Empty Ocean

http://worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing

Overfishing has just recently became an environmental issue that people all over the world are taking notice to. Since the oceans once you reach a certain distance out are global waters it is very hard to patrol this growing problem. Environmental organizations all over are taking action to inform people about this problem and motivate them to help take action to stop it. The World Wild Life Found WWF has a whole webpage dedicated to over fishing.  It gives you an overview, causes and impacts of over fishing. Then it informs its audience of what WWF is doing and how you can help to stop this growing epidemic.

Overview 
WWF defines overfishing as "when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction." The fishing companies are making a large profit but they do not realize the devastating consequences that occur from it. It destroys the biodiversity of the oceans and is damaging the economic and social being of ocean communities that depend of fish as their way of life. People think of the ocean as an endless supply of food but within the last 50 years some fish stocks are almost to the point of collapsing. More then 85% of fisheries world wide need to be strictly managed because they are being pushed so close to extinction.

Causes 
There is many causes for why over fishing has become such a big issue. The first is lack of protected areas. Just 1.6% of the worlds oceans are marine protected areas (MPA's) and 90% of those MPA's are open to fishing. These areas help protect marine environments such as coral reefs from the damages of fishing. There are no take zones where fishing is not allowed this lets the depleted fish populations in this area to recover and grow back.  The second is open access fisheries there is no property rights to parts of the ocean so it is very hard to patrol the waters.  Poor fisheries management is another cause. There is a lack of management, government rules and traceability of fishing activities are all big problems in the fishing industry. The current rules and regulations that governments apply to fishing are not powerful enough to bring fish back to a sustainable level. There is not an "ocean police" the ocean is way to big to be constantly being patrolled. This makes it easy for fishing companies to take as many fish as they like with no punishment. Customs agencies and fish retailers can not always ensure that the fish they are buying or coming into their country was caught legally. You can call this the "don't ask don't tell policy." The last cause of over fishing that WWF lists is Pirate Fishing.  This is illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. It happens in all different types of fishing industries small to large, national to international. It accounts for 20% of the world's fish catch and upwards of 50% in some fishing operations. Pirate fishing can profit anywhere between ten to twenty BILLION dollars annually.

Impacts
Overfishing has many impacts on many different people and species. The first impact is economic loss. Coastal communities rely on fish for money. Since the fishing companies are catching all the fish these communities are suffering in a large way. Not only are these coastal residences suffering an economic loss but they have decreased food security. Billions of people depend on fish as a primary source of protein. This could leave billions of people malnourished if marine species become extinct or drop to even lower numbers then they are. Marine life imbalance is the second impact that overfishing has on the world. Main targeted fishes such as tuna and sharks is causing an increased abundance of smaller ocean species. This leads to increased growth in algae and threatens the health of coral reefs.

Some other impacted species and places WWF lists are Albacore tuna, The Coral Triangle, The Gulf of California, Southern Chile, Skipjack Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna and The Galapagos Islands. This is a worldwide, species wide problem.

What WWF is doing
The WWF works at both local and commercial levels of addressing this problem. Their goal is to with the help of other organizations be able to make fisheries that are sustainable, have little impact on the environment and are able to provide food and profits for years to come for people worldwide. WWF is helping countries set stricter laws on fishing. They also promote a "rights-based" approach which promotes incentives for fishermen to become protecters and good stewards of resources. WWF was one of the helping founders of The Marina Stewardship Council (MSC) this has set an environmental standard to identify sustainable fisheries. Every year 15,000 seafood products with a net worth of over 3 billion dollars have the MSC label on them. However pirate fishing still accounts for more then quadruple that amount yearly. WWF is influencing the global market. They help fish retailers around the globe to purchase fish that is MSC certified. WWF is creating and expanding marine protected areas. WWF helps design and manage them to make sure they are benefitting the people and marine ecosystems.

Word from the experts 
Bill Fox, Vice President, Fisheries
http://worldwildlife.org/experts/bill-fox
Kimberly Davis, Director, Fisheries

http://worldwildlife.org/experts/kimberly-davis

"One of the most important things we can do is cultivate people's fascination with the ocean and the amazing creatures that live below the surface"

How YOU can help 
The WWF lists three ways that you can help stop overfishing.
1. Take Action- pledge to buy seafood that comes from legal and responsible managed fisheries and farms. They should be certified by the MSC and ASC.
2. Stay Connected- suscribe to get the WWF monthly newsletter
3. Become a paperless member- if you become a monthly member but go paperless and get all your mail by e-mail you will receive more monthly emails to keep you updated on the newest break throughs and news about the environment.