SDG 14 Life Under Water: How can we win the fight against overfishing?

1-What is overfishing?

The fishing and/or removal of species of fish in an area at a rate which does not allow the fish to replenish the population. This results in underpopulated species of fish in areas. Currently, countries that overfish the most include: China, Indonesia, Peru, India, Russia, United States of America, Vietnam, Japan, Norway and Chile.

2-Why is it happening?

  • Population increase-higher demand
  • Changes in diets over the years
  • A huge source of income for millions across the globe
  • No awareness

3-What does it lead to?

  • Water pollution affects sea meadow growth
  • Huge fishing nets drag along the bottom of the ocean and destroy anything in their path
  • Destroying marine food chain by overfishing predators
  • Interfering with production
  • Changing the size of ‘mature’ fish
  • Create financial hardship for seaside communities

4-What are the possible solutions?

  • Collaboration with governments and industries
  • Education and spreading awareness of the consequences of overfishing
  • Consumer labels which let the consumer know the source of the product and encourage industries to change methods
  • Fish Farming

5-Protected Areas- the best solution! No-take (fully protected) ocean areas can increase species richness by 20%, the total fish number by 600% and organism size by 25% compared to nearby unprotected areas.

S64GEOENA – S6IT / EEB1 Uccle

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