Fishing Anyone?

A major environmental problem has arisen over the last few years. The world's ability to meet its demand for fish from natural sources is in decline and may never recover. The global catch is falling due to overfishing, pollution and marine habitat destruction. Overfishing is a result of excess demand for fish, technological capabilities that allow us to completely decimate a species, and political policies in the US and elsewhere that place the immediate welfare of fisherman higher than the long-term sustainability of the fishery resources. Globalization is also a huge issue that faces fisherman every year.

The globalization issue is two-sided: a globalized market in the absence of globalized cooperation on catch rates is a recipe for disaster because nations compete to get a bigger share of the catch. On the other hand, a globalized market provides an opportunity for international cooperation to create globally sustainable catch limits. Right now, there is a mix of both things occurring since many nations participate in cooperative allocations, while some nations do not participate. Some nations do not even regulate or track their commercial fishing. Thinking of fish as a commodity or resource makes them worth money. Since we need money to survive in a capitalist society means fisherman feel no regret about capturing as many fish as possible to get as much money as possible.

I believe that governments such as the united states should consider putting a limit on catches and monitoring how much fish is caught by each fisher-person. They should also consider reducing the amount of fishing vessels belonging to them and banning factory trawlers from entering our country's waters. The world's governments as a whole should seriously consider halving the world's fishing fleets. Besides from the government and environmental organizations, the public can also do something to help conquer overfishing and its devastating effects. People can help by doing things such as eating less fish and avoiding fish producers who are suspected of drift netting and overfishing. They can also help by joining organizations, and help by educating people about the disadvantages of overfishing.

So does over-fishing really affect us as a race? Yes, every time something is taken from the natural cycle of things, then that affects the whole other cycle. When you look at the food pyramid for aquatic life, fish are usually somewhere in the middle. Without them some species of bears don't have food, without them smaller things like algae and insects become more numerous in their numbers. You need that natural balance in nature to ensure that everything works the way it should. Fishing is no different. You could argue that it affects it positively, less fish to eat algae,