The future of fish - can farming save the last wild food - Essay Example

? The Future of Fish In APA Format Innovation is the need of the hour, the future of fish is largely dependent on innovation, and it is hightime for the sea food industry to bring down their level of wastes. The inventory tracking system which is in place is quite flawed, the system is unable to detect inventory and the waste which takes place on a daily basis, there are several endangered fish which need to be saved otherwise it is all doom and gloom for human beings. Like certain animals, several fish are on the verge of getting extinct and it should be our priority to protect them. Fish farming must be encouraged to make this happen, there is another huge problem which needs to be addressed, the fish farms rely heavily on wild fish for feed which leads to the capture of several wild fish every day, this needs to be sorted out quickly and the problem needs to be addressed. This paper will shed light upon this problem can be dealt with and how we can save several endangered fish. “According to leading marine fisheries researchers upwards of 80 percent of the world’s wild fisheries are either being fished at the maximum rate that could allow for replenishment, or they are already overexploited, depleted, or are recovering from depletion.” (The Challenges) The marine stock is declining at a very rapid pace, several special species of fish have already become extinct and some others are on the verge of becoming extinct, there are several reasons why this is happening, the biggest of them all is over-harvesting. Certain fish species take quite some time to reproduce and over-harvesting restricts that from happening and as result of which that particular specie becomes extinct. Another very big reason why this is happening is because of trawling, trawling refers to clearing up the ocean floor in simple language it means setting a forest on fire to hunt deer, this is also known as degeneration of marine environment, it has already affected the marine life and it is surely going to have serious ramification if it is not stopped. Illegal fishing is flourishing and it is again a very big problem, the laws in place are not draconian and people who engage in illegal fishing know how to easily get away with it, this problem is much severe than initially thought and it is affecting the food chain in many ways, the concerned authorities must take note of this and act in a way which would prevent people from engaging in activities which are affecting the endangered fish. Fish farming is believed to be a solution with the help of which fish can be saved and protected from poachers who poach on a daily basis to ensure the survival of their family, fish farming has also come under intense criticism for following methods which are believed to be harmful for the environment. Firstly it is believed that fish farming relies heavily upon feeds from wild fish, this is unacceptable. The decimation of wild fish is expected to occur within no time should we keep following this practice. The other problem is pollution, it is believed that the water used for fish farming causes water pollution, fish waste contains toxic substances like nitrate which is more than capable of contaminating water. Fish farmers use several antibiotics to prevent various diseases in fish which again is capable of causing water pollution. Genetic contamination is another important issues which needs to be dealt with, chicken produced in various farms are bred to produce more breast meat similarly the fish produced in fish farms have their own traits and when these fish escape they mate with wild fish, the offspring does not survive the adulthood as they as incapable of acclimatizing to natural environment. These are some of the biggest challenges which need our immediate attention and a concrete solution must be found to address these severe problems. The challenge is to find sustainable fish but a person must be very knowledgeable to be able to find sustainable fish, it is important to first identify the species that are sustainable and people who normally do fishing know nothing about sustainability. What most people don’t realize is the huge potential of this market, it can solve economic crisis should we handle it properly. The government has to step in and make some rules and regulations which would prevent illegal fishing, which would improve the overall standards of farm fishing, which would prevent farm fishing from causing water pollution, which would keep a strict check on the antibiotics given to fish in their farms. It is also believed that these farms are ill-equipped, several fish die because of congestion, the space is much less than what they get in their natural surroundings, these fish are often left to struggle against each other in their confined space and as a result of which they develop various deadly diseases. The space provided to them must be increased so that proper fish farming can be carried out, they will not die from deadly diseases should proper space be provided to them. “One proven and powerful way to change behavior on the water is to empower fishermen to sell directly to the market. However, this model is difficult to scale and efforts to grow this approach have been hampered by the challenges of organizing fishermen, effectively matching amounts of fish to market demand and building a business model flexible enough to serve both depleted and abundant fisheries. The way to overcome these challenges is to build a mechanism to aggregate supply.” (Supply Chain Insights) This is one very good way of dealing with this menace; this solution should be implemented immediately so that everything changes for the better. The Georges bank haddock is a classic example of government stepping in and setting things right, this particular specie would have become extinct had the government not set catching restrictions on it, this was a very good move which was lauded by several people who are working indefatigably to preserve endangered species, the government must once again intervene to ensure that endangered species are not over-harvested. “The dusky shark is again a very vulnerable fish which has been over-harvested and it is believed by the scientists that it would take 100 to 400 years for it to recover.” (The New York Times, Threatened) After government stepped in and set restrictions, the profit of several big companies has inevitably taken a toll and they are finding ways to get around these restrictions, the government must ensure that punitive laws are in place to punish the offenders who do not realize the gravity of the situation, these people are selfish and do not care two hoots about the food chain nor do they care about the environment, such offenders must be taught a lesson to ensure no similar activities take place in the future. The fish produced in farms are not tasty, the wild fish that live in their natural surroundings taste much better than the fish produced by farming, would people be happy eating their favorite fish once a week? Or would they be better of eating farmed fish every day? It is extremely important to answer this question, the people should be made aware of the current situation and an appropriate step must be taken before it is too late. “The supplies of fish in the world’s vast oceans once seemed inexhaustible. Not anymore. In the past three decades, production and consumption of fish have risen so dramatically that the world’s wild fisheries may fall victim to their own success. Meanwhile, the growing aquaculture industry has attempted to fill the gap between supply and demand. But as the global appetite for fish continues to increase, current trends in the fish sector pose serious risks to the environment, to the well-being of poor people, and to the viability of the fish sector itself.” (The Future of Fish) According to Zohar, who works in the department of biotechnology in the University of Maryland, fish farming will complete change in the coming years, he also believes that fish will very soon be genetically modified and this is how this industry will grow and prosper. "Seafood is the only commodity that is still at the stage of hunt-and-gather farming," he observes. "Compare it with chickens, and we are way behind the curve." (The Future of Fish Farming) To conclude it is very fair to say that the government must encourage fish farming but should also ensure that the same should not pollute the environment, another thing which the government must do is to restrict illegal fishing. Government must also launch awareness campaigns which would shed light upon the current situation and make the people aware of how bad the current situation is and how they can chip in and make the conditions better. These steps should be taken before it is too late. There are several species of fish which stand on the verge of extinction and protecting them should be our priority as well as our duty. References Supply Chain Insights (2011). Our Approach. Retrieved from http://www.futureoffish.org/fof-insights/#our-approach/ The Challenges (2011). Future of Fish. Retrieved from http://www.futureoffish.org/the-challenges/ The New York Times, Threatened (2008). Collapse from Overfishing. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/11/16/weekinreview/20081116_BITTMAN_GRFK-2.html?ref=weekinreview The Future of Fish (2003). Issues and Trends to 2020. Retrieved from http://www.ifpri.org/publication/future-fish The Future of Fish Farming (2000). Scientific American. 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