Environmental Writing

3/3/21 Issue of the Week-Overfishing

By AmandaREO and capricornwriter

A peaceful, remote, and gorgeous river, birds singing and fish jumping, a slight breeze a wisp through your hair as you cast your fishing line into a gushing river. Or at least, that's how fishing seems to be imagined. Unfortunately, everything isn't always as it seems. What happens when too many marine animals are fished? How will it affect ecosystems? How will it affect us? What can you do to help?

Overfishing is what happens when commercial fishing industries harvest more fish than needed. Overfishing is one of the main causes of many marine animals being extinct and endangered. As well as harming marine life, it harms the environment and human life. Over one-third of all fish are affected by overfishing, and it's hard to track and observe all the impacts on marine ecosystems that overfishing is causing. Overexploiting our oceans is devastating them, and the impacts are frightening. Capture fisheries produced 94.4 million tons of fish in 2018 because the demand for fish has grown 527% from 1990 to 2018. The global amount of fish will decrease by 3-25% by the end of this century. The United States consumes five billion pounds of seafood each year, and 90% of seafood from fisheries and 30% of wild-caught seafood in the United States has been imported from other countries that don't have sustainable management of fishing like the United States has. Even then, the United States isn't perfect. There are a few laws regarding overfishing, like the Magnuson-Stevens Act. But, currently, that law is being fought over in the U.S. Congress. It's estimated that, by 2048, the oceans will be nearly empty of fish if we don't curb overfishing now.

To help prevent marine animal extinction and overfishing, on January 1, 2018, the United States government established a law to protect endangered animals from being fished. Many sea animals were protected, and fishers were not permitted to fish in certain areas. Yet, even after the law was established, many people still fished in illegal spots, as well as caught protected species. This is called illegal fishing. Illegal fishing is one of the main factors in overfishing, and illegal fishers ignore most rules and regulations. They don't report their catches, use illegal (probably harmful) fishing gear, fish without the required license, and change the names on vessels so authorities don't catch them. Sometimes illegal fishers use cyanide, chemicals, and explosives to fish, which causes many other marine animals and habitats to be destroyed. Not only does illegal fishing hurt habitats and marine animals, but people as well. Since the United States imports 5.3 billion pounds of seafood each year, it's hard to tell if the food is caught legally or illegally. Not only is it unsustainable, but many countries that we get our seafood from have illegal fishing practices that have been linked to human rights violations. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), "Illegal fishing threatens marine ecosystems, puts food security and regional stability at risk, and is linked to major human rights violations and even organized crime." Overall, illegal fishing costs billions of dollars in losses globally, as well as the many environmental impacts.

Animals like whales, dolphins, fish, sea turtles, sea birds, and even coral reefs are hurt or killed unintentionally by fishers. This is called bycatch. There are thousands of miles of nets lining the ocean, catching all sorts of species in their wake. Another way of fishing is longlining, which is where hundreds of thousands of hooks hang from a durable string and collect sharks, sea turtles, juvenile fish, and other animals that aren't targeted. Those are just a few of the many inconsiderate ways of commercial fishing. These animals are often discarded if they aren't killed, because either the fishers aren't allowed to keep them, don't want them, or can't sell them because of fishing laws (although we've already gone over how people are breaking those laws). The bycatch are harmed in ways that make them unable to reproduce or take care of themselves if they aren't dead already, which makes them as good as dead biologically. Did you know a whopping 40% of all fish are caught unintentionally? According to Reef Conservation International, fishing bycatch kills over 100 million sharks, 250,000 loggerhead and leatherback turtles, 300,000 small whales and dolphins, 300,000 sea birds, and 27 million tons of marine life that are thrown away because of fishing bycatch each year! Where there is fishing, there is bycatch, but when it's taken to this extent by overfishers, it becomes an incredibly significant issue.

One of the biggest impacts of overfishing is its effect on ecosystems. When too many animals are killed, the rest of the ecosystem and food chain suffers. All ecosystems depend on each other, so when one gets disrupted it affects other ecosystems. For example, overfishing is killing off turtles and coral, which are already so close to extinction, by destroying ecosystems around it. Overfishing has even impacted the size, reproduction, and rate of fish growth, not to mention the oil and chemicals that are released and spilled into the ocean by the ships and vessels used to fish. These spills kill wildlife, destroy habitats, and poison important food sources. Since fish are one of the most highly traded foods, with a $362 billion industry, millions of people depend on fish for food and jobs. Overfishing kills marine life that people need for their livelihood, especially in smaller coastal towns. Oil spills also drive away tourists, force the closure of fisheries, and shut down hiking and navigation routes from coastal towns that depend on these things for financial vindication.

After hearing all the awful things overfishing causes, you're probably wondering what you can do to fix this issue. Luckily, you can take many measures to help, from informing others about overfishing to choosing more sustainable seafood.

Eating sustainably has a big impact on overfishing. Sustainable seafood is seafood that is farmed or caught with minimum impact on the environment. Sustainable seafood sources do their best to prevent overfishing and harm to animals and ecosystems. You can ask grocers, waiters, or the company you will be eating or buying seafood from where they get it. It's best if the seafood is from the United States, especially local places, because, as we've said, the U.S. has more laws promoting sustainability. If they don't know where their seafood is sourced, it might be a good idea to go for another option. By asking, you would also be raising attention and will inspire others to learn more about where their seafood comes from. A way you can tell if your seafood is sustainable is to see if there is a blue fish tick on the product's package. Seafood with the blue fish tick symbol is certified sustainable seafood. A good place to get sustainable seafood and prevent yourself from supporting overfishing is to go to seafoodwatch.org, where they have a list of seafood that is not overfished and seafood that is. Some endangered seafood that you should stay away from includes eel, halibut, Atlantic cod, sea bass, and bluefin tuna. Finally, inform others about overfishing.

Now that you've learned all about overfishing, we hope that we've enlightened your perspective on seafood. Overfishing is an incredibly critical issue that not many people are aware of, and is in fact the biggest threat facing ocean ecosystems today. Our impacts on the ocean and its animals are something we should all be responsible for and knowledgeable of, because if we don't--well, the effect is already catching up to us. Marine life is so fascinating and precious, and there is so much to learn. Overfishing is preventing us from being able to enjoy the beauty and making discoveries of the ocean. We hope all of you recognize this, and do your part to save our oceans.