As humans, we have the pleasure of choosing what we will stand on and die on, for some it deals with cats and dogs, for others it comes in the form of protecting the forest, for others it protects the environment from mining and the list goes on. One thing that mining and overfishing have in common is how they can negatively affect the environment. When mining is the cause of environmental disaster and fish loss this usually comes with stiffer regulations that help limit or stop the exposure of toxins into lakes and water levels that kill fish. What is important to think about is the loss of marine life that happens from these disasters, and the most important thought of this Essay is the damage that overfishing does to the environment, economy, and fish species. Some fish species that have felt the heavy impact of overfishing are Sturgeon, Grouper, and Flounder, as well as multiple other species of fish that will be looked at in this essay. Some examples of how these fish have been caught are Gill nets, Trawling is a primary way for commercial fisheries to collect fish and we will be using one of these examples called "bottom trawling" and the use of another commercial fishing use of Long Lines. Looking deeper into this essay you will see the negative effects of these fishing practices as well as the species and environments affected.
One of the first thoughts that come to mind is, how does the government know if fish species are in danger? How does the government know what species need to place fish on a protected status? How does the government know which fish species are ok to be harvested and to what degree can they be harvested? We find from one of the authors (Trevor D. Davis, 2012) that fisheries are required to keep a log of fish caught called, "What is the status of Marine fishes according to fisheries" and then it is compared with the government standard called "conservation red list metrics" which gives a rough estimate of how these fish species have been affected by fishing.
The way that these fisher people catch their fish was mentioned earlier in paragraph one of this essay, just to help bring back to the forefront of the memory the three primary ways are what again is called Gill nets, Trawling and an example of this that will be looked at is "Bottom Trawling", then Long Lines. What is important to remember again is how the fisher people and the government get their information for their fish logs and then they can compare this information to the conservation red list metrics. The question then becomes important, "why are these three fishing tactics looked at? Why are we mentioning again the logs for the fishing metrics?". Why these become important is due to what is caught in each of these individual fishing lines that can hurt, maim, kill, or hopefully be able to release these fish with no harm. Let's look at the first commercial fishing method that was mentioned; Gill nets, this commercial fishing strategy uses large nets with multiple holes for fish to swim into and then they get caught in those holes or they get their gills wrapped in the net. Since this is just a floating net a large boat or engine is not needed for the fisher people and can be used fairly easily in underdeveloped countries. The problem with the Gillnet is it is more prone to catching all species of marine life, including endangered species, including turtles. The second form of commercial fishing is trawling, even though there are multiple types of trawling the one that is important to review is the bottom trawling. This form of commercial fishing uses a weighted net to help drop itself down to the bottom of the ocean, and the damage really begins when it is being drugged behind the boat, this requires a massive engine and a large ship to be able to harvest in-mass the larger fish at the bottom of the ocean. This has a really bad side effect of getting caught in rocks and also has the ability to damage coral, as was mentioned with the Gillnet all sorts of aquatic life is capable of being pulled into the nets and being brought up to the surface. Allowing a higher chance for these fish to be returned to the water alive. But if the captains of the ships aren't careful they can disrupt the oceanic life by leaving pieces of the net behind due to being caught up in the rocks. The third commercial fishing mentioned is the long lines, for fishing this sounds pretty explanatory, these long fishing lines are dropped off into the water and are left to float with bated hooks every few feet. The species caught are usually targeted and effective, the only type of creatures that can be affected are seagulls, sharks, and other species of oceanic life that live closer to the surface of the water. This becomes more of a problem in underdeveloped countries where technologies and catch rates are not monitored more closely. In developed countries they are developing hooks and other riggings to better protect all different aquatic life (Marine Stewardship Council, 2024). With all this information and some understanding of what these fishing tactics look like, where does this information go? It goes back to the fishing logs, as well as the government fishing logs. These logs also include the species of fish that are endangered and need to be reported for tracking.
Some freshwater examples of fish that have been harvested are the White Sturgeon, and the Amazon's Fresh Water Stingrays, Tambaqui, and Pacu. The other fish examples that will be mentioned will be Groupers, Snappers, Flounder, and Cod. These fish are found all over the world as was just discussed but overfishing isn't limited to just one or two areas but worldwide. The White Sturgeon for example is found at one time in abundance but due to overfishing has decimated the species, these amazing giants are found in the Pacific Northwest, and Russia. In North America you can find this species in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and British Colombia, due to the aging population these numbers are declining substantially and may be gone by 2030 (Jackson, 2006). The Sting Ray as was mentioned comes from the Fresh Waters of the Amazon and is protected as it takes a long time for this fish to mature and reproduce (Erik Sokstad, 2017), The Pacu and Tambaqui of the Amazon are prized fish that help feed the local and indigenous population of the Amazon and these amazing fish help with establishing new life in the rivers and the banks of the Amazon by helping spread seeds, and also fertilizer. Other fish like the Groupers, Snappers, Flounder, and cod can be found all over the oceans of the world, but for the data its important to know of the locations of some of these fish, and the type of environment that they live in. The Cow cod that was mentioned is found on the Coast of California as an example. Groupers can be found on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, the coast of Brazil, and in southeast Asia. What's important to note about these habitats is the fish live near the Coral Reefs of the world, so "Deep Trawling" can tear up the ecosystem when they are fishing for these fish. Not to mention that they have now become a protected species (Craig, 2012). Snappers can be found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans travel in schools, or live among the coral reefs. For the snappers that travel in "schools," this makes them easily harvested with trawling. Whereas the Snappers that live near the reef are more in danger of disrupting the environment of the different Coral Reefs of the world (American Oceans, 2024). Flounders live primarily in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and live in other regions as well. These fish live in varied depths like close to shores or at the deepest parts of the ocean floor, and can be caught by rod and reels, trawling, and by Long Lines.
Now that we know that improper fishing practices can damage the aquatic environment, let's pause for a moment and see what happens when fishing regulations are ignored and what happens when too many fish are caught, what happens to local economies and towns? They turn into ghost towns as the primary source of their finances comes from the fish that they harvest. The fishing people must find new locations where the fish are plentiful to try and secure the much-needed fish for their economy. This overfishing can cause damage to the ecosystem and prevent migratory fish from coming to their native grounds for mating/spawning causing an even greater decline in fish species (Lovegren, 2020). In the use, we can see these ghost towns up and down the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and parts of California, having these leftover and abandoned places can cause leftover nets to float out and get tangled around marine life causing additional harm. Then discussing economic problems, we run into some fishermen who do not follow the law and cut their fishing trawlers or long lines and this creates "Ghost Gear" that prevents the law from inspecting the fishing lines and seeing if they are following the regulations, which this "ghost gear" causes massive amounts of death and destruction to the aquatic environment and the fish species that have been listed. (American Oceans, 2024).
As stated above overfishing affects freshwater fish as well, not only in the US, but in China, the Amazon, and the rest of the world. China still practices commercial fishing in the seas but also focuses part of its fishing practices on farms. Whereas places in the Amazon still use long lines, and gillnets to catch the large quotas of fish for the local markets, and the local tribes. When we take a respective look at American culture one of the great dinosaur species that we have left, the White Sturgeon was fished to extinction with other problems like dams being built and ecosystems being destroyed. For what were the sturgeons being used? Caviar! A delicacy that usually the wealthy could/can afford. These fish can get up to one ton and be over one hundred years old, and the sad part about this fish, in its native waters in Montana we see that the White Sturgeon are still on a massive decline due to the Juveniles not breeding, and no little fish coming back around in the waters. Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) fear this fish might drop down to a total of 50 by 2030 (Jackson, 2006) As we look at ancient fish, we can also look to our neighbors in the south with such fish as the Tambaqui and the PACU, and other giant fish in the Amazon. That helps spread the native seed to help keep the forest populated with new growth and protected areas for other fish to hide in (Correa par 4). These giant fish are also fruit-eating and with their diet, they excrete these seeds and can help with the reforestation of many plants and trees. But with the local fisherman and some commercial fisherman they are starting to alter the coastal waters of the Amazon due to the overfishing of these old fish. Part of this is also impacting the mating/spawning grounds as it takes a long time for some of these fish to mature. Without the wisdom of the old fish to show the young fish where to go, the spawning fish will dimmish as well.
The best way to prevent overfishing and damage to aquatic ecosystem life includes fish, turtles, whales, the coral reef, dolphins, and sharks to just name a few. Even though this essay is to educate on the negative effects of overfishing, its good to give some light into some changes that anglers are trying to implement to make fishing as a whole a much more sustainable and safer for the environment as well as fish species. Is to continue to find new ways to change and implement fishing strategies that make it safer for the environment. The good news is, some of the ways that fishing charters are trying to make fishing safer for the aquatic environment is developing special kinds of hooks that can protect things like seagulls, and potentially other aquatic life that have mouths that are too big or different bite forces. Which would allow them to escape without being hurt. In places like Alaska, they are effectively trying to educate and learn about the further problems of the environmental impact of global warming and also the issue of overfishing to try and bring a balance back to the aquatic life so there can be a future for fishing. However, this is just a drop in the bucket for people who won't hold themselves accountable and make the right decision to protect the environment and the species of fish that we need to consume as part of our diet and the needed fish to provide for their families. This will take a great deal of work, with the fisheries, government, and also the individual fisherman by picking up of other wasteful fishermen but doing so together can and will make fishing better for all life across the globe.
1.One area I feel like this could be stronger is maybe fluidity
2.The second area maybe how the reference choices were done
3.Grammar errors to be corrected
One of the first thoughts that come to mind is, how does the government know if fish species are in danger? How does the government know what species need to place fish on a protected status? How does the government know which fish species are ok to be harvested and to what degree can they be harvested? We find from one of the authors (Trevor D. Davis, 2012) that fisheries are required to keep a log of fish caught called, "What is the status of Marine fishes according to fisheries" and then it is compared with the government standard called "conservation red list metrics" which gives a rough estimate of how these fish species have been affected by fishing.
The way that these fisher people catch their fish was mentioned earlier in paragraph one of this essay, just to help bring back to the forefront of the memory the three primary ways are what again is called Gill nets, Trawling and an example of this that will be looked at is "Bottom Trawling", then Long Lines. What is important to remember again is how the fisher people and the government get their information for their fish logs and then they can compare this information to the conservation red list metrics. The question then becomes important, "why are these three fishing tactics looked at? Why are we mentioning again the logs for the fishing metrics?". Why these become important is due to what is caught in each of these individual fishing lines that can hurt, maim, kill, or hopefully be able to release these fish with no harm. Let's look at the first commercial fishing method that was mentioned; Gill nets, this commercial fishing strategy uses large nets with multiple holes for fish to swim into and then they get caught in those holes or they get their gills wrapped in the net. Since this is just a floating net a large boat or engine is not needed for the fisher people and can be used fairly easily in underdeveloped countries. The problem with the Gillnet is it is more prone to catching all species of marine life, including endangered species, including turtles. The second form of commercial fishing is trawling, even though there are multiple types of trawling the one that is important to review is the bottom trawling. This form of commercial fishing uses a weighted net to help drop itself down to the bottom of the ocean, and the damage really begins when it is being drugged behind the boat, this requires a massive engine and a large ship to be able to harvest in-mass the larger fish at the bottom of the ocean. This has a really bad side effect of getting caught in rocks and also has the ability to damage coral, as was mentioned with the Gillnet all sorts of aquatic life is capable of being pulled into the nets and being brought up to the surface. Allowing a higher chance for these fish to be returned to the water alive. But if the captains of the ships aren't careful they can disrupt the oceanic life by leaving pieces of the net behind due to being caught up in the rocks. The third commercial fishing mentioned is the long lines, for fishing this sounds pretty explanatory, these long fishing lines are dropped off into the water and are left to float with bated hooks every few feet. The species caught are usually targeted and effective, the only type of creatures that can be affected are seagulls, sharks, and other species of oceanic life that live closer to the surface of the water. This becomes more of a problem in underdeveloped countries where technologies and catch rates are not monitored more closely. In developed countries they are developing hooks and other riggings to better protect all different aquatic life (Marine Stewardship Council, 2024). With all this information and some understanding of what these fishing tactics look like, where does this information go? It goes back to the fishing logs, as well as the government fishing logs. These logs also include the species of fish that are endangered and need to be reported for tracking.
Some freshwater examples of fish that have been harvested are the White Sturgeon, and the Amazon's Fresh Water Stingrays, Tambaqui, and Pacu. The other fish examples that will be mentioned will be Groupers, Snappers, Flounder, and Cod. These fish are found all over the world as was just discussed but overfishing isn't limited to just one or two areas but worldwide. The White Sturgeon for example is found at one time in abundance but due to overfishing has decimated the species, these amazing giants are found in the Pacific Northwest, and Russia. In North America you can find this species in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and British Colombia, due to the aging population these numbers are declining substantially and may be gone by 2030 (Jackson, 2006). The Sting Ray as was mentioned comes from the Fresh Waters of the Amazon and is protected as it takes a long time for this fish to mature and reproduce (Erik Sokstad, 2017), The Pacu and Tambaqui of the Amazon are prized fish that help feed the local and indigenous population of the Amazon and these amazing fish help with establishing new life in the rivers and the banks of the Amazon by helping spread seeds, and also fertilizer. Other fish like the Groupers, Snappers, Flounder, and cod can be found all over the oceans of the world, but for the data its important to know of the locations of some of these fish, and the type of environment that they live in. The Cow cod that was mentioned is found on the Coast of California as an example. Groupers can be found on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, the coast of Brazil, and in southeast Asia. What's important to note about these habitats is the fish live near the Coral Reefs of the world, so "Deep Trawling" can tear up the ecosystem when they are fishing for these fish. Not to mention that they have now become a protected species (Craig, 2012). Snappers can be found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans travel in schools, or live among the coral reefs. For the snappers that travel in "schools," this makes them easily harvested with trawling. Whereas the Snappers that live near the reef are more in danger of disrupting the environment of the different Coral Reefs of the world (American Oceans, 2024). Flounders live primarily in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and live in other regions as well. These fish live in varied depths like close to shores or at the deepest parts of the ocean floor, and can be caught by rod and reels, trawling, and by Long Lines.
Now that we know that improper fishing practices can damage the aquatic environment, let's pause for a moment and see what happens when fishing regulations are ignored and what happens when too many fish are caught, what happens to local economies and towns? They turn into ghost towns as the primary source of their finances comes from the fish that they harvest. The fishing people must find new locations where the fish are plentiful to try and secure the much-needed fish for their economy. This overfishing can cause damage to the ecosystem and prevent migratory fish from coming to their native grounds for mating/spawning causing an even greater decline in fish species (Lovegren, 2020). In the use, we can see these ghost towns up and down the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and parts of California, having these leftover and abandoned places can cause leftover nets to float out and get tangled around marine life causing additional harm. Then discussing economic problems, we run into some fishermen who do not follow the law and cut their fishing trawlers or long lines and this creates "Ghost Gear" that prevents the law from inspecting the fishing lines and seeing if they are following the regulations, which this "ghost gear" causes massive amounts of death and destruction to the aquatic environment and the fish species that have been listed. (American Oceans, 2024).
As stated above overfishing affects freshwater fish as well, not only in the US, but in China, the Amazon, and the rest of the world. China still practices commercial fishing in the seas but also focuses part of its fishing practices on farms. Whereas places in the Amazon still use long lines, and gillnets to catch the large quotas of fish for the local markets, and the local tribes. When we take a respective look at American culture one of the great dinosaur species that we have left, the White Sturgeon was fished to extinction with other problems like dams being built and ecosystems being destroyed. For what were the sturgeons being used? Caviar! A delicacy that usually the wealthy could/can afford. These fish can get up to one ton and be over one hundred years old, and the sad part about this fish, in its native waters in Montana we see that the White Sturgeon are still on a massive decline due to the Juveniles not breeding, and no little fish coming back around in the waters. Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) fear this fish might drop down to a total of 50 by 2030 (Jackson, 2006) As we look at ancient fish, we can also look to our neighbors in the south with such fish as the Tambaqui and the PACU, and other giant fish in the Amazon. That helps spread the native seed to help keep the forest populated with new growth and protected areas for other fish to hide in (Correa par 4). These giant fish are also fruit-eating and with their diet, they excrete these seeds and can help with the reforestation of many plants and trees. But with the local fisherman and some commercial fisherman they are starting to alter the coastal waters of the Amazon due to the overfishing of these old fish. Part of this is also impacting the mating/spawning grounds as it takes a long time for some of these fish to mature. Without the wisdom of the old fish to show the young fish where to go, the spawning fish will dimmish as well.
The best way to prevent overfishing and damage to aquatic ecosystem life includes fish, turtles, whales, the coral reef, dolphins, and sharks to just name a few. Even though this essay is to educate on the negative effects of overfishing, its good to give some light into some changes that anglers are trying to implement to make fishing as a whole a much more sustainable and safer for the environment as well as fish species. Is to continue to find new ways to change and implement fishing strategies that make it safer for the environment. The good news is, some of the ways that fishing charters are trying to make fishing safer for the aquatic environment is developing special kinds of hooks that can protect things like seagulls, and potentially other aquatic life that have mouths that are too big or different bite forces. Which would allow them to escape without being hurt. In places like Alaska, they are effectively trying to educate and learn about the further problems of the environmental impact of global warming and also the issue of overfishing to try and bring a balance back to the aquatic life so there can be a future for fishing. However, this is just a drop in the bucket for people who won't hold themselves accountable and make the right decision to protect the environment and the species of fish that we need to consume as part of our diet and the needed fish to provide for their families. This will take a great deal of work, with the fisheries, government, and also the individual fisherman by picking up of other wasteful fishermen but doing so together can and will make fishing better for all life across the globe.
1.One area I feel like this could be stronger is maybe fluidity
2.The second area maybe how the reference choices were done
3.Grammar errors to be corrected
