- Overfishing
What can I do about overfishing?
Many people have no idea of overfishing. That means we all have a responsibility to educate others on this issue. Learning about it (like what you are doing now) is the best start to solving the problem. Make sure you share and tell others about it. Below are some more:
Join organizations, movements, and discussions aimed at putting pressure on your government to monitor, engage, and be hard on fisheries that break the law and engage in unsustainable fishing. That includes establishing and expanding Marine Protected Areas (areas of the ocean where fishing is banned and natural resources are protected).
When people demand more fish, fisheries will also go for more. Therefore, if we reduce our demand for fish and supplement with other protein sources, there will be a lower demand for fisheries to meet. Think about eating fish from responsible sources and supplement your protein with other plant sources.
Here are some tips on other great protein sources:
Illegal and unreported fishing contributes to about 30% of global annual catches in recent years (Ocean sentry). Illegal and fish pirating is going on in many areas of the world. Depending on where you live, governments can invest in better supervision and monitoring of fish trade to ensure that illegal fishermen are brought to book. Get involved with activities that do this.
Can you think of ways that you can help in your little way?
Our research for this topic included these sources:
Overfishing.org
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18353964.,
FAO.ORG. ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/global-fish-crisis-article/
http://www.economist.com/node/21548240
www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/overfishing/
www.iucn.org/, see-the-sea.org/topics/commerce/overfishing.htm
www.technokids.com/documents/intermediate/environment-overfishing-fact-sheet.pdf, Oceana www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hipbi-mn7by4mFZ6veqVQ0OEmu9Q www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/FishingMethods.pdf
saveourseas.com/threats/overfishing