Ocean Fisheries
Most people are familiar with the problems
of the blue whale, efforts to save
endangered sea turtles, and the many
tragic tales of dolphins dying in tuna
nets. Many people do not realize the
extreme danger that tuna and many other
fish face. There is an alarming
decline in fish populations, and this poses a
dangerous threat to life in the
ocean. If fish decline, so does the sea, into
and unstable environment.
Conservation measures, and public support for them are
badly needed. For
decades man has taken fish out of the sea, seeming to believe
that there is
an endless supply, and that this supply cannot be destroyed. We
take these
fish out of the sea faster than they can be replaced. According
to
National Marine Fisheries services, 90 fish species found off the
shores of the
U. S. have been depleted. Many more are in danger off being
killed off. Fish and
shell fish that are at danger include: cod, flounder,
swordfish, bluefin tuna,
blue marlin, Atlantic lobster, red snapper, salmon
and some species of shark.
These are just a few and the list gets longer
every year. The chief problem of
the fish numbers being at an all-time low,
is over fishing. Yet another
environmental problem caused by the human race.
Modern, technologically-advanced
fishing fleets have the capacity to push
most fish populations to the brink of
extinction. Modern fishing fleets have
large factory steam trawlers that can
easily haul in net loads of up to 100
metric tons of fish. These vessels can
work fishing grounds for many months
at a time. Echo sounding has been useful to
fisherman by locating and
determining the species and size of fish shoals.
Airplanes and
helicopters are even used to detect the surface fish. Some species
such as
squid are attracted with strong lights and then sucked into the ship
with
powerful vacuum pumps. Because of these improved technologies more fish
can
be harvested, but about one-fourth of the global catch, ( over 20 million
tons
of fish and other marine animals) are discarded yearly by fisherman.
Some of
these fleets throw away more fish than they keep. This waste is a
problem in
almost every fishery. The threat of over fishing is increased be
the threat of
large-scale changes to marine ecosystems. Most salt water fish
spend most of
their time near coastal areas, but the problem is that these
coastal waters are
being assaulted by pollution and development. Without
healthy, functioning
coastal systems, fish cannot grow or reproduce, they
simply cannot and will not
survive. There are a number of steps that can be
taken in order to conserve our
waters and the fish in them. One big thing we
can do is crack down on the
companies and the people that are harming the
environment. We could have harsher
punishments for those committing crimes
against our oceans, and the ocean
wildlife. Another thing that could cut down
on over fishing is to fine companies
that over fish a large amounts and use
that money to put back into our waters.
If something is not done about
the problems of over fishing and water pollution,
permanent changes will take
place in the ocean food chain. The predator-prey
relationships of the ocean
will cease to exist. These relationships, which took
millions of years to
evolve, will be destroyed. The depleting fish populations
will alter and
damage the genetic and species diversity of the ocean world. If
we could
understand the meaning of moderation, perhaps over fishing would not be
a
problem that our environment would have to endure.