this study had a large impact on the ocean bottom by its self, but what needs to be taken into account is that the study covered only a fraction of a per cent of the global damage done by trawling vessels. Quantifying such devastating effects on our ocean’s ecosystems makes it hard to justify the lack of protection these reefs receive.
Unfortunately, damaged coral reefs are not the only negative byproduct of commercial fishing. Thousands of other animals are dying every year due to being caught up in nets or fishing lines. Sharks, dolphins, turtles, seals, sea otters, and even sea birds are constantly being hauled in with the fish. These animals usually end up drowning from lack of oxygen or are wounded so badly from the heavy nets that they don’t survive if they are let go. A study was done in 2003 by the Ecological Society of America which concentrated on the mortality rate of the Black-footed Albatross in the North Pacific. After the five year study, they concluded that U.S. and international vessels were responsible for the deaths of as many as 13,800 Black-footed Albatross per year (ESA). It’s hard to imagine the total impact our fishing vessels are having on the ocean’s animals, but these types of studies give a good look into what kind of damage commercial fishing boats are doing.
Most people realize that commercial fishing is quickly depleting fish populations, and many people are aware of the damage it causes our coral reefs, but very few people realize the impact commercial fishing has on themselves and millions of others around the world. If the commercial fishing industry is allowed to keep harvesting fish at the current pace, it wont be long before they fish themselves out of business. That would mean the end of a $158 billion industry according to Business 2.0 Magazine (CNN). That’s 158 billion dollars worth of jobs that people currently use to support their families with food and shelter. Unfortunately owners of big commercial fishing companies are only thinking about the money they can make now. They show little, if any concern for the future of not only their workers, but also the millions of people around the world who depend on fish for food.
Here in the United States, we eat a fairly large amount of fish, but compared to some countries, our consumption is fairly small. Asian countries, especially island nations such as Japan and the Philippines, rely much more heavily on fish as a food source. These island countries not only eat more fish, but they also rely more heavily on fish for protein. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows that some of these islands receive over 50 per cent of their protein from fish compared to right around 20 per cent for the rest of the world (FAO). This means that while we enjoy the ability to go out and have a good fish dinner, a lot of other countries are dependent on that same dinner. It also means that if global overfishing doesn’t get better soon, many people will be forced to live without their major suppliers of protein.
Unfortunately we live in a world where making money is priority number one for most people, and many will do whatever it takes to earn their living. This is the attitude that is causing the depletion of the world’s fish population and the destruction of their habitat. Sadly, there isn’t much anyone can do to change this mindset, but that doesn’t mean marine animals and coral reefs can’t be saved. If governments around the world would tighten current fishing regulations and create more non-fishing zones, marine ecosystems would surely become more healthy and rich. However, if people continue to turn there backs on the problem, we will soon see the collapse of global fisheries, complete destruction of their ecosystems, and millions of people around the world will be out of jobs and a valuable food source. It’s up to the government to make sure this doesn’t happen, and it’s time to step up before it becomes too late.



Resources

(The Gulf Council). Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. “2008 Commercial Fishing Regulations for Gulf of Mexico Federal Waters.” January 2008.
http://www.gulfcouncil.org/Beta/GMFMCWeb/downloads/com%20brochure2008web.pdf

(WWF). “Problems: Poorly Managed Fishing.” World Wildlife Foundation. Updated February 29, 2008.
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/problems/problems_fishing/index.cfm

(N. Williams). Williams, Nigel. “Overfishing disrupts entire ecosystems.” Science. February 1998. p279:809-810.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/279/5352/809

(J. Raloff). “How low will we go in fishing for dinner?“ Science News, Vol. 153, No. 6 (Feb. 7, 1998), pp. 86


(Ball State). T. E. LAUER, J. C. DOLL, P. J. ALLEN, B. BREIDERT, J. PALLA. “Changes in yellow perch length frequencies and sex ratios following closure of the commercial fishery and reduction in sport bag limits in southern Lake Michigan.” Ball State University. Fisheries Management and Ecology, pg. 15 (2008)
http://libapps.uaf.edu:2080/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2400.2007.00567.x

(WWF Trawling). “Fishing Problems: Destructive Fishing Practices.” World Wildlife Foundation. Updated February 29, 2008.

(Royal Society). Hall-Spencer, Jason; Allain, Valerie; Fossa, Jan H. “Trawling Damage to Northeast Atlantic Ancient Coral Reefs.” The Royal Society. Biological Sciences. (2002). http://libapps.uaf.edu:2066/view/09628452/sp020009/02x0148r/0?currentResult=09628452%2bsp020009%2b02x0148r%2b0%2c3F&searchUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fsearch%2FBasicResults%3Fhp%3D25%26si%3D1%26gw%3Djtx%26jtxsi%3D1%26jcpsi%3D1%26artsi%3D1%26Query%3Dcommercial%2Bfishing%252C%2Bcoral%26wc%3Don

(ESA). Estimating Fishery Bycatch and Effects on a Vulnerable Seabird Population, by Rebecca L. Lewison and Larry B. Crowder. Ecological Applications. Ecological Society of America. © 2003
http://libapps.uaf.edu:2066/stable/view/4134691?seq=6&Search=yes&term=bycatch&term=fishing&term=commercial&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dcommercial%2Bfishing%2Bbycatch%26gw%3Djtx%26prq%3Dfishing%2Bjobs%26hp%3D25&item=1&ttl=67&returnArticleService=showArticle


(CNN). Durst, Sidra. “Problem no. 6: Overfishing. Kona Blue’s Deep-ocean Aquaculture Could Help Save Declining Fish Populations.” Business 2.0 Magazine. CNN. January 26, 2007.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/24/magazines/business2/Prob6_Overfishing.biz2/i ndex.htm


(FAO). FAO Fisheries Circular No. 821 (and subsequent revisions), Fish and Fishery products - World Apparent Consumption Statistics based on Food Balance Sheets (1961-2001)
http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/3463#container