On Pacific Fishery Management Council: The ocean looks like an enormous, invincible entity, and it is for all intents and purposes. There is a common misconception that the worlds oceans are so vast that we can dump whatever we want and harvest all the fish and other sealife we want without any consequences. Unfortunately the oceans are not as good at self-healing as we would think. It is actually a delicately balanced ecosystem with countless varieties of life, all of which are dependant on one another either directly or indirectly. Overfishing of large predatory fish such as tuna, swordfish, and cod reduces their numbers in the wild, allowing smaller fishes to increase in numbers drastically. These fish then decimate the species below it in the food chain, allowing something else to multiply. It causes a chain reaction both up and down the food chain. Recent studies have shown that the numbers of the aforementioned predatory fish are about 50 percent of what they were 50 years ago. So we’re on track to wipe them out in the next five decades. It is crucial for organizations to work with countries around the world to regulate fish catches and preserve the ocean ecosystem as well as our food. Ryan C.
On Pacific Fishery Management Council:
ReplyDeleteThe ocean looks like an enormous, invincible entity, and it is for all intents and purposes. There is a common misconception that the worlds oceans are so vast that we can dump whatever we want and harvest all the fish and other sealife we want without any consequences. Unfortunately the oceans are not as good at self-healing as we would think. It is actually a delicately balanced ecosystem with countless varieties of life, all of which are dependant on one another either directly or indirectly. Overfishing of large predatory fish such as tuna, swordfish, and cod reduces their numbers in the wild, allowing smaller fishes to increase in numbers drastically. These fish then decimate the species below it in the food chain, allowing something else to multiply. It causes a chain reaction both up and down the food chain. Recent studies have shown that the numbers of the aforementioned predatory fish are about 50 percent of what they were 50 years ago. So we’re on track to wipe them out in the next five decades. It is crucial for organizations to work with countries around the world to regulate fish catches and preserve the ocean ecosystem as well as our food.
Ryan C.