Overfishing: The biggest threat to our Oceans
This World Ocean Day, we delve deeper into what overfishing is and how it affects our planet
Text: Shin Yee Koh
Plastic pollution is a big problem (Credit: Pexels)
Overfishing is often one of the most overlooked causes of marine life destruction and to a larger extent, climate change. Though it may sound far-fetched, the ocean is one of the biggest reasons our planet still exists. It produces over half of the world's oxygen and is one of our planet's largest carbon sinks, absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.
Overfishing threatens all of that when fishers take out a large chunk of a particular population to the point where entire species are going extinct. Take the southern bluefin tuna, for example - it was only downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2021. Apex predators such as sharks and dolphins are getting caught in the crosshairs and whilst they might be on the top of the food chain, that doesn't save them from ending up as bycatch.
Fishing practices have changed according to our demands (Credit: Pexels)
Modern fishing gear can be highly efficient at catching specific fish species and everything else in its path. So, turtles and dolphins may not be their target, but they get hauled up along with everything else the fishermen set out to catch. Unfortunately, 40% of bycatch end up either dead or dying before being tossed back into the water.
Fish are an integral part of the marine ecosystem. But as consumer demand rises, overfishing means that more fish are being caught than nature can sustain. This disturbs the entire marine ecosystem, which sends shockwaves down the line, affecting even microorganisms like phytoplankton. The base of virtually every oceanic ecosystem, these microorganisms are responsible for generating about half the atmosphere's oxygen. With the absence of their natural predators, microorganisms such as phytoplankton grow wildly, leading to harmful algal blooms that produce toxic compounds.
Overfishing also directly contributes to plastic pollution in our seas. In fact, according to Greenpeace, fishing gear like nets, lines, and traps makes up more than 85% of the plastic pollution in the sea. The environmental and socioeconomic impacts of having such equipment floating around our ocean are almost too many to list. Unfortunately, since most governments rarely crack down on laws in international waters, much of what happens in the sea goes unregulated.
Fishing gear is the major cause of plastic in the ocean (Credit: Pexels)
What we can do to help:
As individuals, there's only so much we can do – most of the responsibility lays in the hands of governments and corporate organisations to change the way they operate. However, there are some things we all can do to further encourage companies to adhere to stricter sustainability practices and stop overfishing.
1. Choose certified sustainable seafood
Seafood with the blue fish tick can be traced to a sustainable fishery. By choosing to buy MSC certified sustainable seafood for consumption, you're helping to incentivise sustainable fishing practices. Read on here to learn more about local sustainable fisheries in Singapore.
2. Support Rights-Based Fishery Management
Traditional fishery management structures encourage fishers to catch as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. But this conventional structure isn't the only way to run fisheries. Under rights-based fishery management, fishers are guaranteed a specific portion of the catch on the condition that they agree to certain limits – like how much fish they can catch and at what times of the year fishing is permitted. All of this encourages long-term thinking and more sustainable fishing.
3. Reduce food waste and learn better ways to cook and store seafood
Singapore produced 6.94 million tonnes of waste last year, and about 12% of that can be traced back to food wastage. Since seafood is notorious for going bad so quickly, we should be more mindful of portion sizes when we're at the fishmongers' so that we can reduce the chances of leaving it for too long to waste away in the back of our freezer.
Be mindful of how much fish you buy and cook (Credit: Pexels)
4. Encourage the next generation to think and act sustainably
We can only hope to change our own habits and behaviours of ourselves and the people around us. Still, if we can instil positive values into the next generation and our future leaders, then we're securing their future and our own. Nature documentaries are an excellent tool for engaging and educating younger kids about this topic. Seaspiracy on Netflix is one example, but if you don't have enough time to watch the whole thing, here are 10 shocking truths you have to know about the documentary.
A study done in 2019 states that ending overfishing can mitigate the impacts of climate change, so be the change you want to see and make these changes to help end overfishing today.
