Overfishing

Overfishing refers to the act of overexploiting fish such that they reduce to unacceptable limits. The problem occurs if humans harvest large fish quantities than they can be replaced via natural reproduction in a given water body. Although catching large amounts of fish appear profitable, it has dire social and economic consequences. Overfishing interrupts balance of the marine ecosystem. Similarly, majority of the coastal population depends on fishing as their source of livelihood. This implies that the overpopulation causes an economic crisis to both the people who rely on fishing occupation; as well as several people who rely on fish diets. For many centuries, the oceans have been a reliable source of fish diets that replenish naturally. However, since the last half of the twentieth century, extensive fishing practices are risking depleting the natural sources of fish. For an ecosystem to remain in balance, the ecosystem should provide a suitable recovery environment. The objective of this presentation is providing the serious issues that result from overfishing, as well as provide suitable strategies for solving the problem.
STATSTICSAccording the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) SOFIA report, 52% of the fish stock is completely exploited, 20% are moderately harvested, 17% are overexploited, 7% are depleted, and 1% is on the process of recovering from depletion. The data implies that 25% of the global fish population is either depleted or overexploited. In addition, 52% are at optimum exploitation and risk of overexploitation. In total, approximately 80% of the world’s fisheries are depleted, over-exploited, or close to collapsing (Froese, 2004). Overfishing problems HEALTH The marine life imbalance poses a health risk since millions of people depend on fish for nutrition supply. Depletion of some fish species leads to ecosystem imbalance, which may extend to human health. Millions of humans consume seafood, specifically fish, in large supplies to acquire health benefits. Various studies have proven that fish diets are great for a healthy heart, boosting the brainpower, clearing vessels, reduce vulnerability to inflammatory bowel disease, improve skin appearance, as well as eyesight among other health benefits. If the seafood suddenly becomes unavailable to human beings, many people can suffer serious health conditions due to inadequate supply of basic nutrients (Sanchirico & Newell, 2003).
ECONOMIC On the same note, overfishing causes serious economic issues. Millions of people depend on fishing as their source of income. However, depletion of fish supply has forced millions of people to give up a career that has been passed down to them from several generations. In addition, the fishing industry employs numerous individuals both directly and indirectly. For example, the disintegration of the Atlantic Canadian Cod fishery in the 1990s left numerous people jobless. The Canadian economy also lost the income it used to generate from the industry (Froese addition, 2004). The level of unemployment and wealth also decreased significantly after introduction of the strict fishing regulations. The fishmongers, transportation service providers, and packaging companies were closed down in Canada because of the moratorium that restricted fishing activities in Canada. Similarly, New Economics Foundation (NEF) asserted that overfishing cost the United Kingdom 100,000 jobs, as well as US $3.2 billion annually (Fell, 2007).
SOCIAL Overfishing has also been a significant source of social problems. Unemployment is one of the major sources of insecurity in the world. In many Asian and African coastal regions, fish often account up to 50% of employment opportunities and regular diets. Fishing suspensions and reduced catch force people who were depending on fishing income to resolve to unethical methods of earning income such as stealing. In addition, small communities that depend on fishing as their source of livelihood may suffer from health problems caused by poor dieting (Froese, 2004). Extensive malnutrition causes social problems in the form of reduced productivity and vulnerability to dangerous epidemics that may wipe out communities. In poor countries where employment opportunities are limited, overfishing may result in a massive migration. Major cities and businesses in regions that are affected by fishing restrictions often collapse or develop at very slow rate (Newell, 2007).
Overfishing dilemma Since there is no country that owns fish in the oceans, the developed countries with advanced technologies catch big fish quantities than developing nations with poor or no large fishing vessels. As a result, the developing countries with limited capital to invest in the fishing industry have resolved in selling fishing rights to international fishing services. On the same note, many countries have extensive patrols intended to protect unlicensed international fishing vessels from catching waters in other outcries territorial waters. Fishing vessels that are caught catching fish in restricted territorial waters are often subjected to heavy fines. Restrictive policies In various international waters, overfishing is a major problem such that it has made countries affected by the problem to develop various policies aimed at restricting individual vessels from overexploitation of fish. Examples of some of the latest restriction policies that countries have made to prevent overfishing include total allowable catch limits (TAC), season-length restrictions, vessel power and gear restrictions among other measures. In the United States, the country allocates individual fishing quotas (IFQs) and dedicated access privileges (Fell & Sanchirico, 2007).
Strategies for reducing overfishing
Major overfishing control stakeholders The fast increasing population in the world has continuously made overfishing critical problem. Fortunately, environmental experts, nongovernmental organizations, and various countries have created effective measures that can help to suppress exhaustion of fishery resources. The strategies applied in controlling overfishing are tailored to suit the variety of common overfishing methods. Types of overfishing The main types of overfishing methods include ecosystem, growth, and recruitment fishing. Growth overfishing Growth overfishing mainly occurs when fish is harvested at very young age, thereby making it hard for the recruits to regenerate. This problem is mainly controlled through controlling fishing gear such as the net size. Various countries require anglers to use a standardized fishing net that can selectively catch mature fish while allowing the fingerlings to swim out of the trap. The technique has proven efficient since anglers catch mature fish while allowing the young ones time to grow into maturity and regenerate to sustain the aquatic ecosystem (Sanchirico & Newell, 2003).
Recruitment overfishing The recruitment overfishing is another serious fish exhaustion method. However, this depletion method occurs in environments where the rate of harvesting exceeds reproduction rate significantly. This implies that the available adults cannot reproduce quickly enough to prevent exhaustion of the fish species (Sanchirico & Newell, 2003). One of the methods used to mitigate this overfishing problem include establishment of fishing quotas, total allowable catch limits (TAC), individual fishing quotas (IFQs), as well as dedicated access privileges (Fell & Sanchirico, 2007). These are all forms of overfishing restrictions that aim at limiting fishing in given areas that are at risk of exhaustion.
Ecosystem overfishing The ecosystem overfishing occurs in instances when overfishing creates an environmental imbalance. For example, if the anglers target a certain predator fish, herbivorous fish will increase abundantly since there are no predators to control the rate of generation. Increased fish species that depend on plants, such as plankton, leads to quick depletion of the food supply. Over time, the fish population exhausts all the resources in the environment (Sanchirico & Newell, 2003).
Effective overfishing processes Harvest control rule In 2010, environmental researchers proposed a Harvest Control Rule (HCR), which aims at regulating fish harvesting. HCR encompasses a collection of tools and protocols that help anglers to regulate harvest rates and techniques in relation to forecasting the maximum long-term sustainable harvest, as well as stock status. The rules often control regular fishing mortality and the steady catch (Fell, 2007).
Commercial fish farming Some countries have also been encouraging commercial fish farming to supplement natural fish supply. Environmental experts predict that the natural supply of fish will not satisfy the global population in the future, hence the significance of developing alternative sources of fish supply. Artificial farms have proven popular among many farmers since pond owners can create optimum growth condition to enhance fish regeneration speed (Fell, 2007).
The individual transferable quotas (ITQs)The individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are another mitigation approach established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The regulation limits the fish quantity that a fishing vessel or company can catch within given period. The policy varies from one region to another since the permissible quantity of fish within given zones differs significantly. Examples of the countries that have embraced ITQs include the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Iceland. (Matsushita et al., 2008).
Lastly, consumer awareness has also helped in reducing overfishing problem. The consumers are discouraged from purchasing young immature fish as a strategy for ensuring that anglers will respect the international stipulations of harvesting mature fish only