Why Are Our Oceans Dying, and What Can We Do to Save Them?

The coastal seas of what is now known as Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were alive with life in the 16th century. European fishermen wrote extensively on the richness of life in the northern Atlantic even after centuries of fishing by the local Mi'kmaq and Malecite populations. The "largest multiplicity of lobsters that we ever heard of"more than 140 lobsters are described in one story from seasoned sailor Charles Leigh. However, according to a different testimony from Father Pierre Biard, spawning fish were frequently so numerous that "you cannot put your hand into the water, without encountering them." However, by 1992, such oceanic richness had vanished. Cod populations in North America are at just 1% of their historical levels. The Northwest Atlantic Seas saw a four-century decline from absolute abundance.

Is Plastic in the Ocean the Only Threat?

The campaign to remove rubbish from our seas and waterways is currently taking over YouTube. While it's encouraging to see individuals becoming more passionate about environmental concerns, identifying the actual threats to our oceans goes beyond ocean debris. In reality, our seas confront a variety of additional dangers that are less obvious but just as dangerous, including increased acidity, temperature rise, and dead zones. But now, I want to talk about one: overfishing. an issue that has an impact on 59.5 million fishermen worldwide in addition to our whole marine ecology.

The present state of fish in the modern world

Expecting to return with their regular catch, fishing boats set out to sea. The North Atlantic fishing sector, which supported the livelihoods of thousands of people, had entirely collapsed along with the population of Atlantic cod. Cod populations in the Northwest Atlantic are still declining. Even the World Wildlife Fund included Atlantic Cod on their list of endangered species in 2000.

However, overfishing occurs all around the world and is a contributing factor in the extinction of many species, not just in the Northwest Atlantic and cod. The percentage of world fish stocks that were within ecologically sustainable levels decreased from 90% to 65.8% between 1990 and 2017, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. This is partly a result of fishing activity increasing globally.

We have already consumed more sea life in a single year than ever before as of 2018. And although we enjoy salmon, lobster, and tuna for dinner, fish populations are suffering. Because there are finite resources of fish in the sea, along with increased stressors like rising ocean temperatures and acidity, which weaken fish eggs and reduce species resilience, industrial overfishing techniques are the last thing keeping many fish species from becoming extinct. One research claimed that "more than 90% of huge predatory fishes have disappeared from our oceans," and another analysis found that "82% of world fisheries are in a severe decline." But fishing may take many different forms, from collecting fish for food to trawling on an industrial scale.

In the modern world, how do we fish?

For a wide variety of people, fishing may imply many things. Fishing could involve using a fishing rod and line to catch one fish at a time for a subsistence fisher in Bangladesh, or it might entail trawling, which involves dragging big nets across the ocean floor to collect schools of fish all at once. Large-scale industrial fishing is responsible for almost half of all fish captured, accounting for a third of all fishing methods when coupled with net purse fishing. This is an issue since one of the most harmful methods of fishing is giant net fishing, particularly trawling. Fishermen harm delicate ocean bottom habitats by dragging massive nets over the seabed. They also indiscriminately grab bycatch.

As well as, to put it another way, marine life that cannot be harvested for commercial purposes frequently perishes or is tossed back into the ocean once the net is drawn into the boat. Picture Dory from Finding Nemo. Due to the enormous amount of fish that fishing boats can catch each hour, trawling and giant net purse fishing have contributed to an increase in overfishing. Since the 1950s, fisheries reductions have gotten worse in part due to the industrialization of fishing gear and developments in on-boat refrigeration, processing, and storage.

There are other factors at play as well, besides industrialisation and new technology, in the practically worldwide reduction of fish supplies. These innovations are founded on a market-based method of fishing, which has required perpetual growth and profit for fishermen. To put it another way, they must consistently outfish and outsell their rivals to exist.

Why are the fisheries in trouble?

"The justification for humans ingesting marine wildlife is a response to marketing... because it's a company or they're searching for their profit," the author says. by Dr Sylvia Earle, a marine life specialist with over 30 years of ocean expertise. She believes that marketing, which is fundamentally the result of capitalism's profit-driven endeavours, is to blame for the dramatic increase in fish consumption over the past 50 years. If we go back to the Northwest Atlantic coast, we can observe that the seas there were filled with fish before European fishermen crossed the ocean in search of greater fisheries, even though the Mi'kmaq and Malecite fished those waters for sustenance.

Ecosystems started to decline only when fishermen working in a developing capitalist market economy started to fish for cod intensively. Fishing under capitalism has commodified some fish, such as cod or bluefin tuna, and is fishing them to almost extinction, much like other capitalist extraction businesses. The fishermen who can capture the most fish in the quickest amount of time will win in a competitive fishing market. a system that encourages automation and massive net trawling, two activities that, when left uncontrolled, have destroyed fisheries. In their study on oceanic depletion and capitalism, Brett Clarke and Rebecca Clausen make the unfortunate claim that "competitive markets offer incentives to grow output, regardless of resource loss."

Thus, groundfishing fleets shifted farther offshore in response to declining populations brought on by overfishing. In essence, economic incentives in a capitalist market devoid of regulation drive the fishing industry to overfish the marine environment to the point of extinction before moving on to more lucrative regions.

Ocean mining and how it is destroying the oceans

The recent threat to oceans is ocean mining - Ocean mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and manganese from the ocean floor. This activity can introduce significant amounts of sediment, noise, and chemical pollutants into the ocean, damaging fragile habitats and stressing marine life.

While it has the potential to provide a wide range of resources, ocean mining also poses several risks to the ocean environment. These risks include damage to the seafloor, disruption of ecosystems, and the release of toxic substances into the water. In addition, the process of ocean mining can lead to habitat destruction, with large areas of the seafloor being disturbed or destroyed. This can have a detrimental effect on aquatic life, as well as the quality of the water itself. Furthermore, ocean mining can lead to increased levels of noise pollution, which can disturb marine animals and disrupt their natural behaviours. All of these factors can ultimately lead to the degradation of the ocean environment and put the health of its inhabitants at risk.

What about aquaculture and how it is impacting our oceans?

Aquaculture, or fish farming, is a growing industry that has both positive and negative impacts on our oceans. On the one hand, it can reduce the pressure of overfishing wild fish stocks, help with the restoration of depleted fish populations, and provide a sustainable source of seafood. On the other hand, aquaculture can lead to pollution and negative environmental impacts, such as the spread of disease and parasites, and the destruction of habitats. It is important to ensure that aquaculture is managed responsibly and that any potential impacts are minimized.

How to protect the oceans

There are many more factors at play in addition to plastic waste when it comes to the deteriorating condition of our world's rivers. In reality, extractive fishing is only one of several stressors causing the collapse of marine ecosystems. So much more than ocean cleanups are required to save our oceans. Because cleanups are only a temporary fix. Even if we immediately removed every item of trash from our rivers, a garbage truck's worth of plastic would still be entering our seas every single minute. Only broader, more structural measures can be taken, such as regulating the fishing industry, putting into practice sustainable and regenerative fishing methods informed by indigenous knowledge, or, for some who are capable, giving up fish entirely.

In actuality, obsolete nets and lines from commercial fishing make up a percentage of ocean waste. But "protecting the seas" also involves obstructing new oil pipelines and stopping the use of fossil fuels that result in pollution, plastic waste, and lethal oil spills. So it's important to show support for water protectors who opposed the Keystone XL, Dakota Access, Line 3 and Line 5 pipelines, among other projects. In the end, there are already innumerable organizations and movements trying to dismantle the fossil fuel business and exploitation paradigms. paradigms that result in fish population decline and ocean debris.

Therefore, to actually "rescue" the oceans, we must organize, find a place to connect, whether it be a mutual assistance group, a local socialist chapter, or an eco-sabotage group, and struggle for a future in which both land and marine life are not in danger of going over the edge.