The Overfishing Problem
Overfishing has become a global problem contributing to biodiversity loss, degrading ecosystems, and enhancing ocean acidification. Not only does the overfishing biologically affect our planet by reducing the species population, the equipment used to partake in this mass fishing also contributes to the plastic pollution on Earth. For instance, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is infamous for covering 1.6 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean in plastic pollutants includes large fishing nets the size of football fields that make up 46% of the entire Garbage Patch. This astonishing figure is rarely referenced but rather, the microplastics accounting for only 8% of the actual Garbage Patch itself, (but it must also be noted that the overall percentage of ocean plastic is fundamentally microplastics), is typically referenced to draw more attention from the big fishing problem. Recently the Netflix documentary “Seaspiracy” referenced our global fishing problem including the ‘Dolphin safe’ marketing scheme and corrupt system that allow large distributors to continue their mass exhaustive fishing process that is detrimental to the planet.
The Plastic Pollution Problem:
The term ‘ghost gear’ refers to lost, abandoned or discarded equipment which is a consequence of the large fishing industry. With roughly 640,000 tonnes of ‘ghost gear’ entering the oceans each year, approximately 10% of total marine plastic pollutants is now made up of this ‘ghost gear’. Although, it is very simple to stop here and assume that this byproduct of mass fishing simply just disposes waste products in the oceans that just float around, we must look further into the detriments caused by this. This form of littering has a large magnitude resulting in animal entanglement, habitat damage (such as coral reefs) and it releases microplastics. But the most ironic effect of this is how the ghost gear undermines fisheries by catching valuable fish stocks which reduces fishing sustainability. The physical pollution caused by overfishing reduces the fishing industry’s sustainability as well as the sustainability of the ecosystems that it destroys.
What is bycatch?
One of the least popularly known problem with overfishing is perhaps the problem of bycatch – which is possibly due to the illegal concepts that are interlinked with this term that would greatly incriminate large organisations. The bycatch of protected species is illegal as well as the practice of throwing back undersized bycatch back into the oceans. But firstly, bycatch is distinguished as a marine species caught unintentionally whilst fishing for another species. Shocking statistics have revealed that over 300,000 dolphins and whales are killed annually as a result of fishing bycatch – and this is just one population of organisms affected. A more staggering statistic is the 11,446 thousand sharks killed on average each hour as a result of bycatch. Each time a human is killed by a shark, a shocking story covers the front of a newspaper or magazine, but what we fail to realise is that there are roughly just over 10 unprovoked shark related deaths each year which can hardly compare to the rough 50 million sharks killed each year as a result of bycatch. Our impact on the shark population and other marine species is greatly diminishing oceanic biodiversity and sustainability.
What can YOU do?
Whilst the problem of overfishing might seem out of reach for the average person to intervene, and even more so for those living in landlocked areas with no coastal access, it does not have to be a big action that takes effect. Overfishing only continues to occur due to the consumer demand and the simplest way to take stance against this problem is by reducing the consumer demand. You could give up a type of fish - such as tuna - that is a large contributor to the fishing industry due to its high demand. You can read about the source of your fish, perhaps read into the plausibility of the ‘Dolphin Safe’ sticker attached to tuna which has previously had its integrity questioned. Signing petitions to advocate for the expansion of marine protected areas to protect biodiversity is another simple step you can take. You could buy more local seafood in order to prevent the source of seafood being from large corporations utilising large fishing equipment that will undoubtedly cause bycatch and is very likely to contribute to the problem of ‘ghost gear’. And finally, encourage others to look into the problem of overfishing and help contribute to reduce the consumer demand and make the fishing industry more sustainable.
