Overfishing

            Overfishing is a worldwide epidemic that needs to be stopped. Some reason for this overfishing problem is due to illegal fishing and subsides for fishing companies. Some of the problems that are being caused by overfishing are degradation of marine ecosystems as well as economic security and food shortages. The ways people are trying to solve this problem is by getting involved with major fishing companies to move towards better fishing methods and more sustainable fishing, as well as expanding protected marine areas. President Trump, it is time you take the initiative and create stricter regulations to protect out marine life.

            The first issue with overfishing is the destruction of sea life and ecosystems. The fishermen are taking out more fish than what can be replaced. This removes too many fish that are mature. The consequence of this is that taking too many fish out of the ecosystem disrupts the food chain and causes a chain reaction and affects all the marine life. According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, which is an international non-governmental organization “When too many fish are taken out of the ocean it creates an imbalance that can erode the food web and lead to a loss of other important marine life, including vulnerable species like sea turtles and corals”. This overfishing is like a domino effect that will make its way through an entire ecosystem and make its way back around what the fisherman are trying to catch. The solution to this is creating more marine protected areas. This way the government will protect areas that may have endangered species or important habitats. The WWF states that “WWF supports the creation and management of well-designed marine protected areas around the world, protecting important fish species from the arctic to the tropics, community manages areas, often based on traditional knowledge and customary practices, benefit people in places where fishing is such an important part of livelihoods of coastal communities”. This can help the rapid decrease of fish in the sea by keeping the ecosystem intact as well as keeping the food web together.

            Another major issue with overfishing is that many companies are given subsidies that only help fishing companies to continue the overfishing of our marine life. These subsides allow the companies to put more fishing ships in the ocean, which in return allows them to pull out more fish than is needed. The WWF says that “Today’s worldwide fishing fleet is estimated to be up to two and a half times the capacity needed to catch what we actually need. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has called for an end to harmful subsidies”. These subsides go hand in hand with the problem of fishing companies and the depletion of fish. These subsides are keeping an industry that is driving itself to extinction to keep pushing itself to that point. According to the WWF, “Some of the world’s richest nations continue to pay billions to keep lagging fishing industries afloat through fishing subsidies. This scale of subsidization is a huge incentive to expand fishing fleets and overfish. WWF is advocating through the World Trade Organization to encourage nations to eliminate the harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing.” This problem is one of the main reasons overfishing is an issue. Companies are giving billions in order to keep the same amount of fish being taken out of the ocean each year even though the rate at which fish are being taken out of the ocean is not sustainable.

            It is time we demand a change to our unstable fishing habits; we must crack down on illegal fishing, and subsidies for fishing companies. The solutions to these problems will allow fish to reproduce and replenish the population so we do not destroy our ecosystem and marine life.  President Trump it is time for you to act on this issue and create stricter legislation on this main issues of overfishing before it is too late and we lose our marine life for good.