More than half of the people on earth live within 193km of the ocean, but even those who live nowhere near the ocean are dependent on the massive saltwater ecosystem that covers nearly three-fourths of our planet.
SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE OCEANS
Sustainable use of the oceans refers to the maintaining or conserving of the ecological balance in the ocean by avoiding the depletion of natural resources and marine life.
Today’s ocean managers are challenged to use scientific knowledge of fish and replace regulated fisheries with well managed sustainable resources. This can be accomplished by implementing tools such as:
• Marine reserves
• Protected areas
• Strict catch limits
• Introduction of ocean conservancy
Ocean conservancy:
Ocean conservancy works everyday to ensure healthy and sustainable food for populations, it:
• Promotes sustainable fishing policies and practices to ensure the future of both fishermen and fish
This is used to restore oceans and strengthen coastal economies. It helps make fish abundant and has proven to be successful with species such as the red snapper, ...
...e use of FAD-associated purse seine caught tuna and will only sell tuna caught using environmentally responsible methods, currently defined to include pole & line and un-associated purse seine.” (JW). Some other conservation groups include the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission who works with the Government of member nations in the group to examine the human effects on tuna population and give recommendations on the amount that should be caught to keep a sustained population. WWF is another large group who collaborate with numerous other groups to help the population. Two such collaborations are with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) who work by certifying tuna fisheries, and encouraging retailers to buy from MSC certified fisheries and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation who help in the conservation and management of tuna populations (WWF).
In February of 2010, a woman named Dawn Brancheau died while working as an animal trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. There has been a large amount of debate about the circumstances surrounding her death—some say she slipped and fell, while others say that she was dragged in by one of the orcas, Tilikum. The controversy over her tragic death brought this question to the surface: should parks like SeaWorld be closed down for safety reasons? While this argument has been going on for a long time, the death of Brancheau spurred a wave of debates about whether the park should be allowed to remain open. On one side, people believe the parks should be shut down and the animals should be released from captivity in an effort to protect the animals and the humans. On the other side of the argument, people believe the parks should be kept open because of the benefits they offer to the world in education and conservation. In light of SeaWorld’s recent transitions, I believe the park should remain open to the public.
There are many impacts that fishing and land animal farming have on the ocean, which are detrimental to ocean ecosystems as well as many other aspects of the environment. Overfishing, killing fish at a much quicker rate than the fish can repopulate, is one major problem. Three-fourths of the world’s fisheries are either fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted (Cowspiracy). Researchers have estimated an end of all viable fisheries by 2018 if the current trends of fishing continue (Mason). According to the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, hundreds of thousands of animals die every year as bycatch, with one of the worst offenders being shrimp fisheries, catching up to six pounds of bycatch per pound of shrimp. Endangered species are also caught, including predators which are important in keeping the balance in ocean ecosystems (Smith). While many organizations such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch recommend consumers to eat more “sustainable” fish, this will not stop the massive environmental impacts. Sustainable fishing for one does not account for the natural flux in the population of species of fish; what is considered a sustainable amount of fish to harvest one year may deplete the fishery in another year (Smith). Sustainable fish also are becoming even less sustainable as companies that label sustainable fish must find more For example, after Wal-Mart pledged to selling Marine Stewardship
Since nearly the beginning of human history fishing has been an integral part of the culture and survival of coastal communities. These coastal communities and cities have always been some of the most prosperous and successful because of the added resource of the ocean. In the beginning many areas were so densely populated with fish and shellfish that often a day’s worth of food could be caught by simply wading into the shallows. For example, some of the first English settlers to see the Chesapeake Bay described “The abundance of oysters is incredible. There are whole banks of them so that the ships must avoid them. . . . They surpass those in England by far in size, indeed, they are four times as large. I often cut them in two, before I could put them into my mouth” (Miller). This abundance had every appearance of being as infinite as the ocean that produced it but the reality was far different. Many fish stocks, including the oyster, stayed near these high levels even into the beginning of the industrial era. However the new rapid pace of technological advancement proved too much for many stocks to handle. Close shore stocks took most damage as they were the easiest to exploit. Those same oyster colonies that were once an obstacle for boats were nearly eradicated by “the 1890s harvests began to decline. Many oyster beds were destroyed and reefs had been mined away. By the 1920s, the boom was over…” (Miller). While catastrophes like this inspired many sustainable practices there are still fisheries worldwide that are headed for a similar end. Through ignorance and misinformation from the fishing industry most of the general public does not know that this is occurring. The following will serve to inform about the t...
Broad Context Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fisheries resources so that sustainable exploitation is possible,” (FAO, 2005). Fisheries management also involves legal governance of the ocean activities at an international or national level (Jentoft, Bavinck, Johnson, & Thomson, 2009). The Government of Canada created processes, tools, and systems to implement and monitor activities in the sea. For example, In 1867, the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was formed to issue licenses, create operational seasons, document catches, establish quotas, and enforce regulations regarding the quantity of those stocks fished and future total allowable catches (Campbell, 2017).
The ocean is an abundant source of life. It is home to thousand of different creatures, provides a great source of food, and provides the earth with about one half of the oxygen needed to sustain life. (National Geographic) Pollution especially plastic, is a catastrophic problem. Ironically plastic, which is a material designed to last forever is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides either way it finds its way to the ocean.(Biomass Packaging Co., et al)
middle of paper ... ... With guidance from Edgar’s research, future MPAs should be designed to incorporate the five key features discussed, and in relation to these factors additional consideration should be given to the future activities that may influence an MPA’s effectiveness, for example future marine uses such as alternative forms of energy. This is where the Halpern’s suggestion to focus more on ecosystem-based management approaches may present a possible means to do so, as this approach addresses the wider-scope issues that will impact the world’s oceans on a global scale and may help limit effects, outside the boundaries of MPAs, that could potentially shape and alter the ability of an MPA to achieve its conservation goals.
Overfishing has become a huge problem for today’s oceans. A total of almost 80% of the world's fisheries are fully- to over-exploited, depleted, or in a state of collapse. Overfishing is exactly what it seems like it would be. The act of “fishing too much” is when fishermen are catching fish so fast and with a high occurrence that the fish are not able to reproduce quickly enough to regrow the population in the respective bodies of water. This problem has gotten progressively worse as we humans are now relying on fish as a food resource even more then the past and the equipment and techniques used by the fishermen have made it easier and more efficiently for more fish than ever to be caught. Even though overfishing
For several years now, overfishing has been in the spotlight as one of the most important environmental issues we can actually solve. As time goes on, our oceans are emptying incredibly quickly; over the course of the past few generations, the amount of available fish in the ocean has changed dramatically. This is largely due to the fact that technology has evolved in such a way that it allows for more effective mass fishing. As we develop new techniques to catch more fish, the level of technology begins to overwhelm the number of fish left to take. Even though this extreme and often illegal loss of fish is shocking, this issue is one that can be worked on and perhaps even solved.
The first 200 miles off a country’s coast access to resources is not regulated, meaning anyone with a boat can fish in these areas (Slow food 43). ¨The stability of ecological communities depends largely on the interactions between predators and prey¨ (DUJS 1). They have also destabilized food chains and harm the ecosystem. The FAO stated about twenty-five percent of the world's captured fish end up being discarded because they are unintentionally caught, are illegal market species, or lack size and weight (DUJS 1). ¨CFP rules force fishermen to dump billions of dead fish because they are too small or the wrong species¨ (Debating Europe 1).
The number of depleted fish populations, and affected marine ecosystem reflect that management has failed to reach its overall goal of sustainability. The failure is directly linked with increasing harvest rates, derived from economic and sociopolitical pressure for greater harvests. Internationally, many countries do not have fishery management policies, and when in existence they are rarely enforced due to the need to maintain quotas. However many nations have begun to regulate annual fish catch. For example the European Union set quotas which are based on scientific recommendation from International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
According to Save the Fish, Save the World Foundation, they plan to “eliminate all forms of overfishing encompassing all species currently being overfished, while also continually to educate the youth in realizing the negatives of this practice to prevent history from repeating itself,” (SFSW, 1). The main action required to complete the plan is cooperation and support. In order to function correctly the most powerful and influential countries will have to sign and agree on the creation of the new organization so that it will have the power to persuade. Money and resources will also be required to carry out plans. This method will only allow the fishing to be caught where the ish is allowed to be caught, while also keeping in mind of how much fish is actually being caught and those countries and fisheries that disagrees will be tremendously fined as a whole.
There is therefore different perceptions of the socio-economic benefits and risk of aquaculture development. Proof from available surveys of peoples attitude on socio-economic concerns recommends that the strongest reaction of aquaculture is generally seen when local communities benefit directly from the industry (Katranidis, Nitsi and Vakrou, 2003; Whitmarsh and Palmieri, 2009; Mazur and Curtis, 2008). In developing countries, mostly, small-scale aquaculture development can support expansively to local communities as a supplier of healthy animal protein to grow the nutrition of poor people (Irz et al., 2007; Ahmed and Lorica, 2002). Adding, aquaculture growth can boost the supply of fish in local markets making it less expensive and affordable (Irz et al., 2007). Correspondingly, in Canada and Europe, customer surveys show that farmed seafood (especially salmon) is normally seen as cheaper and available year-round, compared with wild-caught fish thus enabling people to eat fish more frequently (DFO, 2005; Claret et al., 2014; Amberg and Hall, 2008; Vanhonacker, Pieniak and Verbeke, 2013). Also, information from focus-group discussions in seven European countries shows that the public identify the economic benefits of fish farming which are higher employment rates, better income and economic development in rural areas (Schlag and Ystgaard, 2013). This
The ocean can serve man purposes things for many different people; as a school, a home, a park...
Ignorance, unemployment, poverty, greed and lack of discipline are only some of the factors that have led to the growth in popularity of Cyanide and Dynamite fishing. These dangerous fishing methods may not seem like a big deal but in the long run it can bring tragic consequences. We share this earth with not only other humans, but with other animals and organisms. Neither one of us can survive without the other, and wiping out coral reefs through Cyanide and Dynamite fishing wipes out hundreds of other species that are crucial to the ultimate survival of our planet. There are better and safer fishing methods that we can practice which will allow coral reefs and their environments to grow and thrive. We always have a choice, so let’s make the choice to be more aware and help rather than hurt those we share our planet Earth with.