The Environment Magazine

Arnold Qi
Quarry Lane School, Dublin, CA 94568

Overfishing, which is defined as catching fish faster than they can reproduce, is one of the biggest threats ocean ecosystems face. Fish populations are declining at incredibly fast rates all around the world as a result of the demand for seafood. According to an article written by TheWorldCounts, the world will run out of seafood by the year 2048. This goes to show how big of a threat overfishing is in our current society and how big of an impact it could have on ocean life. The effects of overfishing aren’t limited to the extinction of fish species. They also affect entire marine ecosystems, food chains, and habitats, and endanger the lives of millions of people who rely on the ocean for their daily needs.

Figure 1.  The Bluefin Tuna (Source:  https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/01/07/375366742/why-some-chefs-just-cant-quit-serving-bluefin-tuna) 

One of the biggest consequences of overfishing is targeted fish populations. Species such as sharks, bluefin tuna, cod, and Atlantic halibut are critically endangered due to overfishing. The reason these certain fish species are endangered is because they all live to a very long age. sharks live up to 30 years, bluefin tunas live up to 20 years, cod live up to 20 years, and Atlantic halibut live up to 50 years. To put it into perspective, small and medium-sized fishes live shorter than 10 years, which causes them to reproduce early on in their lives. On the other hand, longer-living fish either take longer to mature or have low breeding success. 

A single species going extinct as a result of overfishing could potentially damage the entire ecosystem permanently. For example, if sharks were to go extinct, there would be a huge increase in smaller fish due to an apex predator being eliminated. The overpopulated fish would then heavily populate, feeding on plants and smaller insects below them in the food chain. This would cause these plants and smaller insects to slowly die out until they are extinct, meaning there would be no more food for the medium-sized fish. The medium-sized fish would then also start to decline in population and become extinct, destroying the entire ecosystem. 

Figure 2.  The Bluefin Tuna (Source:  https://pelagicgear.com/blogs/news/new-pending-california-state-record-yellowfin-tuna-caught) 

Public awareness and consumer choices play one of the biggest roles in overfishing. If everyone knew more about the consequences of overfishing and the fish they were eating, the number of endangered fish would reduce. Since most endangered fish are delicacies, such as the bluefin tuna, instead of charging higher prices, luxury restaurants should just stop serving these fish completely. Instead, restaurants should use other fish that taste alike and are not endangered, such as the yellowfish tuna. In my opinion, we should have a cycle of what fish to catch for a certain amount of time. For example, from January to March, you can only catch a specific type of fish, while from April to June, you can’t catch that previous type of fish, only a different type.

In conclusion, overfishing is a serious problem that has an impact on both humans and ocean ecosystems. There is a need for sustainable fishing management and conservation actions due to the losses in certain fish populations and marine environments, and overfishing’s negative effects on coastal communities. If overfishing continues, the ocean will run out of food by the year 2048, meaning we will lose trillions of fish, and our future generations will not experience the amazing seafood that our generation has to enjoy. 

References

Environmental Defense Fund. “Overfishing: The Most Serious Threat to Our Oceans.” Www.edf.org, Environmental Defense Fund, 18 Sep. 2023, www.edf.org/sustainable-fishing/overfishing-most-serious-threat-our-oceans.

SeaQuest. “Overfishing: A Serious Threat to Our Planet – SeaQuest.”  April 11, 2022, visitseaquest.com/blog/overfishing-a-serious-threat-to-our-planet/#:~:text=Overfishing%20and%20Protecting%20the%20Environment&text=Remember%2C%20when%20one%20species%20of. 

Igini, Martina. “7 Solutions to Overfishing We Need Right Now.” Earth.org, February 22. 2023, earth.org/solutions-to-overfishing/.

The World Counts. “The World Counts.” http://Www.theworldcounts.com, 2023, http://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/oceans/overfishing-statistics.

World Wildlife Fund. “Bluefin Tuna | Species | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, 2000, http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bluefin-tuna.