Fishing activities around the world have a big impact on sustainable growth and reproduction of species which live in the ocean. Large scale fishing activities that use advanced processes endanger the wellbeing of fish and other species which live in the ocean.
It is necessary for fishing industries to use better fishing methods in the ocean to ensure that their activities do not endanger the ecological balance. This paper will discuss ways ocean fishing can be made more sustainable.
Ocean fishing has increased at a very fast rate. The international waters are governed by international treaties whose enforcement is weak. Large scale industrial fishing is mainly responsible for the dwindling numbers of fish in the ocean. Trawlers that use large nets with small holes scoop big quantities of fish.
These nets trap fish species that are still breeding which stifles their growth. Fish species do not get the chance to replenish and this severely limits the quantities of fish in the ocean.
Large seine trawlers are responsible for this destructive practice which threatens to make some species to become extinct (National Research Council 116). To reverse this trend, there is a need to use pole and line fishing methods instead of purse seining which destroys marine ecology.
Marine life is vital for ecological balance on planet earth. The total quantity of fish caught from the world’s oceans has increased which has led to over-exploitation. It is estimated that on average, 100 million metric tons of fish are caught annually in the world’s oceans since 2000. Marine resources are getting exploited and there is a growing danger of some marine fish and species becoming extinct.
The fishing procedures have become more advanced yet fish supplies in major oceans have continued to dwindle. Fish industries need to share information with their governments to understand the average sustainable fish yields to be caught from oceans.
Danson and D’Orso argue that breeding grounds such as continental shelves and coastal fringes need to be protected (67). Ocean zones that are close to the shoreline are most vulnerable to over fishing yet they are the most suitable for plankton growth; the main food for many fish species.
The use of the logistic growth curve has failed to conserve fisheries. The logistic curve approach does not take into account the age, the quantity and the reproductive capacity of the fish being caught. The approach does not propose means through which people involved in the fishing industry can be managed.
Ocean ecosystems are interconnected and complex and as such, the logistic growth curve is not a suitable tool for managing ocean fisheries (Helfman 290). The ecological environment in which fish breed and survive has become unpredictable because of the rapid increase in fishing activities. Countries have not agreed on a common way through which restrictions that are imposed on large scale fishing activities are to be observed.
The fourth option of assigning each fisherman a quota is more sustainable. It is necessary to control the manner in which the quotas are transferred. The allocation of quotas should only be done after the equipment to be used for catching fish is assessed and certified to be appropriate (Morissey and Sumich156).
Fishing zones need to be divided to ensure that fishing in vulnerable breeding areas is prohibited. Marine sanctuaries need to be established to protect the biodiversity of the world’s oceans from destruction. Marine sanctuaries offer rare ocean species the chance to breed and replenish their quantities.
Works Cited
Danson, Ted, and Michael D’Orso. Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. London: Rodale, 2011. Print.
Helfman, Gene S. Fish Conservation: A Guide to Understanding and Restoring Global Aquatic Biodiversity and Fisheries Resources. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2007. Print.
Morrissey, John, and James Sumich. Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life. London: Jones and Bartlett, 2011. Print.
National Research Council. Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing Quotas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1999. Print.