While fishing as much as possible may seem like a profitable practice, it can have very serious consequences. Overfishing is the act of taking marine wildlife at rates too high for the species to replace themselves.
One of the main causes of overfishing is open access fisheries. Open access fisheries allow unlimited access to catch fish. Because there are few property rights, there is little incentive for fishermen to leave fish in the water. The few regulations that are in place are not strong enough to limit fishing capacity to a sustainable level. Furthermore, many retailers cannot ensure that the fish they buy are caught in a sustainable way.
The technology used to harvest fish is also another contributing factor to overfishing. For example, gill nets are very unsustainable because they do not target a particular fish species. New technology also allows boats to store exponentially more fish than they used to be able to, leading to overfishing. Industrial fishing takes only 10-15 years to wipe out a 10th of the species that is targeted, making it also very unsustainable. That 10th could be any species out in the deep blue. According to the United Nations of Food, 70% of the world's fisheries are “over exploited” “fully exploited” or “significantly depleted”. Industrial fishing, which uses these new technologies, takes only 10-15 years to wipe out a 10th of the species that is targeted.
One of the main causes of overfishing is open access fisheries. Open access fisheries allow unlimited access to catch fish. Because there are few property rights, there is little incentive for fishermen to leave fish in the water. The few regulations that are in place are not strong enough to limit fishing capacity to a sustainable level. Furthermore, many retailers cannot ensure that the fish they buy are caught in a sustainable way.
The technology used to harvest fish is also another contributing factor to overfishing. For example, gill nets are very unsustainable because they do not target a particular fish species. New technology also allows boats to store exponentially more fish than they used to be able to, leading to overfishing. Industrial fishing takes only 10-15 years to wipe out a 10th of the species that is targeted, making it also very unsustainable. That 10th could be any species out in the deep blue. According to the United Nations of Food, 70% of the world's fisheries are “over exploited” “fully exploited” or “significantly depleted”. Industrial fishing, which uses these new technologies, takes only 10-15 years to wipe out a 10th of the species that is targeted.
One of more obvious outcomes of overfishing is that many species of fish will become endangered. This leads to mislabelling and species substitution. For example studies by the University of Oviedo, Spain, in 2004, 2006 and 2010 found that between 31 and 39 percent of hake fish were found to be mislabeled as cheaper African hake rather than the more expensive European-caught or American-imported hake. Overfishing and increasing demand for fish leads to there not being enough fish available in the market.
One way to help prevent overfishing to support a campaign, such as the world wildlife fund. Additionally one of the best ways to help fight against overfishing is to make smart consumer choices. Only eat sustainable seafood. An easy way to do this is to see if the fish have the Marine Steward Council sustainable seafood seal of approval. The consequences of overfishing are detrimental and the time to act is now!
One way to help prevent overfishing to support a campaign, such as the world wildlife fund. Additionally one of the best ways to help fight against overfishing is to make smart consumer choices. Only eat sustainable seafood. An easy way to do this is to see if the fish have the Marine Steward Council sustainable seafood seal of approval. The consequences of overfishing are detrimental and the time to act is now!