Introduction President Roosevelt’s word ring true and sadly at a point of dire straits. The wonderment and bounty of fish as a sustainable food source is increasingly declining with every day. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports “It is estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of all animal proteins come from aquatic animals” and “of the 30 countries most dependent on fish as a protein source, all but four are in the developing world” showing fish to be a key source of protein for many people of the global community (FOA, 2014). This statistic gives weight to a detriment of society, due to the loss of sustainability of fish, if it lost as a primary source of food. Fish is high in protein, lower in most fats and cholesterols, which are important to everyday dietary needs. Fish has become a more popular choice in protein and the United States is third in the world in seafood consumption (FOA 2014). With the increasing population of the planet and development of resources, fish has become scarce as a food source, even though the Earth is mostly covered in water. Why is that? To better understand the change in the availability and potential of fish as food, this paper will hopefully give insight to how we are losing a great treasure from the oceans and other waterways. The Causes of the Decline The causes of the decline of fish as a sustainable food source come from multiple outlets. Humans and continued to grow and evolve. In our natural growth progression, we have continued to inhabited places outside of, previous boundaries, changing the landscape causing loss of habitats for a land and marine animals. Humans bring new species to areas that become invasive. We also have changed the dynamic of food ... ... middle of paper ... ...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709791> • Jackson, Jeremy BC, et al. "Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems." science 293.5530 (2001): 629-637. • Lohmeyer, Adam M., and James E. Garvey. "Placing the North American invasion of Asian carp in a spatially explicit context." Biological invasions 11.4 (2009): 905-916. • Marchetti, Michael P., Peter B. Moyle, and Richard Levine. "Invasive species profiling? Exploring the characteristics of non‐native fishes across invasion stages in California." Freshwater biology 49.5 (2004): 646-661. • Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. . • Rotschild, B., et al. "Decline of the Chesapeake Bay oyster population: a century of habitat destruction and overfishing." Marine Ecology Progress Series111 (1994): 29-39.
In this entertaining, search into global fish hatcheries, New York Times writer Paul Greenberg investigates our historical connection with the ever changing ocean and the wild fish within it. In the beginning of the book Paul is telling his childhood fishing stories to his friends, that night Paul discovers that that four fish dominate the world’s seafood markets in which are salmon, tuna, cod, and bass. He tries to figure out why this is and the only logical answer he could come up with is that four epochal shifts caused theses wild fish population to diminish. History shows that four epochal shifts happen within fifteen years causing certain fish species populations to diminish. He discovers for each of the four fish why this happened to
One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food, then they condense the food down to nutrients and sometimes developed pearls. Filtering the water helps the oysters to grow, and also helps clean the Chesapeake Bay. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However, these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.
Scientists predict a major population crash of Maine lobsters in the near future, due to over-harvesting, increasing demand, and a lack of successful regulatory measures reflecting such factors. The attempt to introduce various policy measures creating more limited access to the resource has been largely ineffective due to the unique ecological, economic, and social characteristics of the state. Further complicating the issue is the matter of thriving lobster populations during recent years when other marine wildlife populations are experiencing severe losses along the same region of the eastern seaboard. This paper examines the conflict between lobster fishermen, scientists, and policy makers regarding attempts to work toward a more sustainable lobster fishing industry.
Cuddington, K, W. J. S. Currie, and M. A. Koops. “Could an Asian carp population establish in the Great Lakes from a small introduction?” 27 April, 2014.
The control and management of Asian carp in North America is an issue that numerous state and federal agencies have been trying work out ever since the first case of Asian carp being in the waterways of North America. Asian carp are a very difficult species of fish to manage and control because of their fast reproduction rate and that there are no predators in the North American waterways to reduce numbers. These fish are damaging native fish's food sources and habitat. More recently, Asian carp are threatening to invade the Great Lakes which would cause drastic economic and ecological problems. The fight for control of Asian carp is an ongoing battle and one that needs to be solved before it's to late.
All discussions regarding the phenomenon of invasive species will inherently result in the consensus that they are an unwanted or an even evil entity. Ever since the age of exploration humans have been primary dispersers of these so called “exotic” species (Mooney and Cleland 2001). Famous examples include the release of cane toads in Australia (Urban et al., 2008); the rainbow trout (Fausch 2008) and the Japanese Kudzu vine in the southern U.S. (Blaustein 2001) and zebra mussels in the great lakes of Canada (Nalepa and Schloesser 1992). However, documented marine invasions compared with
Data Trends created by California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecological Research Program are provided and used in the experimental process. It is known that climate change can very well affect factors such as stratification and upwelling in a marine ecosystem. However, will these changes affect prey availability to marine birds? Through the experimental process, relationships will be able to be determined relating the different marine populations being studied to one another. Trends and changes in abundance among prey, such as fish and krill, will produce trends and patterns regarding the density of sea birds. In Result, predator-prey interactions and relationships will be able to be charted in the marine ecosystem of Southern
...tlanticcity.com>. Irwin, Neil. "Environmental groups pressure chefs on menus." Washington Post June 19, 2002. April 26, 2011 Miller, Michael. "Group says it won't move oyster farm to Delaware Bay" Press of Atlantic City, The. August 3, 2010. Press of Atlantic City online. Atlantic Cape Community College, Mays Landing, April 26, 2011 National Sea Grant Law Center. California Enacts Sustainable Oceans Act. 2006. University of Mississippi April 28, 2011. Naylor, Rosamon L.
It is estimated that 90% of the big fish in the oceans are disappearing according to CNN. Overfishing has been a big impact on the world today and it has affected many people. Truthfully, overfishing is a big problem today and drastic measures should be taken to prevent it. Fish have been decreasing by too much each year and solutions should be made. Overfishing has become a problem each year and measures should be taken to limit the effects, such as keeping fish in captivity and controlling pollution.
Although, aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of food production in the world and is often viewed and suggested as the future of the fish industry, in its current state it’s not a solution to overfishing. (22).
Overfishing is a harmful practice, that will eventually lead to the collapse of aquatic ecosystems, if it’s not dealt with promptly. Overfishing emerges from the combination of our over consumptive society mixed with the great profits that come from hauling in a good catch. The consumers demand for fish in Japan seems to be at an increasingly high rate due to the enjoyment and cultural values that arise from sushi and other traditional dishes involving seafood. Approximately 23 percent of Japan’s protein intake comes from the ocean, and as a nation consumes 7.5 million tonnes of seafood annually. CITATION
Overexploitation is the overuse of both plants and animals for many different purposes. While humans are dependent on both plants and animals, taking in more than can be reproduced is a big problem. One species being overexploited is fish and other aquatic animals. Fishing has become a very industrialized part of today’s society. Many people also enjoy eating seafood and other types of fish
Many people rely on fishing for both financial and nutritional reasons; not only is it a vital source of food for people around the world, but it also contributes $51 billion to the world’s economy through trade (Tidwell). Fish make up 16% of animal protein consumed by the population, according to a report conducted by Dr. James Tidwell, an expert in the field of aquaculture. Not only is fish a staple in the global diet, but it also employs over 6 million people globally (Teh). According to the NOAA, coral reefs house over 25 percent of all ocean life and fishers rely heavily on coral reefs to supply them with their fish. The survival of coral reefs is vital to the survival of ocean life, but this relationship works vice versa as well.
Approximately 70% of marine production is used directly for human food, and marine fisheries play an important role in food security. Part of the world fish production is reduced to fishmeal and oil used for raising cattle, poultry and pigs and is therefore used as human food indirectly. The ability to catch fish is reflected by the growth of global fish landings, which peaked in the late 1980s at around 90 million tonnes per year. Global fisheries are living on borrowed time. The generally expressed objective of fishery management: to catch the maximum yield that a population can sustain. However, most stocks are being removed faster than they can reproduce and so are actually being mined rather than harvested. Coastal ecosystems produce more than 90% of the food provided by marine ecosystems. Coral reefs alone produce 10-12% of the fish caught in tropical countries and 20-25% of the fish caught by developing nations. Making overfishing one of the main issues regarding marine protection. Giant ships are now using...
Lotze, Heike K., Marta Coll, Anna M. Magera, Christine Ward-Paige, and Laura Airoldi. "Recovery of Marine Animal Populations and Ecosystems." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 26.11 (2011): 595-605. Print.