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COMMERCIAL FISHING ISSUES 1Commercial Fishing Issues:Maintaining a Sustainable Seafood IndustryThe University of South Florida

COMMERCIAL FISHING ISSUES 2AbstractCommercial fishing is a global, billion dollar per year industry that provides seafood andshellfish to many international consumers. Specifically in the United States, the notion of “over fishing” has created concern from environmental groups when it comes to commercial fishing practices and reporting. Commercial fishing has evolved into a highly profitable industry thatfocuses on meeting quotas of buyers in the quickest and most efficient time possible; not alwaysthe legal way. Estimates acknowledge that fisheries and ecosystems are in a downward spiral,although intense fishing regulations have been created by countries where commercial fishingoccurs. Scientific evidence has made a bold claim that within a few decades, commercial fishingwill be an obsolete business due to the extremely low quantity of fish available to harvest.Ecosystems have also been affected from the machinery and massive nets used by commercialfishing companies to gain as much profit as possible. Finding a viable solution to the commercialfishing pandemic is necessary in order to combat specie extinction. By maintaining a sustainableworld wide fishing industry, both fish and ecosystems would be replenished and not eradicated.

COMMERCIAL FISHING ISSUES 3ReferencesAgardy, M. T., Dayton, P. K., Hofman, R. J., & Thrush, S. F. (1995). Environmental effects of marine fishing.

Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

, 5, 205-232.Retrieved September 25, 2010, from http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/73980.pdf The environmental effects that impact fish are exploited throughout this journal article.By-catch and incidental netting of marine life (turtles, birds, etc.) are both cited as biological problems that are directly correlated to commercial fisherman. Fishermanneed to have net regulations that accommodate other animals besides fish. The authorsconclude that in order to maintain a viable marine ecosystem, commercial fishingmethods need to be altered in order to not destroy the habitats where fish breed andflourish.Agnew, D. J., Beddington, J. R., & Clark, C. W. (2007). Current Problems in the Management of Marine Fisheries.

Science/AAAS

, 316, 1713-1716. Retrieved September 24, 2010, fromhttp://www.illegal-fishing.info/uploads/Science-article-220607.pdf In this journal article, the authors note the regulations and administrative efforts to protect commercially harvested fish are very weak. The article points to officials whogovern fisheries as the party at fault for problems with oceanic ecosystems. The authorssuggest that regulations need to be created and enforced in order to let ecosystemsflourish and not create inhabitable living conditions for fish.Agnew, D. J., Beddington, J. R., Pearce, J., Peatman, T. , Pitcher, J. , & Pramod, G. , et al.(2009). Estimating the Worldwide Extent of Illegal Fishing.

PLoS ONE

, 4(2), 1-8.