The Epidemic of
Overfishing
Image yourself waking up on a beautiful
and perfect day. The day is so magnificent that you decide to go fishing. You
load the bed of the truck with everything you will need, and hook up the boat
to have a successful fishing day. When you get to the dock to unload the boat
and all your equipment you notice it is locked and a big sign is up that reads
“Closed No Fishing do to the
Fishing has been going on for many years dating back to
the biblical times. In the Bible, the book of Matthew, chapter 17, verse 27
Christ said “Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea,
and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast
opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto
them for me and thee.” This is also the time where Christ was feeding the
multitude of people on a hill side ranging to about 5,000 people. For many
years fisherman could go out and fish without restrictions. It was not till
about the 2000’s that restrictions were finally placed on fishing. Around the late
1900’s and early 2000’s is when our fishing industries spiked and scientist
started to notice the decrease in fish population. This is also the time the
idea of managing our fish wildlife started. In the state of Texas restrictions on coastal
seining and netting were constructed in 1874. However, in 1895 it became clear
that it was
There are many examples of over-fishing but one that jumps
out the most is the Cod fish. In the early 2000’s Cod fish was one of the many
fish being over-fished. Because of this they started putting caps on how many
fish you could catch and the weight and size of the fish. The science community
has taken the stats of the population from the early 1900’s to now and they
have come up with all fishing industries will be collapsed by 2050. One half of
fish are caught illegally ranking about 50 billion dollars a year. Eighty
present of the entire world‘s fishing stock has been exploited.
Three hundred
thousand whales and dolphins are killed in the fishing nets from all the
fishermen. Ninety present of predatory fish are gone because of the lack of
restrictions and lack of protection for the fish. Eight million square miles of
the great Pacific is two times larger than the United States. 
The solution to preventing
over-fishing is to educate others about the situation and take a stand for
getting better regulations for worldwide fishing industries and not just for
the United States industries. Also we as the people who fish and the wildlife
personnel needs to be more aware of the number of vessels in our waters. Not
only is the number of vessels a problem but also the size. The bigger the boat
is the more fish they can catch and store. Also the wildlife personnel should
set up
It has been said that the science community does not know
what they are talking about when it comes to fish and/or fishing by fishermen.
The same fishermen also say that the science community is just out for their
money and depleting their businesses by putting regulations on their fish. It
is absurd they some fishermen feel this way when in fact the science community
is trying to find a way to help the fishermen in the long road. With the
science behind it, our fish population will rebuild its self in the course of a
few years. It is also absurd to think that there are an endless amount of fish
in the water. As the saying goes “there are plenty of fish in the sea,” in fact
there is not. Just like humans or any other kind of animal in the world the
fish need time to reproduce and rebuild in number to contain their specie.
Third it is absurd that the United States is the only country who has
regulations on their fishing industry. We as in everyone in the world needs to
be on the same page to protect our specie in the waters around us all.
In conclusion like the movie Finding Nemo “fish are
friends.” They need our help to sustain a healthy number in population. Without
our help our oceans will run dry of fish, and the fish as we know them will
become extent like all other animals who have been over hunted through the
years. We need to stand together to stop overfishing and bring awareness to the
situation before it is too late.
Work
Cited
“Effects of Overfishing.” WWF,
World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/winter-2014/articles/effects-of-overfishing.
Bible book of Matthew
chapter 17 verse 27
No comments:
Post a Comment