Marine Life Will Disappear in 33 Years

Marine life has taken an enormous step backwards. In 33 years, the earth could have essentially fishless oceans.

This is caused by overfishing and water pollution. Fleets for the fishing industry are 50% to 60% higher than they should be. Not only does this recurring issue pose a threat to fish, fishless oceans could globally devastate the earth and poorer countries.

An example of overfishing can be seen in Newfoundland, Canada. In 1992, the bottleneck effect came into play. The thriving cod fishing industry came to a sudden stop when, during cod season, no cod appeared. The overfishing and lack of documentation restricted nearly 40,000 people from their main food source. In that town and surrounding areas, the fishing industry is still recovering.

Science  magazine recorded in a four year study that, in the year 2048, the world could lose all wild caught seafood.  Fishing techniques also harm non-commercial fish and the surrounding habitat. In 2006, George Bush called for action along with other world leaders to halt a harmful fishing technique called trawling, However, no further action was taken against this issue.

“I believe that fishing needs to be regulated in order to maintain an acceptable amount of fish in the ocean,” senior Daffney Wolf said.  

Awareness about this rising issue are progressing. Many activist groups have taken overfishing very seriously.

“Some fishing boats use gill nets, which ensnare every animal they catch, and fish are mutilated when they are extracted from the nets. These kinds of nets are believed to be responsible for the majority of incidents involving the accidental netting and death of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals over decades of use,” PETA said.

 This method of fishing, along with trawling, longline fishing, and many more forms of fishing, are dangerous to the environment as well as the animals who live in the ocean.  

According to the Press Association, “Many sharks are  the victims of ‘finning,’ in which fishers catch sharks, haul them on deck, hack off their fins (for expensive shark fin soup), and toss the maimed, helpless animals back into the ocean to die in agony.”

 Fourteen marine scientists conducted a study and found that 100% of aquatic life will collapse by the year 2048.

Ways to prevent overfishing can range from a multitude of actions. Many citizens have protested against fishing tournaments. Many have also have encouraged legislators to enforce wildlife-protection laws.