Environmental Issues

FISHING:Significance and Environmental Issues

Mark Joseph OkyoRaffy MadulaEd Louie LealDaryl Francis RamosMark Louie PlazosHistory & DefinitionFishing has a history of over 35,000 years and may be an individual necessity or a collective undertaking involving large groups of men.

Fishingis the activity of catchingfish. Fish are normally caught in the wild.

There are many fishing techniques or methods for catching fish.

Techniquesfor catching fish includehand gathering,spearing, netting,anglingandtrapping.

Common Fishing Techniques that causes nowadays Environmental Issues:

Blast Fishing

Bottom Trawling

Bycatch

Fishing and me: Importance of Fishing to the WorldFish is one of our most valuable sources of protein food. World wide, people obtain about 25% of their animal protein from fish and shell fish.

Industries process many inferior fish and fish waste products into glue, livestock feed and fertilizers.

Many people enjoy keeping goldfish, guppies, tetras and other fish as pets in home aquariums.

HoweverWith the Booming population and todays improving technology, certain issues and events happen on the earths waters due to mans ignorance and disrespect to the oceans and the environment living below.

Major Fishing Issues

Overfishing

Illegal Fishing

Unreported Fishing

Unregulated Fishing

OverfishingOverfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans.

OverfishingOver three quarters of our planet are covered by the oceans. Their biodiversity is unmatched and they 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 is the practice of commercial and non-commercial fishing which depletes a fishery by catching so many adult fish that not enough remain to breed and replenish the population. Overfishing exceeds the carrying capacity of a fishery. Types of OverfishingGrowth overfishing

Recruit overfishing

Ecosystem overfishingWhat is causing overfishing?Worldwide, fishing fleets are two to three times as large as needed to take present day catches of fish and other marine species and as what our oceans can sustainably support. On a global scale we have enough fishing capacity to cover at least four Earth like planets.

On top of the overcapacity many fishing methods are unsustainable in their own way. These methods have a large impact on the basic functioning of our marine ecosystems. These unselective fishing practices and gear cause tremendous destruction on non target species. By-catch / discards and bottom trawling destruction are two examples of this.Effects of OverfishingWe 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.

We are in risk of losing a valuable food source many depend upon for social, economical or dietary reasons.Illegal FishingIllegal fishing is popular around areas where government laws against it are weak.

Consists of fishing using unusual means which can inhibit growth and endanger the aquatic habitat.

Also, fishing banned, endangered aquatic animals like sharks and whales are considered as Illegal Fishing.What Illegal Fishing Does to the EnvironmentDynamite fishing and cyanide fishing, which are illegal in many places, harm surrounding habitat. Bottom trawling, the practice of pulling a fishing net along the sea bottom behind trawlers, removes around 5 to 25% of an area's seabed life on a single run.

Fishing Endangered Fishes can further bring them to extinction.

Furthermore, illegal fishing can disrupt the food web which can be detrimental to the aquatic environmentUnreported FishingIs fishing that has been unreported or misreported to the relevant national authority.Unregulated FishingGenerally refers to fishing by vessels without nationality or vessels flying the flag of a country not party to the regional organization governing the fishing area.