Many marine ecologists think that the biggest single threat to marine ecosystems today is overfishing. Our appetite for fish is exceeding the oceans' ecological limits with devastating impacts on marine ecosystems. Scientists are warning that overfishing results in profound changes in our oceans, perhaps changing them forever. Not to mention our dinner plates, which in future may only feature fish and chips as a rare and expensive delicacy.
The fish don't stand a chance
More often than not, the fishing industry is given access to fish
stocks before the impact of their fishing can be assessed, and
regulation of the fishing industry is, in any case, woefully inadequate.
The reality of modern fishing is that the industry is dominated by
fishing vessels that far out-match nature's ability to replenish fish.
Giant ships using state-of-the-art fish-finding sonar can pinpoint
schools of fish quickly and accurately. The ships are fitted out like
giant floating factories - containing fish processing and packing
plants, huge freezing systems, and powerful engines to drag enormous
fishing gear through the ocean. Put simply: the fish don't stand a
chance.
Ocean life health check
Populations of top predators, a key indicator of ecosystem health,
are disappearing at a frightening rate, and 90 percent of the large fish
that many of us love to eat, such as tuna, swordfish, marlin, cod,
halibut, skate, and flounder - have been fished out since large scale
industrial fishing began in the 1950s. The depletion of these top
predator species can cause a shift in entire oceans ecosystems where
commercially valuable fish are replaced by smaller, plankton-feeding
fish. This century may even see bumper crops of jellyfish replacing the
fish consumed by humans.
These changes endanger the structure and functioning of marine
ecosystems, and hence threaten the livelihoods of those dependent on
the oceans, both now and in the future.
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