Paper Example on Overfishing Threatens Marine Ecosystem and Seafood Security

Introduction

Fish and other marine animals play a critical role in the marine ecosystem. Seafood is considered among the nutritious meal that complements a balanced diet. Additionally, fishing activities provide job opportunities to a considerable number of people globally, especially in communities living around the fishing regions. However, people are so desperate for money, thus turning to overfish activities. Overfishing involves removing species of fish from the water body at an alarming rate that they cannot replenish at a given time. Overfishing is a significant issue with considerable impact in the economic sector.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Overfishing Impact on the Economy

Canada and Mexico are some of the countries that have suffered economic loss as a result of overfishing. There used to be a massive population of Cod in the Northern Atlantic a factor that boosted the economy dramatically. However, from the beginning of the 1990s, people in that area began using innovative fishing approaches (Economic Impact - Overfishing Around The World, 2019). These methods characterized bigger and better fishing nets that could locate any fish in the deeper waters of the Northern Atlantic. The population of the codfish began depleting and resulted in the cod moratorium. In 1992, Cods were depleted entirely in the North Atlantic waters. A considerable number of people in Canada depended on commercial fishing for survival. After the depletion of the Cod, an estimated number of 40,000 people lost their jobs ("Economic Impact - Overfishing Around The World," 2019). These communities, especially the people living in the region of Newfoundland, have to yet fully recover. There are two main factors to consider while exploring impacts of overfishing; which are human aspect and marine ecology. Marine ecology is diverse with several issues that include; nature of pollution and food-chain disruption to, especially sharks.

Unemployment and Losses in Fishing Industries

The same problem happened to the communities and industries of the Gulf of Mexico who depended on the recreational fishing sector. In the past decade, the Gulf of Mexico benefited immensely from the diversity of the fish population in their waters. The primary source of their revenue was recreational activities from both local and international tourists. Following massive fish depletion in the area, the recreational activities have declined dramatically. From 2005 to 2009, industries experienced in the Gulf amounted to an average of $13 million annually as a result of reduced fishing trips. Besides, the direct losses that involve revenue spend towards restaurants were estimated to a staggering $33 million ("Economic Impact - Overfishing around the World," 2019). Recently, the fisheries companies in the area have come together to impose hefty policies on catch limits. However, with the massive regulations placed by the fisheries organizations fish depletion is still a problem in the area.

Impacts of Overfishing on the Ecology - Ghost Nets

How Waters are polluted

The Gulf of Mannar is an example of a water environment that has experienced the problem of ghost-nets. Nonetheless, the glory of the area is rapidly declining following fishing activities that have led to the abandonment of fishing nets. In 1986 the Gulf of Mannar had declared a marine park due to its abundant presence of coral reefs at that time. The Gulf has coral beautiful coral reefs covering 110 sq/km ("Underwater ghost-busting to save Indian coral reefs," 2019). Studies show that 46 percent of all the garbages deposited in waters is taken by ghost nets (Bycatch | Threats | WWF, 2019). People pollute waters by leaving the ghost nets in the seas without coming up with a solution; they p[roblem resulting after abandoning the nets is called ocean plastics crisis. Ghosts nets produce toxic chemicals which dissolve into the waters, making it harmful. These needs also block the amount of sunlight that is supposed to reach the coral reefs and therefore they end up decaying. In 2016 alone, twenty-nine percent of the coral reefs located in the northern region died due to overheating (Cesar, 2003). According to the article "Losing our Corals," when corals overheat, they react to the stress by expelling their algae, which results in coral bleaching. Subsequently, if the ocean temperature remains high for as little as eight weeks can lead to coral bleaching (Cesar, 2003).

Impact on Marine Ecology

It is common knowledge that coral reefs are habitats of marine life, and more fish can be caught in the coral reefs. In the Gulf of Mannar, the narrative changed since the ghost-nets have already damaged up to 12 percent of coral reef coverage in the area. It is thus endangering a significant number of marine life which live there. However, a group from Sungathi Devadson Marine Research Institute is focused on restoring the glory of the Gulf of Mannar. The ream having surveyed an area of 5.2km2, the team found 565m2 of the area had been affected by Ghost-nets("Underwater ghost-busting to save Indian coral reefs," 2019). Similarly, in 2017 conservationists reacted to the dumping of used fishing nets in the Coastal regions of Lantau Island. In an attempt to sanitize the waters surrounding Lantau Island, the Hong Kong Water sport team members collaborated with the local environment conservationists and retrieved between 3.5 and 4 tonnes of ghost nets.

Coral reefs are crucial to marine ecology and the entire earth. Coral reefs are a great source of food, aquatic habitat, and economic prosperity. However, coral reefs have been exploited tremendously and are slowly dying. Reefs are considered to contribute about eighty percent of countries income from tourists' attractions (Dulvy et al., 2019). Cho posits that coral reefs have a global economic value of $375 billion a year, providing food and resources for more than 500 million people in over 100 countries and territories (Dulvy et al., 2019). The marine animals depend on the coral reefs for shelter, breeding grounds, and hunting grounds. The World Wildlife Fund states that the destruction of just 1km of coral reef coverage would negatively impact the economic value of fisheries, tourism, and shoreline protection by $137,000 to 1,200,000 US dollars over a twenty-five year period (Dulvy et al., 2019). In 2016 and 2017, major bleaching events had been experienced in our coral reefs, killing half of the shallow water.

Species that are on the verge of extinction due to the impacts of Ghost nets and gillnets include the Vaquita. The Vaquita is a type of marine mammal which is a member of the porpoise family. The only existing Vaquitas are found in the Northern region of the Gulf of California. In 1997, there lived a considerable population of Vaquita, but the number began decreasing between 1997 and 2008 following the escalated use of gillnets which choke the Vaquitas to death ("Vaquita | NOAA Fisheries," 2019). It was recorded that Vaquita's decreased by an alarming rate of 8 percent between 1997 to 2008 ("Vaquita | NOAA Fisher," 2019).

Impact of Overfishing to Human (Nutrition-Sensitive)

Nonetheless, besides the economic causes of overfishing, human beings want to explore deeper seas frequently in search of healthier seafood. People are becoming more health-conscious nowadays. And according to nutritionists, seafood is considered healthier than other kinds of meat. It is regarded as an invaluable animal source that provides nutrients that contribute to the diversity of everyday diets. Most of the people in low-income regions consume seafood which they deem as beneficial for people who suffer from micro-nutrient deficiencies undernutrition. Seafood is preferred for its animal protein, minerals and vitamins, and essential facts. For instance, in China and other Asian regions, Sharks are in high demand for their fins which is used to make fin soup, an expensive delicacy in the Chinese cuisine (Ferretti, 2010). The most abundant species of sharks are under the most threat and are experiencing the most declines (Simpfendorfer, 2019). Especially one of the ones that live in shallow waters that is more accessible to fisheries (Dulvy et al. 2014). The overexploitation of large shark populations is a popular trend because of fin trade; the fins of sharks are considered to be a delicacy in some Asian countries. Currently, over 53% of the sixty-nine targeted "high volume" or "high value" sharks and rays that enter the global fin trade are threatened. Subsequently, even "low value" shark fins make it into this trade, causing declines in smaller shark population as well (Dulvy et al. 2014). Fins are considered essential parts of sharks and shark fin fisheries around the world are overharvesting sharks for their fins (Nutrition-sensitive).

Occasionally, the shark fins that are cut off to make shark fin soup, a dish most popular in China and India, are cut off and sold alongside the rest of the shark, but more often than not targeted shark targeted shark fin fisheries only cut the fins off and then throw the live sharks back into the water to drown just to save space on the boat for more fins, which is a process called shark finning (Unenvironmnt.org, 2019). These fins are very popular in some Asian countries and are often sold for around seven hundred US dollars in Asian markets (Parks 2013). Besides, in the Caribbean, the impacts of Ghost-nets on the destruction of coral reefs are prevalent. According to the World Wildlife Fund, sharks that live around the beaches are threatened with extinction, which is 25% of sharks and rays that reside in the continental shelves (Bycatch | Threats | WWF, 2019). Sharks use the areas as breeding grounds; therefore, the destruction of these areas from the abandoned nets can cause severe harm to the sharks and their young ones.

Overfishing Impact to the Marine Biodiversity- Food Chain Disruption

Overfishing can have a severe impact on marine biodiversity. Each aquatic animal and a plant have a task to play when it comes to moderating the ecology. For marine creatures to survive, they need a certain kind of nutrients and environment, for which they may be reliant on other organisms. Overfishing can bring about the destruction of marine ecology and the environment and interfere with the food chain ultimately. For instance, herring is a critical prey for the Cod, hence when herring are overexploited, the cod population is also affected, and this has a direct influence on other species as well (Dickey-Collas et al. 2010). For example, sea birds like puffins relied on the sandeel as their source of food within the Shetland Islands. With the over-extraction of sandeels, the seabird's population in Shetlands automatically declined. Overfishing also impacts ecological processes at a notable scale. It transforms an efficient, mature, and stable ecosystem into a stressed and immature one.

Similar, found in the Sea of Alaska is the Stellar sea lion a common species of seals. The species are the only living member of their genius. During the early 1800s, the Stellar sea lions were hunted by the indigenous people for food and other products. Following the massive hunt and overfishing of the Stellar Sea lions in the North Pacific, the numbers reduced dramatically. The 1990 Endangered Species Act listed them among the endangered species.

Nonetheless, that was not only the cause of the population reduction. The Stellar Sea lions leading food consists of the Cod, Pollock, and Mackerel. In the Northern Pacific, the Pollock, the Cod, and the Mackerel have been overfished. This has resulted in the decline in the population of the Stellar sea lions ("Steller Sea Lion | NOAA Fisheries," 2019).

An enormous number of various marine species are victims of bycatch. Most of them do not survive and become vulne...