DOES OVERFISHING DESTROY MARINE ECOSYSTEMS?

Does Overfishing Destroy Marine Ecosystems?

Donaven Baughman

Ottawa University
DOES OVERFISHING DESTROY MARINE ECOSYSTEMS? 2

Abstract

Overfishing began in the late 1800s and has continued through today. Overfishing in the

21st century is primarily based off of the demand for seafood with up to 90 percent of fisheries in

the world being over exploited for fish markets and restaurants. With the removal of these

species from the oceans at rates faster than they can reproduce, ocean ecosystems are

deteriorating and dying due to missing pieces of their food chain and environment. When one

species is removed from an environment, it has implications on other fish and animals within and

around the ecosystem. When prey fish such as Herring are removed too quickly from the oceans,

predator fish such as Cod fall off due to lack of food and nutrients, which in turn hurts that piece

of the ocean ecosystem. Overfishing destroys small ocean ecosystems and in turn could destroy

the biodiversity of the worlds oceans completely. If fish are continued to be removed faster than

they can reproduce, it will deteriorate and eliminate all of the worlds fisheries by the year 2048,

according to National Geographic (2017). Not only will this destroy the oceans biodiversity

and well-being, but communities that rely on fish for economic stability will also crumble

without the main factor that holds them together.

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Introduction

Seafood and other delicacies from oceans and marine environments are highly sought

after around the world. Specifically, along coastal areas and coastal cities, seafood is a main

staple of the market or local economy. With the popularity and accessibility of seafood and other

commercial uses for fish, overfishing has become a massive issue in regards to the well-being of

ocean life. Overfishing is defined by National Geographic (2017) as the taking of wildlife

from the sea at rates too high for fished species to replace themselves. Overfishing has been an

issue for hundreds of years, beginning in the early 1800s. Since, it has become a larger and larger

issue as the demand for products made from sea species has increased with time. Removal of

species at faster rates than they can replenish themselves creates large problems in the

sustainability of ocean life. Until recently, fishing in many areas has not had many laws or

regulations regarding how much can be removed from the waters, areas that cannot be fished,

etc. This lack of regulation created a slippery slope for the depletion of fisheries. Commercial

overfishing destroys ocean ecosystems. Through removal of target-species fish, such as Cod,

Chilean Sea Bass, and other large predator fish, marine ecosystems are destroyed. Within the last

decade or two, organizations and lawmakers have worked to add more regulation to the issue, but

the overfishing is still a major issue and is effecting oceans all the time.

Elimination of Target Fish Species

When overfishing is brought up, the term target species is often used. A target species

is a marine fish species that is often overfished because of its popularity with consumers or

fishermen. There are many target species which include tuna, billfish, sharks and rays, cod,

herring, and more. These species are being removed from oceans at rapid rates for commercial

purposes. In a study done by Davidson, Krawchuk, and Dulvy (2016) on decreasing numbers of
DOES OVERFISHING DESTROY MARINE ECOSYSTEMS? 4

global shark and ray landings, it was concluded that the decrease in landings comes from fishing

pressure and poor ecosystem management measures. The 20% decline of landings between 2003

and 2012 is heavily the product of human impact as Davidson (2016) concluded countries with

the greatest declines had high human coastal population sizes or high shark and ray meat

exports. The issue with removing these species is that these large predator fish play huge roles

in the biodiversity of a marine ecosystem. Elimination of predator species allows no competition

between smaller prey species that would normally be effected by the predator fish. Zhou (2015)

explains that biomass of large fish, top predators and highly valued species has declined

substantially, whereas smaller fish and species with low economic value have changed less or

even increased. This statement expresses how when large predator fish are removed, smaller

prey fish are able to reproduce more freely, creating an imbalance of predator to prey ratio in the

ecosystem. In a study done on the collapse of an Atlantic cod population in the 1990s, Ellingsen

(2015) stated that the research was able to provide strong evidence that intensive harvesting

(and collapse) of marine apex predators can have large impacts on biodiversity, with far-reaching

consequences for ecological stability across an entire ecosystem. In the study, the disappearance

of the predator cod species created fish communities that had less genetic similarity, and more

genetic variability. The study gives first-hand evidence of how the removal of a large predator

fish population can change the genetic differences of separate species and the biodiversity of the

entire fish community. Similarly, a study done by Pinksy (2014), showed that allelic richness

was on average 12% lower ( P < 0.0001) in overharvested populations after accounting for the

effects of body size, latitude and other factors. Heterozygosity was on average 2% lower. This

study directly shows how genetic diversity is negatively affected in overfished areas and can

create evolutionary stagnation if these species are continued to be overharvested. There is strong
DOES OVERFISHING DESTROY MARINE ECOSYSTEMS? 5

factual evidence that commercial fishing for large predator species has immediate and significant

impacts on marine biodiversity and genetic homogeneity.

Bottom Trawling and Bycatch Effected by it

There are many methods to catching large quantities of fish, which is beneficial to

fishermen and retail purposes, but detrimental to ocean life. Not only are the targeted fish

effected, but the biggest effect is on the non-target species. With these methods of catching large

quantities of fishing, many other species are caught or killed in the process. These non-target

species being effected are known as bycatch and puts large holes in ocean ecosystems

According to the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science (2012), for every ton of prawn

caught, three tons of other fish are killed and thrown away. It is evident that bycatch is

inadvertently destroying marine life without any real reason other than to catch the large target

species. Products of bycatch include whales, dolphins, turtles, corals, and anything else caught

without purpose. Some of the methods of catching large amounts of target species are: bottom

trawling, gill netting, and dredging; each of which have their own impacts on marine life.

Bottom Trawling: Bottom trawling is a popular method used in catching target species, but

one of the most destructive, responsible for up to half of all discarded fish and marine life

worldwide (Stiles 2010). Bottom trawling uses large, weighted nets, dragged across the ocean

floor by a boat or ship to catch target species that live on the ocean floor such as shrimp and

flounder. The issue with bottom trawling is that it is highly unselective and destroys anything

which is caught in the nets path. Because the holes in the net are so small, many other species are

caught and are unable to escape. Along with bycatch, bottom trawling also disturbs and destroys

coral and other sea vegetation along the ocean floor. In a study done by Pusceddu (2014) it was
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noted that compared to areas untrawled, areas that were heavily trawled in the Mediterranean Sea

had 50% less biodiversity and 52% less organic matter. The study shows the drastic effect of

bottom trawling on the health of marine ecosystems without even including the fish that are

being removed. According to Stiles (2010), shrimp trawlers in Belize in 2007 landed only 19

metric tons of shrimp (FAO) and likely discarded about 76 to 190 metric tons of other marine

life. With the staggering amounts of bycatch being removed from the seafloor, along with the

disturbance of organic material along the seafloor, bottom trawling is having large effects on

marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Preventative Measures Against Overfishing

Although overfishing is a global issue effecting ocean life in all of the worlds seas,

measures are being taken in order to slow the effects and bring some health back to marine

ecosystems previously effected by overfishing. A large portion of the issue of overfishing is

simply the lack of regulation on fishing in developing countries and developing coastal

populations. Many of these developing coastal areas rely heavily on unregulated fishing for their

food, and also as a large part of their local economies. Many organizations and governments

have worked to find solutions to reduce overfishing while still being able to rely on fishing for

economic stability. Krueck (2017) created a rule of thumb stating to safeguard against the

long-term catch depletion of particular species: individual reserves should export 30% or more of

locally produced larvae to adjacent fishing grounds. Kruecks theory would allow for large

amounts of fish to be caught and harvested, but also gives a substantial amount of larval fish

back to waters in order for them to grow and mature to create a balance in the population.

With restaurants and commercial purposes being the driving factor of overfishing, many

restaurant owners are aware of the issue and are taking measures to reverse the effects that
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overfishing has had on marine life for so many years. In an article from The New York Times in

2002, it explains how a Manhattan chef and restaurant owner removed Chilean Sea Bass from his

menu after hearing reports of it being overexploited for market purposes. By doing so, he was

joined by hundreds of chefs, restaurateurs and dealers across the country (Fabricant 2002).

This group joined together to participate in Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass a boycott to raise

awareness of the overexploited species and bring its numbers back to healthy rates. Simple acts

such as removing the fish from restaurant menus will help bring overfished species back to

normal and healthy population numbers.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), are areas of seas or oceans that are protected by law

from human activity as a means of conservation to protect natural resources and wildlife within

the area. Acording to Krueck (2017), about 200 governments around the world are committing to

protecting between 10% and 20% of coastal marine areas in order to allow species within the

area to naturally restore biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Continuing to spread awareness of

overfishing throughout national governments is an effective way of reducing overfishing. With

MPAs becoming more frequent, regulations are being placed on fishing practices in order to slow

the removal of so many target species from marine life. As more Marine Protected Areas are

introduced, populations will be able to regenerate and bring trophic levels back to normal rates.

Conclusion

Overfishing has been a global crisis for hundreds of years. Due to lack of regulation on

fisheries and removal limits, fishermen and business owners have been able to overexploit fish

species to the fullest. Overfishing is heavily influential on the populations of large target species

fish such as Cod and Chilean Sea Bass, two very popular species to be sold and eaten in coastal

areas around the world. Removal of large predator species from ocean environments creates a
DOES OVERFISHING DESTROY MARINE ECOSYSTEMS? 8

hole in the food chain and ecosystem where these species would normally be. By doing so,

smaller predator fish are in influx and able to reproduce too much, destroying coral reefs and

upsetting the balance in ocean ecosystems. Also effected by the removal of large predator fish is

the homogeneity and genetic diversity of marine ecosystems; removing predator fish from ocean

ecosystems creates lower allelic richness, creating less evolutionary capacity and diversity within

the ecosystems. Methods of catching large amounts of target fish at once have also had negative

effects on marine life such as destroying organic matter in the ocean and removing 63 billion

pounds of bycatch per year according to Oceana (2014). Marine ecosystems and the fragile

biodiversity that goes hand and hand with them are effected greatly by overfishing, and if it is

not stopped, could deplete all of the worlds fisheries by the year 2048 according to National

Geographic (2017).
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