Air, water, and land are the three vital resources that lay down the foundation of the planet and are essential for the existence of life as we know it on earth. Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface. They not only provide us water, food, livelihood but are also home to a variety of majestic creatures. Many of which can’t survive in a terrestrial environment. The key to sustaining a healthy living for them is to protect these large masses of water widely known as oceans. But, with the exceeding human population and high demands for food, livelihood opportunities, and numerous materialistic needs. Humans have begun to exploit natural resources for their benefit with no regulations whatsoever.
A few of the biggest threats to the oceans and the aquatic life residing within them are OVERFISHING and BYCATCH.
Fishing was never an innately harmful practice for the oceans. But, if you capture the fishing stock without giving them enough time to replenish. That’s when this unobjectionable activity turns into a grave threat for the diverse marine life residing in the deepest trenches of the oceans. An ecosystem is a combination of numerous food chains interconnected with one another like a web. There are lakhs of species of fish and mammals found in the waters where each of them plays a unique role in the food chains. When you remove a great deal of them out of the ocean it adversely hampers their reproduction abilities and leads to scarcity. The decrease or extinction of any of these species in a particular ecosystem will have a drastic impact on the other species that are part of the same food chain.
Another major problem is the BYCATCH. Fishermen use large nets to catch comparatively heavy fish. Sometimes, many endangered species of fish and mammals like dolphins, sharks, and sea lions get caught in these nets. Fishermen then sell them in the sea market for high prices instead of releasing them back to the ocean. The combined effect of Bycatch and overfishing results in the depletion of the marine ecosystem.
The aquatic animals play a significant role in maintaining the oxygen level and fertilizing the river bed. We are all dependent on the water resources of our survival. But, have you ever sat down and wondered how important of a part animal play in maintaining the ecosystem. Their healthy existence is a must for the survival of other living beings on this planet. Overfishing greatly harms marine ecosystems. As previously stated, the conditions can get so terrible that the fish will no longer be able to survive in its natural environment.
If you’re overfishing at the top of the food chain and acidifying the ocean at the bottom, you’re creating a squeeze that could conceivably collapse the whole system.
~ Carl Safina
India is the home to numerous rivers which are constantly getting deteriorated by human interference. Pollution, industrialization, overfishing are the bigger threats. Living creatures’ interactions with one another and with their surroundings are exceedingly complicated and have long-term ramifications. Fish has been a popular convenience food source for people around the world. As the number of fish decreases in the ocean, the future generation can face a food crisis. Moreover, today there are 38 million fishermen across the world directly dependent on fishing for their livelihood. Over 500 million people are directly or indirectly dependent on the agriculture and fishing industry for sustaining their livelihood. If you deplete a resource constantly without replenishing it, you will run out of it in the future. What is required is to turn commercial fishing into a sustainable practice. So, both humans and marine life can co-exist in the ecosystem mutually by minimizing the loss of marine resources.
Many large vessels sail across ocean surfaces fishing relentlessly every day. In today’s time, wasteful fishing is another major obstacle to overcome. Many times, fish are caught in excess and thrown away without any utilization whatsoever.
Awareness among fishermen and the general public would help a lot in solving this problem. Government should also impose strict rules and regulations regarding Bycatch of dolphins, sharks, and many other endangered species.
It is our appeal to the general public to opt for seafood that generates minimum wastage. The combined efforts of fishermen, the general public, and the government can together create a stable environment to ensure peaceful interactions between humans and other organisms in the ecosystem.