Overfishing In The 1800s

The catch to overfishing is that it is not only detrimental to our marine ecosystem, but also harmful to the very fishing industries that cause this myriad of issues. The problem is that this issue began with the overfishing of whales for blubber in the early 1800s, before the repercussions of such activity was readily foreseeable. The issue eventually escalated in a spiral of overfishing of multiple other species with the introduction and improvement of fishing methods in various forms; most predominantly targeted were herring, cod, and sardine. However, as there were certainly multiple incentives for overfishing at the time, there are even more incentives for overfishing today. These include the desire to earn money, the urge for more mass …show more content…
It is an endless disintegration of the marine ecosystem and a worse selection of fish variety to choose from for consumers and fishermen alike. For example, when X fish is the sole top of the food chain in a certain area of the ocean, it becomes depleted by those who pay no regard to the limits set in place for fish count. After X fish is no longer present in the area, whether temporarily or for an extended period of time, fishermen must turn to the next fish in the food chain, Y fish, which could easily be of far lower quality than the X fish, and thus have to sell for less. It slowly ruins the economy of marine food …show more content…
They are driven close to shore, where they are then dragged onto the beach by a lance in an effort to sever their spines. Fishermen tend to claim that dolphins are a main factor in depleting the fish stock (similar to the American overkilling of wolves because of depletion of farm supply animals rather than relying on safer techniques, and have group hunts to take down pods of porpoises. According to the WDC, dolphin meat is often mislabelled as whale meat, which is often considered to be of much higher quality. Though dolphin meat is sold to hospitals and schools for consumption, it is shown to exceed the legal maximum amount of mercury at 0.4ppm, according to the WDC, and is therefore potentially toxic. It is not even small amounts of whales and dolphins killed in these provinces, either; according to the WDC, it is a staggering 80% of the marine creatures on the Japanese coast harvested so cruelly for meat and “pest control”. The slaughter of dolphins in the waters of the Asian gulf is a concerning aspect of overfishing. Overfishing has also become incredibly detrimental to our marine ecosystems with the mass disruption of the food chain. According to X, threats to coral reef health are worryingly high, as these ecosystems of our oceans are becoming unhealthy and dying off gradually. The species of fish who would dwell in these regions are now unable