Poorly Managed Fishing

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/problems/problems_fishing/index.cfm

Article 3

Over three quarters of our planet are covered by the oceans. Their biodiversity contain over 80 percent of all life on earth, mostly unexplored. Millions of people worldwide are depending on the oceans for their daily livelihoods. More and more all this is endangered because of ignorance and a global lack of management.

Overfishing occurs when fish are caught faster than they can reproduce. Many marine scientists now believe that overfishing is the biggest human impact on the world's oceans. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans. Ultimately overfishing may lead to resource depletion induced by subsidized fishing, low biological growth rates and critical low biomass levels. Particularly, overfishing of sharks has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems.The ability of the fisheries to naturally recover also depends on whether the conditions of the ecosystems are suitable for population growth. Dramatic changes in species composition may establish other equilibrium energy flows that involve other species compositions than had been present before (ecosystem shift).

The article shows the percentage of fisheries fully-exploited, over-exploited, depleted or recovery from depletion. Consequently, we are losing species as well as entire ecosystems. As a result the overall ecological unity of our oceans are under stress and at risk of collapse. Besides, we are in risk of losing a valuable food source many depend upon for social, economical or dietary reasons.

There are mitigation measures that can control this problem. In order to meet the problems of overfishing, a precautionary approach and Harvest Control Rule (HCR) management principles have been introduced in the main fisheries around the world. The "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" treaty deals with aspects of overfishing in articles 61, 62, and 65.

• Article 61 requires all coastal states to ensure that the maintenance of living resources in their exclusive economic zones is not endangered by over-exploitation. The same article addresses the maintenance or restoration of populations of species above levels at which their reproduction may become seriously threatened.
• Article 62 provides that coastal states: "shall promote the objective of optimum utilization of the living resources in the exclusive economic zone without prejudice to Article 61"
• Article 65 provides generally for the rights of, inter alia, coastal states to prohibit, limit, or regulate the exploitation of marine mammals.

In effort to solve ocean problems recommend a comprehensive, ecologically based approach to fisheries management, not just simply trying to limit catch numbers. Another possible solution is fishing quotas, so fishermen can only legally take a certain amount of fish. A more radical possibility is declaring certain areas of the sea "no-go zones" and make fishing there strictly illegal, so the fish in that area have time to recover and repopulate.