Overfishing- An Introduction

When writing the article on the Yangtze Finless Porpoise, I briefly touched on the topic of overfishing. Many of you have probably heard about it, and know it is a massive problem threatening our seas and their inhabitants. Overfishing is so destructive, it can kill all life in the ocean, and many of you might be part of it every day. So I read through many articles from international organisations, and they all say pretty much the same things. It's a highly complex topic, with so many things to say and do, so this is just an introduction to the broadest points. It's very interesting (and sad) but when you look into it further you realize there is actually a lot you can do! This is very important, especially for ocean lovers and seafood people.

What is overfishing?

By definition, overfishing is so intense fishing, people catch fish quicker than the stocks can reproduce. Leading to a massive decrease in stocks that can peak in the extinction of a species. Overfishing is closely related to bycatch and Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). The thing is, when an entire species of fish are wiped out, an ecosystem can collapse and that in return can collapse fisheries. However, billions of people rely on fish as their main source of protein, and if the seas can not provide our demand for fish and collapse, we'd face a food crisis. That is not the case just now though, as it looks like people catch way more than the demand for fish there actually is. That simply is an unnecessary waste of billions of fish lives.

Bycatch

Bycatch is the unwanted animals caught along with the fish that was initially targeted. Often bycatch is sea turtles, other fish species or seals that are caught along in the gigantic nets. Due to the sheer masses of bycatch, many of these species are now endangered. But for the big companies, that is no reason to stop. All they care about is having enough fish for the demand. Only that many provide way too much and so many lives are ended for nothing. Bycatch is a huge threat to marine species, especially as huge quantities are always caught and lots of animals die. If you do not consider how many fishing boats go out to sea every day, the amount of deaths is extremely sad!

IUU

IUU stands for illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and is also a major factor in overfishing. The problem with IUU is that people just randomly catch fish, often high-value species of which the fishing is illegal, only partly legal etc. and sell it illegally. The problem is that those people are not tracked down in some places due to a lack of traceability and make lots of money with the fish they sell which harms them so much on the way! And because it's unreported and illegal it's unregulated fishing and those people can more or less do what they want.

Impacts

Now the impacts of overfishing are grave. It's not like a species just disappears and things go on as normal. Everything has a consequence and every time a species disappears or extremely declines in numbers a small hole is ripped into the food chain. The result can be that another species dies out which results in another one going extinct...It's a huge chain reaction that can lead to a collapse of an entire ecosystem! But if the marine ecosystems collapse it will definitely have an effect on us, especially on the billions of people relying on fish. Fisheries will obviously collapse because there is nothing to make money with and many, many people would go hungry. It could elapse into a full-size food crisis!

Your Turn!

Because you love the ocean, the animals and plants living there and eating seafood you really want to do something! And there is so much you can do! First of all, know what you eat and where it comes from. There is the MSC-labelled fish that is said to be sustainable. They're a pretty big organisation that checks fisheries and approve them if they're sustainable. The approved fish will have this blue tick on it with this fish of sorts and it says MSC. When you want to eat different kinds of fish, just check if they're endangered and how they were caught if you can. Make sure you don't eat endangered species. And as always, don't eat too much. Doing almost everything in reasonable amounts is the best for you and everything and everyone around you. So eat fish, just not tonnes of it, not super overfished species and sustainably fished seafood and you've done your part. See you on Sunday guys!

Your Greenworld Team💚

Sources:

https://www.globalgoals.org/14-life-below-water
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/
https://www.msc.org/en-au/what-you-can-do/eat-sustainable-seafood/sustainable-seafood-guide
https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing
https://www.edf.org/oceans/overfishing-most-serious-threat-our-oceans
https://www.britannica.com/technology/commercial-fishing
https://www.msc.org/en-au/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/overfishing
https://www.britannica.com/technology/commercial-fishing
https://www.msc.org/en-au/what-you-can-do/eat-sustainable-seafood/sustainable-seafood-guide

Image:

This image, owned by Gareth Christopher (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

Comments

Green Pets || easy house plants to get you started // best house plants for beginners

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about some easy house plants you could look after to get you started on your green pets journey. These are plants that are easy to look after and that I recommend for an introduction into caring for house plants. If you are a beginner or want to look after some plants, then this is the post for you! 1. Cacti - moon cactus I don't actually have a cactus, but they are the obvious place to start. They need little water and thrive in warm conditions; they are described as "low maintenance". I have done some research and it looks like the moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) is the best one in terms of not being too fussy with needing minimal water and tolerates lower light levels. I would like a cactus at some point, but if you are just starting out wanting to care for some house plants, then this is the one to start with! 2. Aloe Vera One of my first house plants, this is one that is rela...

The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

April Top Tips: ten tips for environmentally friendly travel

Hi Everyone! We haven't been very present on the blog again recently but we are back today with ten top tips for environmentally friendly travel. Most forms of travel over long distances (unless you are willing to put in a lot of physical effort) use fossil fuels and are generally not good for our planet. So today we will be giving you a few tips which although won't mean that your travel is 100% planet friendly, will be a good start to doing as much as you can. Your Green World Blog Team💚 1. Use trains and boats rather than planes where possible Planes are awful for the environment. They are, however, extremely practical and so easy to use, cheap...It's hard to avoid them! They are so quick too so you don't have to spend as much time travelling. However, they are really bad for the environment. For example, you could fly once to Edinburgh from Heathrow for the same carbon dioxide levels as driving to Edinburgh 336 times! 2. Fly...

Ecotourism: what it is, the advantages and the disadvantages

Hi Everyone! Today we wanted to talk about the idea of ecotourism, including the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. If you are looking to reduce your environmental and social impact when travelling, then this is the post for you! Ecotourism is a form of tourism which limits the damage to the environment and local community. It can involve helping in community projects such as planting trees, as well as taking part in local customs and festivals. It helps to keep the local culture alive, while preserving the natural environment. The advantages are abundant. By helping in a project conserving the environment, tourists gain a new understanding and appreciation for the natural world and may be inspired to make changes in their "real" life to live more sustainably. It provides a valuable insight to a country and community, perhaps also inspiring more respect for different people and the lives they lead. The projects also provide sustainable income sources for locals, h...

Animals 21-25 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi Everyone! Here are the next five animals in our current series! We hope you learn something from this. 21. Stick insect Stick insects are masters of disguise. They look like twigs or leaves. This strange appearance makes them hard to spot when stationary. Stick insects are herbivores, feeding on leaves, and can live for up to three years. Their habitat includes most tropical and subtropical regions, but there are a few species that live in temperate areas as well. There are roughly 3 000 different stick insect species! Not much more is known about them, because they are difficult to find. The two main threats to their populations are the pet trade and people killing them so as to frame their carcasses, like butterflies. Their conservation status ranges from critically endangered to least concern - so basically every category that is on the list! 22. Glass frog The glass frog is, well, see through. You can literally ...

Photo Essay | dolphin spotting boat ride

Hi Everyone! Quite a while ago now, me and my family went on a dolphin spotting boat ride, and I've been meaning to share some photos for ages now! We saw so many dolphins very close up and we managed to get some good shots, although it can never be as magical as in person! All photos in this post were taken by me or my family. They were so close to the boat! This photo is stunning! It's under the water! Again - under the water! It was so hard to capture them jumping! This was the boat.... ...

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

Beavers and their dams: what effects do they have?

Hi everyone, Today we're talking about beavers and their effects on the surrounding ecosystems and environments. 'Beaver' referres to two species in the genus Castor . They are found in North America, Europe and Asia and are the largest rodents in those places and the second largest rodents in the world. Beavers grow up to 80 cm long with a flat, paddle-shaped tail up to 45 cm. They have a small head, large incisor teeth and fur lined lips to avoid inhaling water while cutting and transporting branches underwater. They weigh 16-30kg and are nocturnal. Beavers live in streams, rivers, marshes, ponds and lakes where they construct dams. These have earned them the title 'ecosystem engineers' but we'll talk about that later. The dams are constructed with branches, sticks and rocks. They create a calm pool with a higher water level on one side. Beavers make their homes (lodges) in these calm pools. Beaver dams are both have bot...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

Turning waste into valuables

Hi, So this post was requested on Twitter after our September Top Tips about recycling . Today we will be talking about how to turn complete waste into something reasonably valuable. This is basically a form of upcycling but to a more extreme level. 1. Ecobricks So, almost a year ago we did a post about ecobricks , but they are such a good example of turning waste into valuables that we decided to put it here anyway. Ecobricks are a building material made from plastic. The waste plastic is washed and then compacted into a clean plastic bottle (also waste). The bottle becomes very hard and durable. Multiple bottles can then be used as bricks and cemented together. The 'bricks' are strong and do not decompose. For more info, read our post where we go into more detail. 2. Metals Although this may seem like something not worth the time. When you separate the metals in waste (for example an old car), you can get usable metal out ...

Green World

Search This Blog