Overfishing Is Destroying the Oceans of the World Essay -- Environment

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since nearly the beginning of human history fishing has been an integral part of the culture and survival of coastal communities. These coastal communities and cities have always been some of the most prosperous and successful because of the added resource of the ocean. In the beginning many areas were so densely populated with fish and shellfish that often a day’s worth of food could be caught by simply wading into the shallows. For example, some of the first English settlers to see the Chesapeake Bay described â€Å"The abundance of oysters is incredible.   There are whole banks of them so that the ships must avoid them. . . . They surpass those in England by far in size, indeed, they are four times as large.   I often cut them in two, before I could put them into my mouth† (Miller). This abundance had every appearance of being as infinite as the ocean that produced it but the reality was far different. Many fish stocks , including the oyster, stayed near these high levels even into the beginning of the industrial era. However the new rapid pace of technological advancement proved too much for many stocks to handle. Close shore stocks took most damage as they were the easiest to exploit. Those same oyster colonies that were once an obstacle for boats were nearly eradicated by â€Å"the 1890s harvests began to decline.   Many oyster beds were destroyed and reefs had been mined away.   By the 1920s, the boom was over†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Miller). While catastrophes like this inspired many sustainable practices there are still fisheries worldwide that are headed for a similar end. Through ignorance and misinformation from the fishing industry most of the general public does not know that this is occurring. The following will serve to inform about the t... ...devoid of the abundance of life we have come to know. Works Cited Crawford, Phil. â€Å"Pacific Island countries strive to save their tuna fisheries.†Ã‚  Pacific Ecologist  20 (2011): 42+.  Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. â€Å"Factory ship from hell. (Shipping Briefs).†Ã‚  African Business  Apr. 2002: 34.  General OneFile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Web. 6 Nov. 2014. Faye, Denis. â€Å"Marine protection Learning to give and take.†Ã‚  Ecos  Jan. 1999: 17.Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. Longhurst, Alan. â€Å"Doubt and certainty in fishery science: Are we really headed for a global collapse of stocks?†Ã‚  Fisheries Research  86.1 (2007): 1-5. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. Miller, Henry M. â€Å"The Oyster in Chesapeake History† St. Mary’s City. Web. na Muir, Magdalena A.K. â€Å"Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the circumpolar Arctic.†Ã‚  Arctic  63.3 (2010): 373+.  Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.