We are CLOSE TO losing ENTIRE species as well as CRUMBLING ecosystems.
OUR OCEANS ARE NOT AN ENDLESS RESOURCE.
Overfishing is when we catch fish at rates too high for a species to replace themselves through natural reproduction. It isn't a new problem- in fact, the first example was in the 1800s when we decimated the whale populations. What were we after? Their blubber for lamp oil! As one can imagine, this is highly disruptive to the food chain, and if not properly managed overfishing can become a global and catastrophic disaster.
But we're not just talking about the damage it will do to ecosystems and the balance of life in our oceans. If not checked, overfishing can lead to the social and economic downfall of many coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life. Not to mention the billions of people who rely on fish as their source of protein!
The last fifty years have been hit hard by commercial fisheries as technology advancements allow them to fish deeper and for longer than ever before. A study of catch data published back in 2006 in Science predicted that if fishing rates continue apace, all the world's fisheries will have collapsed by the year 2048.
Two-thirds of the worlds fish are overfished and depleted. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing (in other words, poaching) is estimated to account for 20-30% of the global catch.
Pushing these fisheries past their biological limits means we are in need of very strict management plans to restore them. We need organisations to work with stakeholders to reform fisheries management worldwide, and put a strong focusing on sustainable practices that not only help conserve our precious ecosystems, but help keep people employed while ensuring food security. The good news is, we have some tech companies like Google and Vulcan already working with powerhouses like Oceana and The Nature Conservancy to analyze data and drive down the cost of monitoring - a big part of effective management!
Overfishing is when we catch fish at rates too high for a species to replace themselves through natural reproduction. It isn't a new problem- in fact, the first example was in the 1800s when we decimated the whale populations. What were we after? Their blubber for lamp oil! As one can imagine, this is highly disruptive to the food chain, and if not properly managed overfishing can become a global and catastrophic disaster.
But we're not just talking about the damage it will do to ecosystems and the balance of life in our oceans. If not checked, overfishing can lead to the social and economic downfall of many coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life. Not to mention the billions of people who rely on fish as their source of protein!
The last fifty years have been hit hard by commercial fisheries as technology advancements allow them to fish deeper and for longer than ever before. A study of catch data published back in 2006 in Science predicted that if fishing rates continue apace, all the world's fisheries will have collapsed by the year 2048.
Two-thirds of the worlds fish are overfished and depleted. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing (in other words, poaching) is estimated to account for 20-30% of the global catch.
Pushing these fisheries past their biological limits means we are in need of very strict management plans to restore them. We need organisations to work with stakeholders to reform fisheries management worldwide, and put a strong focusing on sustainable practices that not only help conserve our precious ecosystems, but help keep people employed while ensuring food security. The good news is, we have some tech companies like Google and Vulcan already working with powerhouses like Oceana and The Nature Conservancy to analyze data and drive down the cost of monitoring - a big part of effective management!
How does overfishing + bycatch hurt sharks?
This Conservation piece sums it up pretty nicely:
"Since most commercially caught fish are predators, fishing and shark finning are resulting in a rapidly decreasing number of predators in the marine ecosystem. Our research suggests that this removal of predators is likely to lead to a increase in ocean ecosystems’ CO2 production, and ultimately that fishing and shark finning are contributing to climate change. The reason for this increase in carbon dioxide production is based on a simple and well-founded ecological principle taught to biology students in schools, that energy and biomass are not efficiently transferred through the food chain. Typically, a predator population will only gain 10% of the biomass of the prey it consumes.
Predators have the potential to reduce the biomass of prey species such as small fish and zooplankton (small animals in the water column). Removing the predators, therefore, can result in a large increase in these low level populations – in fact, due to inefficient energy transfer, this increase could be up to 90% more in terms of biomass than the weight of the predators removed. This results in more respiration occurring, and therefore more carbon dioxide production."
"Since most commercially caught fish are predators, fishing and shark finning are resulting in a rapidly decreasing number of predators in the marine ecosystem. Our research suggests that this removal of predators is likely to lead to a increase in ocean ecosystems’ CO2 production, and ultimately that fishing and shark finning are contributing to climate change. The reason for this increase in carbon dioxide production is based on a simple and well-founded ecological principle taught to biology students in schools, that energy and biomass are not efficiently transferred through the food chain. Typically, a predator population will only gain 10% of the biomass of the prey it consumes.
Predators have the potential to reduce the biomass of prey species such as small fish and zooplankton (small animals in the water column). Removing the predators, therefore, can result in a large increase in these low level populations – in fact, due to inefficient energy transfer, this increase could be up to 90% more in terms of biomass than the weight of the predators removed. This results in more respiration occurring, and therefore more carbon dioxide production."
Sharks are targeted in numerous fisheries, and they also are snagged as bycatch in many fisheries such as those targeting tunas and swordfish.
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wait... what is bycatch?The definition of bycatch is the "unwanted fish and other marine creatures trapped by commercial fishing nets during fishing for a different species." Longlines, trawling and the use of gillnets are some of the fishing methods that commonly result in bycatch. Bycatch can be fish, like sharks, but it also includes other animals like dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and seabirds that become hooked or entangled in fishing gear. Many animals caught as bycatch die. |
The easiest way to help combat this problem? Choose sustainable fish!