OVERFISHING AND MARINE
RESOURCE DEPLETION
BY: AYESHA IMRAN
THESIS STATEMENT
OVERFISHING DISRUPTS MARINE ECOSYSTEMS, CAUSING BIODIVERSITY AND
ECONOMIC IMBALANCES AND THREATENING FOOD SECURITY FOR
COMMUNITIES DEPENDENT ON FISH PROTEIN. HOWEVER, THE CONSEQUENCES
OF OVERFISHING ARE MULTIFACETED AND MAY BE INFLUENCED BY VARIOUS
FACTORS BEYOND DIRECT FISHING PRESSURE.
UNDERSTANDING THE ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL IMPACTS
WHAT IS OVERFISHING ?
• TAKING FISH AT A RATE THAT IS FASTER THAN THEY CAN
REPRODUCE
• NOT KNOWING HOW MANY FISH HAVE BEEN TAKEN, SUCH AS
ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED OR UNREGULATED FISHING
• BYCATCH AND TRAWLING
• TAKING JUVENILE FISH THAT HAVEN'T YET REPRODUCED
• OVER A THIRD (34%) OF FISH STOCKS HAVE BEEN FISHED BEYOND SUSTAINABLE
LIMITS (SOFIA 2).
• THE WORLD PRODUCES AROUND 200 MILLION TONNES OF FISH AND SEAFOOD
EVERY YEAR (OWID 1).
• NOT KNOWING HOW MANY FISH HAVE BEEN TAKEN, SUCH AS ILLEGAL,
UNREPORTED OR UNREGULATED FISHING (2).
ARGUMENT 1 - ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
OVERFISHING DISRUPTS MARINE FOOD WEBS AND ECOSYSTEMS,
LEADING TO IMBALANCES IN PREDATOR-PREY RELATIONSHIPS
AND OVERALL BIODIVERSITY
• MAKES THE FISH STOCKS VULNERABLE
• WHEN SHARKS ARE OVERFISHED, THEN, THEIR PREY, SUCH AS RAYS, INCREASES
IN NUMBER. THIS CARRIES OVER INTO THE NEXT LEVELS OF THE FOOD CHAIN AS
MORE RAYS MEAN FEWER SHELLFISH AND OTHER SMALLER FISH SPECIES
(KURIEN 5).
• EFFECT ON THE REGULATION OF CARBON CYCLE – HOLDS 50 TIMES MORE
CARBON DIOXIDE THAN THE ATMOSPHERE (FAO 2).
• CORAL REEF HEALTH IS AFFECTED
ARGUMENT 2 - ECONOMIC IMPACT
OVERFISHING JEOPARDIZES LONG-TERM ECONOMIC
BENEFITS FROM MARINE RESOURCES AND FISHERIES.
• THE UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION (FAO) ESTIMATES AROUND
60 MILLION PEOPLE GLOBALLY ARE
EMPLOYED AS FISHERS
• LARGE-SCALE FISHING OPERATIONS THAT
SIGNIFICANTLY DEPLETE THE AMOUNT OF
FISH AVAILABLE END UP HARMING
SMALLER-SCALE, COMMUNITY FISHING
INDUSTRIES.
• REAL PER CAPITA INCOMES ALSO DROPPED
FROM RS 850 TO RS 420 IN KERALA
(KURIEN 3).
ARGUMENT 3 - SOCIAL IMPACT
THE DEPLETION OF FISH STOCKS THREATENS GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY, PARTICULARLY
FOR COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON FISH AS A PRIMARY PROTEIN SOURCE.
• SOME COUNTRIES IN THE
WORLD EAT CLOSE TO 100
KILOGRAMS OF SEAFOOD PER
PERSON EACH YEAR.
• MUCH OF THE CATCH IS
UNWANTED AND THROWN
BACK – KNOWN AS DISCARDS
WHICH CAN EITHER BE DEAD
OR ALIVE.
• FISH WAS AT ONE TIME CONSIDERED TO BE THE POOR MAN'S PROTEIN IN KERALA,
WHICH IS NOT THE CASE NOW.
• THE PRICES ROSE FROM AROUND RS.1,260/TONNE IN 1974 TO RS.2,300/TONNE IN 1982.
COUNTERARGUMENT - ALTERNATIVE
PERSPECTIVES ON THE IMPACTS OF
OVERFISHING
• DIVERSIFICATION OF PROTEIN SOURCES
• WHILE OVERFISHING IS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR TO MARINE ECOSYSTEM
DISRUPTION, ADDRESSING BROADER ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES IS
ESSENTIAL TO FULLY MITIGATE BIODIVERSITY LOSS.
• INDUSTRIES RELIANT ON FISHING MAY RESIST STRICT REGULATIONS DUE TO
ECONOMIC INTERESTS, LEADING TO CONTINUED OVEREXPLOITATION OF
MARINE RESOURCES.
• IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO COMBAT OVERFISHING CAN BE
DIFFICULT DUE TO INADEQUATE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT CAPACITIES.
KAIROS AND CONCLUSION
WILL THE OCEANS BE EMPTY BY 2048?
• 85% OF THE WORLD’S FISH RESOURCES ARE BEYOND THEIR SUSTAINABLE
CAPACITY (OCEANINFO 4).
• LOOKING BACK TO THESE TRENDS ABOVE.
• IF WE TAKE THESE TREND LINES AND CONTINUE EXTRAPOLATING IT INTO THE
FUTURE, IT WILL CROSS 100% IN 2048.
• ADDRESSING OVERFISHING AND MARINE RESOURCE DEPLETION REQUIRES
IMMEDIATE AND COLLECTIVE ACTION.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
WORKS CITIED
• “A CASE FOR FISH TO LEAD GREATER FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION OUTCOMES.” FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
HTTPS://WWW.FAO.ORG/INACTION/GLOBEFISH/FISHERY-
INFORMATION/RESOURCE-DETAIL/EN/C/1027691/. ACCESSED ON: 15 APRIL 2024.
• GATTA, PIER PAOLO. “THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 2022.” FAO EBOOKS, 28 JUNE
2022, HTTPS://WWW.FAO.ORG/3/CC0461EN/ONLINE/SOFIA/2022/STATUS-OF-
FISHERYRESOURCES.HTML. ACCESSED ON: 15 APR. 2024.
• KURIEN, JOHN, AND T. R. THANKAPPAN ACHARI. “OVERFISHING ALONG KERALA COAST: CAUSES AND
CONSEQUENCES.” ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY, VOL. 25, NO. 35/36, 1990, PP. 2011– 18.
JSTOR, HTTP://WWW.JSTOR.ORG/STABLE/4396716 . ACCESSED ON: 15 APRIL 2024.
• “OVERFISHING.” AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND - ENGLISH, WWW.MSC.ORG/EN-AU/WHAT-WE-
AREDOING/OCEANS-AT-RISK/OVERFISHING. ACCESSED ON: 14 APRIL 2024
• RASHID, SUMAILA AND TRAVIS C. TAI. “END OVERFISHING AND INCREASE THE RESILIENCE OF THE
OCEAN TO CLIMATE CHANGE.” FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE, 15 JULY 2020. ACCESSED ON: 14 APRIL
2024.
• RITCHIE, HANNAH, AND MAX ROSER. “FISH AND OVERFISHING.” OUR WORLD IN DATA, 28 DECEMBER
2023, HTTPS://OURWORLDINDATA.ORG/FISH-AND-OVERFISHING . ACCESSED ON: 14 APRIL 2024.
