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Fish could provide us with endless supply of protein. But greed and the growing world population are threatening not only our food, but that of whales, seals, and seabirds as well. The seas around us are rich in fish, and its valuable food source has always been exploited. But with technological advances, we can now catch fish in greater numbers. As a result, many fish populations have fallen drastically, fishing sites around the world have been destroyed, and marine food chains may suffer.
The Problem with Over fishing:
The Fishing in the oceans has provided for generations, but the last 50 years have seen major advances in this industry. Ships now stay at sea for weeks, catching and processing quantities of fish. radar equipment traces schools of fish, huge nets trap vast numbers, and marine communication allows several ships to take part in an operation. The catches can be frozen or canned at sea, so fishing ships can venture father from shore.
The Anchoveta Crisis:
One of the worst examples of the destruction of a fishing site occurred off the coast of Peru. The anchoveta, a tiny anchovy, was caught in enormous quantities as fish meal for animals. In 1970 some 76,000 tons were caught. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned that catches were too high, but this advice was ignored by the fishing industry. In 1972 warm water entered the normally cool water. This natural disaster combined with over fishing cause the total collapse of the anchoveta stock. It will never recover.
Effects on other wildlife:
Krill are two inch long red shrimp found in the Antarctic Ocean. These cold southern waters are rich in plant plankton, which is turn feed animal plankton such as krill, Krill occurs in huge swarms, many miles across. Estimates suggest that there may be as much as 700 million tons of krill in the Antarctic waters. This small shrimp feeds the great whales as well a seals, penguins, other sea birds, squid, and fish.
In the early 1980's people began to harvest krill. Six nations,, including Japan and USSR, are catching it, but the defect this industry will have on the animals that feed on the Krill is unknown. Conservation organizations are pressing for strict fishing regulations. The natural balance has been upset by fishing krill in great quantities and by removing nutrients locked inside krill. While whales return nutrients to the sea throughout the excretions and corpses, fishing ships do not.
Excessive fishing of the sand eel may affect seabirds that eat it, such as the puffin. Sand eels have been fished industrially around Shetland, off of the Scotland coast, since the mid 1970's, but catches have declined. Colonies of seabirds that feed on the fish have also declined dramatically, and some have not bred for several years. Some researches believe the two occurrences are linked.
The Damage to Fishing Areas:For the herring industry in the NOrth Sea, family firms used to sail each night, set their nets, and return in the morning to sell their catch. During the 1960's fishing methods changed with the introduction of larger ships and nets. At the time the stock of herring in the North Sea was estimated at over four million tons; by the end of the 1970's less than a million tons remained. Many fishermen lost their lively hood as catches dwindled. Only the best equipped ships did well.
The cod stocks around Great Britain have also been depleted by excessive fishing, as well as by the effects of pollution and the "cod wars" (when Britain and Iceland argued over fishing rights). The European Community has now set limits for the annual catches of commercially important fish. The herring population seems to be recovering, but the cod is unlikely to recover completely.
There are many examples of damage to fishing sites. In California the sardine fishery collapsed in the 1950's and only begun to recover in the 1970's. In South Africa fishing for pilchards came to a stand still in the 1`970's. Large fleets fishing for shrimp in the shallow in shore waters of the Indian Ocean have destroyed the local peoples traditional livelihood.
What can be Done?:
Properly managed, the fish population could form
a renewable and theoretically endless source of protein. The aim
should be to catch only the number of fish that can be replaced by production
in the following year.
Research suggest that fish populations kept at just below maximum numbers product the most young fish. To keep the populations at this level it is necessary at this level it is necessary to set quotas for catches. It is also necessary to use nets of the correct mesh size to ensure that fish of the right are are caught and to avoid accidentally catching other fish.
Safe guards the fish stock requires international agreement to limit catches. It also requires research into fishing methods that do not damage stocks. If these goals are accomplishes, we can continue to harvest the worlds richest source of protein to everyone's advantage.
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