OVERFISHING

Geography
Miss Ngubane
 WHAT IS OVERFISHING?

• Overfishing is defined as catching too many fish at once, so that the breeding
population becomes too depleted to recover.
• If we continue fishing so many fish that fish cannot sustain their population,
then there will be fewer and fewer fish in the sea.
• The quicker we fish, the less time fishes have to reproduce and maintain their
population. Population becomes unstable and declines. Last thing you know,
there is no longer any fish left to catch.
 SUSTAINABILITY

The ability for something to be used

but not destroyed or permanently
damaged.
Fish can be sustainable because in a • OVERFISHING is UNSUSTAINABLE!!
population, some fish can be caught
while others can reproduce. • If we keep fishing at this rate by 2060 the world’s
fisheries will have collapsed.
• Balance is needed!
ENDING OVERFISHING
 CAUSES OF OVERFISHING

• OVERCAPACITY
• DESTRUCTIVE FISHING METHODS
• POOR FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
• OVERSIZED FLEET
• OPEN ACCESS FISHERIES
(UNPROTECTED)
• ECONOMIC AND FOOD NEEDS
• LACK OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING
FISH POPULATIONS AND QUOTAS IN
A UNIVERSAL STANDARD.
 OVERFISHING AND
BYC ATCH

• Ocean life that is unintentionally

caught.

• Capture of non-target fish or other

marine animals in fishing gear.

• About 75% of fish are bycatch and

not used by the fisherman.
 UNSUSTAINABLE FISHING PRACTICES
OR TECHNIQUES

Purse seining Demersal otter trawl

• A large cone-shaped net which is dragged across the seafloor for a considerable
• A net that encircles schools of fish and then draws them up from
amount of time. The fish get exhausted and get pushed to the back where they are
underneath so they are completely surrounded and cannot escape.
retained allowing for more fish to enter.
• How is it unsustainable? It is one of the most aggressive methods of
• How is it unsustainable? The dragging along the seabed causes marine wildlife
fishing. Often catching dolphin as that are circling the school of fish as well.
(not necessarily the catch) to swim upwards into the net where they are also caught.
This often includes turtles.
 UNSUSTAINABLE FISHING PRACTICES
OR TECHNIQUES

Dredging
Pelagic pair trawl
• A metal framed basket with chains that carry it across the
• A trawler net suspended in mid-water.
sea bed.
• How is it unsustainable? Similar to purse seining marine
• How is it unsustainable? Dredging also disturbs marine
mammals such as dolphins get caught when feeding on
wildlife that is not necessarily the catch. If dredging is
the same type of fish that the fishermen are catching. they
repeated many times in one area it also leaves no time for
are unable to surface regularly and often drown.
re-growth of many species habitats
 UNSUSTAINABLE FISHING PRACTICES
OR TECHNIQUES

Drift net
• Mobile nets that drift with currents
• How is it unsustainable? Due to the long length of these nets (often exceeding 2.5km) a huge amount of fish
can be caught, not leaving much left to reproduce in order to keep the regeneration cycle working. They also
often catch other marine wildlife that aren't part of the catch.
 VIDEO LINKS

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JUK
vrfaslM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnm
GbDN278Y
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK76
7idHYmM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSF
B4H9MC8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLtk
nnZunrE
 THE IMPACT- HARMFUL FISHING GEAR

Before trawl After trawl

ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST: GREEN,
ORANGE AND RED LIST
• Unfortunately, overfishing has become a serious problem worldwide. The massive demand for fish due to a
rapidly increasing world population has led to too many fish being caught. Modern technology has made it
possible for more fish to be caught at once. Because only very small or young fish are left behind, they are not
breeding quickly enough to replace the fish that are caught. Fish populations have dropped and many fish have
been placed on endangered species lists. In an effort to combat this, fish are now categorised on the red, orange
or green list. It is illegal to catch or buy fish on the red list. Orange list fish are only allowed to be caught in
limited amounts and green fish are the ones that are free to fish in normal amounts.

• Overfishing is a threat to people because it reduces the amount of food available for people to eat. Many people
rely on fish as their main source of food. The fishing industry also provides many people with jobs which they
would lose if we could no longer catch fish. If certain fish go extinct, this would negatively impact many ocean
ecosystems. It is very important that people make an effort to reduce the amount of fish they eat and that
governments implement strict laws to monitor fishing. One solution has been “fish farms”. These are mainly
large-scale operations where dams are built and fish are raised. This means that fish species are monitored and
fewer wild fish are caught.
FISH FARMING
LETS WATCH A VIDEO
 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH AQUA -
CULTURE:

• Won’t make a dent in the shortfall in food supply

• Fish food- fish meal
• Pollution- can smother the benthic (bottom dwelling) organisms, over fertilize the
water and lead to toxic algae blooms (A single fin fish farm may output as much daily sewage
as a small city);

• Escapees
• Loss of natural habitat
• Loss of genetic diversity
• High stress overcrowding pens- contributes to epidemic disease
remedied by routine vaccinations and antibiotic treatments (cultivating drug resistant
pathogens and impacting other aquatic wildlife);

• High concentration of pathogens/parasites

 Overcrowding Pollution under a salmon farm cage

Parasite & Disease Fish Vaccination

(Salmon with lice)
 INTEGRATED
AQUACULTURE

aquaponics

Hawaii open ocean aquaculture

 SUSTAINABLE FISHING

Much of the food people buy is never actually eaten. An estimated 1,3 billion tons of edible food is thrown away every year.
This means that the food being produced to meet demands is not actually necessary. If people only bought what they ate and
wasted nothing, global food production would dramatically decrease. People need to be aware of their waste and make an
effort to purchase only what they need. If the demand for fish, for example, goes down that means that the fish populations
will experience far less strain.

Governments need to introduce legislation regarding the amount, types and age of fish that can be caught. Some countries
have introduced rules but they often do not follow through with monitoring fishing vessels. Stricter punishments should be
imposed to deter people who violate agreements. Some governments have implemented a quota system. This states the
amount of a certain type of fish that can be caught per year (the number has been calculated using scientific methods to
assess sustainability). Once this quota has been met, no more fish of that type may be caught in that year. Young fish should
not be caught so that they may grow to maturity and produce offspring to repopulate the species. The problem with modern
fishing trawlers is that they catch all types of sea creatures, meaning that up to 25% of fish catch is thrown away. The mesh on
nets is too fine for smaller fish to escape the nets. Rules should be introduced to standardise net size, prohibit destruction
fishing methods such as bottom trawling and make certain nets illegal
 THE HARDER YOU WORK FOR
SOMETHING, THE GREATER YOU’LL
FEEL WHEN YOU ACHIEVE IT
…KEEP WORKING.