ESS homework 4.

3
1a. Identify four strategies that can be used in the sustainable management of wild fisheries.
Use of quotas, which are legal frameworks that pause limitations in the size of the fish caught
and the fishing period.
Restricting the number of vessels via fishing licenses.
Surveillance by checking landings by EU and other vessels such as logbooks, satellite
surveillance etc.
Set on markets a tariff policy such as restrictions on imports or minimum import prices.
1b. Evaluate the sustainability of two water management strategies to improve access to
freshwater resources in a society.
As they offer water for drinking, crop cultivation, manufacturing, energy, and a variety of other
uses, freshwater resources are essential to both the sustainability of an ecosystem and to
human societies. But many countries, especially those in Asia and Africa, do not have easy
access to such water resources due to factors, like their climate, location, economy and
technological capabilities. In order to ensure access to freshwater resources, humans have
developed water management techniques like artificial groundwater recharge and desalination
technology. Both of these strategies have an effect on the environment, and this assessment
looks at their sustainability. The term "sustainability" describes the use of natural resources at a
rate that favors their natural regeneration while reducing environmental harm.
With the steady increase in global population and continued mismanagement of water usage,
many of the world's water reserves have reached critical condition. The Middle East, the
American Southwest, and Southern Asia have all seen gross overuse of their water resources
which has led to a dramatic decrease in groundwater supply. Groundwater is recharged
naturally by precipitation, ice, and snowmelt. Through the hydrologic cycle, nature goes
through a unique process to resupply the earth's groundwater. The act of gathering or
"depleting" the groundwater supply by pumping it to the surface. It becomes a serious concern
when the rate at which groundwater is being depleted surpasses the rate at which it can be
replenished. Groundwater depletion can result to drought and famine, disrupted ecosystems
and saltwater contamination, amongst other phenomena. Artificial recharge is the practice of
increasing the amount of water that enters an aquifer through human-controlled means. For
example, groundwater can be artificially recharged by redirecting water across the land surface
through canals, infiltration basins, or ponds; adding irrigation furrows or sprinkler systems; or
simply injecting water directly into the subsurface through injection wells. There are several
artificial recharge techniques in use in Latin America and the Caribbean, including infiltration
basins and canals, water traps, cutwaters, surface runoff drainage wells, septic-tank-effluent
disposal wells, and diversion of excess flows from irrigation canals into sinkholes. In Argentina,
for example, a system of canals and infiltration basins has been successfully used in the
provinces of San Juan, Mendoza, and Santa Fe. Water traps have also been used in Mendoza.
This is an effective technology for use in arid and semi-arid regions. Lack of financial backing
and appropriate laws to put landowners in check on the management of drainage wells will
lead to the breakdown of the wells. This will further lead to contamination of groundwater and
clogging of aquifers.
Another strategy for managing water and expanding access to freshwater resources is
desalination. The process of desalinating seawater involves taking away salts and other
minerals from water and using the resultant freshwater for consumption and agricultural uses.
One benefit of seawater desalination is that it provides people in countries with limited access
to freshwater resources, like Ethiopia, with drinking water and water for agricultural cultivation.
It makes use of technology to protect water quality, aid in the preservation of existing
freshwater supplies, and offer unlimited amounts of ocean water that can be desalinated and
made into drinking water. Desalination plants, though, have a substantial impact on the
environment and are expensive to build and maintain. In particular, the salt collected is
returned to the ocean through the use of brine, a process that alters the salinity of the water
and lowers the quantity of oxygen present in it, killing marine life and contaminating the water
with chemicals used in the process, such as chlorine and hydrochloric acid. Desalination also
uses a lot of energy, most of which is generated by burning fossil fuels, which damages the
environment by producing extra CO2 emissions. Seawater desalination is also not particularly
sustainable since it has multiple negative impacts in the environment and it doesn’t lessen the
harm it causes to it. Desalination, however, is a crucial method of water management that
enables people to access freshwater resources, particularly in LEDCs.
2a. Using Figure 2, identify one reason for the trend shown in the curve for aquaculture.
While the years pass, human population is increasing and thus demand for food increases as
well, resulting to increased aquaculture for human consumption
2b. Using Figure 2, identify one reason for the trend shown in the curve for capture fisheries.
Since the demand for fishes has increased, capture fisheries will tend to increase as well, as
demonstrated by the curve.
2c. Outline two negative environmental impacts of aquaculture.
Environmental risks of aquaculture include the loss of a habitat, as well as the pollution caused
by antibiotics and vitamins.
2d. Describe two strategies for the management of sustainable capture fisheries.
Following the MSY and harvesting less than or equal to the maximum sustainable yield.
Establishing marine protected areas
3a. Identify one producer in the system illustrated in Figure 3.
Edible algae
3b. Outline one reason why aquaculture production has increased globally
Population has increased and thus demand for food has increased as well.
3c. Describe two negative environmental impacts that may arise from integrated aquaculture.
Escaped species may spread diseases or compete with other species, causing the population to
crash.
Another negative impact includes the pollution that results from feed, antibiotics and other
medicines added to the fish pens.
3d. Explain why this system may cause fewer environmental impacts than systems that farm
only fish.
This system will most likely cause fewer environmental impacts than systems that farm only fish
since, first of all, food is provided naturally from within the ecosystem and fish consuming
modified feed from humans is prevented. In addition, the greater the species in a system, the
higher the biodiversity, and thus, resilience and complexity of it.