Problem
Why is overfishing problematic?
Representatively, there is damage to the ocean’s biodiversity through overfishing. This behavior is directly connected to reducing fish resources by catching so many fish or exploding the bombs in the ocean.
Almost 31% of the world’s fish populations are overfished, and another 58% are fished at the maximum sustainable level. Wild fish simply can’t reproduce as fast as 7 billion people can eat them.
So what does it look like to give fish a break and let them recover? Protection can take many forms. In national waters, governments can set limits about how, when, where, and how much fishing occurs, with restrictions on certain boats and equipment. Harmful practices, such as bottom trawling, can be banned altogether, and we can establish marine reserves closed to all fishing to help ecosystems restore themselves. There’s also a role for consumer awareness and boycotts to reduce wasteful practices, like shark finning, and push fishing industries towards more sustainable practices. Past interventions have successfully helped depleted fish populations recover.
We need to end overfishing. Ecosystems, food security, jobs, economies, and coastal cultures all depend on it.
From the TED-Ed Lesson Will the ocean ever run out of fish? - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet
The Example of How the Ocean's Ecosystem Affect Climate
Phytoplankton and Overfishing
Scientists have warned that excessive fishing and mining activities jeopardize the ocean's ability to provide the planet with huge natural carbon reserves. For example, phytoplankton absorbs billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. If these plankton are not eaten by marine life due to overfishing, much of the greenhouse gases will return to the atmosphere. The distribution of marine life is an important part of the ocean's ecosystem. If these creatures disappear and the delicate balance of the ocean is broken, the carbon cycle stops, and the carbon is not fixed. Considering that much of the Earth is oceanic, this will cause serious climate change, and the result will eventually be humans sitting on the ground.
Ocean's function on Earth
The ocean is our main source of energy which keeps the carbon. Scientists estimate that oceans contain about 38.000 gigatonnes of carbon. This amount of carbon is 16 times as much carbon as the terrestrial biosphere. the ocean is the largest reservoir of carbon on Earth. Scientists have assumed that the ocean has been dealing with human CO2 emissions for the last 200 years, but humans are destroying the biggest carbon reservoir, only net-sink by overfishing and its habitats.