Ocean Blues: Overfishing and Ecological Devastation

By Miles Mahowald / Spring 2021

Growing up I was always involved in fishing and the ocean. From fishing on a boat, to fishing from the shore, and eventually spearfishing underwater, the ocean has always been a huge part of my life. I will never forget the first time I went free-diving in Laguna Beach, California. The water was crystal clear, the ocean floor was covered in beautiful rocks and kelp that supported an army of fish. Everywhere you looked underwater there were beautiful fish to be seen. This was like heaven to me, being able to escape into this underwater world that was flourishing with life and color was something of immense value and importance to me. As I began to grow older, my love and passion for the ocean grew with me. My understanding of the importance for ocean conservation is something that I knew needed to be a part of societal importance.

Here we find ourselves in 2021, living in the moment of what should be the epitome of technological, medical, and mechanical advancements in the modern era. We have more technology than we even know what to do with, systems that monitor every aspect of our lives, and the ability to accelerate new developing technology like never before. We should be able to use this technology to create highly efficient systems in order to maximize productivity and minimize harm to our precious environment and ecosystems. Yet, with all of this technology and modern science advancements, we find ourselves halted in 2021. There is a crisis at hand that has been slipping through the cracks for quite some time now. The rate of overfishing across our world’s oceans has so quickly depleted our populations of seafood, that we may see a day where seafood is no longer available, and that day is approaching much faster than we think.

I have first handedly witnessed the decline of marine life in my nearby coastal waters over the last decade. The decline of marine life due to overfishing and inefficient fishing tactics is something that many of us have heard about, but something that most people will never actually see or feel the effects of, that is, until now. According to an article from the Stanford report, “every species of wild-caught seafood—from tuna to sardines—will collapse by the year 2050. "Collapse" was defined as a 90 percent depletion of the species' baseline abundance.” (news.stanford.edu). 2050 is only 29 years away from now, those three decades will be arriving very quickly. That means that our children will not be able to know what seafood tastes like, they will not be able to experience the beautiful underwater world of flourishing marine life. Most importantly, the greater impacts from such a large loss of marine life could mean even bigger problems like a decline in the amount of oxygen produced and the amount of freshwater we have. Now that we have clearly outlined this crisis at hand, let's look at the superficial ways in which people view the problem.

Most people have a basic understanding of what effect overfishing has on our oceans, and at least most people have heard about overfishing and the decline of our oceans’ health. Where the problem lies is in the education of how urgent this crisis really is.

Oftentimes we think that overfishing might be an overly hyped topic chosen to be voiced by “tree huggers” and “ocean activists”. I mean, if the world is 75% covered by oceans, how could we possibly deplete them of life so quickly? If we still haven't explored our ocean’s greatest depths and have such a small understanding of what is out there, how do we know that we have almost completely overfished the world’s commercial fish populations? And if the oceans are so vast and large, how could we get an accurate analysis of what fish populations are really like?

These are all very valid questions being asked. It is said that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deepest depths of our oceans. There are even new species being documented and found, even more so proving that we have yet to explore and document all parts of our vast oceans. With nearly 3⁄4 of our world covered by these oceans, being able to say that we have examined all of it is far-fetched. These are all examples of how people look at overfishing in a superficial way. We may not be able to scan every square foot of our oceans for an accurate assessment of life and the health of the ecosystems which surround this life, but there are still many accurate ways of assessment thanks to our technological advancements.

Fishing for popular fish species such as tuna, salmon, anchovy, and more has had a detrimental impact on these species. The practices which we use to catch these species of fish also create adverse problems for the environment and species which cohabitate with these fish. Large nets that kill off bycatch, long fishing lines that entangle other species, and damage done to the ocean floor are all very real and urgent issues created by the fishing industry. But even these can be seen as surface level problems to the untrained eye. Now that we have established how people might view this crisis in a shallow and surface level only manner, let's take a deeper look at the reality of our overfishing crisis.

In order to look deeper into this overfishing crisis, we need to look into the past. The past will tell us why and how we came to this situation of oceanic peril. Back before we had modern day fishing technology, fish were caught by a fishing rod and a hook. The amount of fish you caught was limited by factors such as your boat, fishing tackle, bait, and most importantly manpower to operate all these things. The fish species that were caught and consumed were also very specific for each economy. Fish species caught in warm waters were never sold in northern areas with cold environments, seafood was area specific.

With a rising need for different sources of protein in the mid 1900’s, governments began to look to seafood as a great way to fill this protein “shortage”. Government influences such as policies, loans, and subsidies paved the way for a quick rise in industrial fishing and the creation of new fishing tactics. With local society craving more seafood, and more exotic options, large profit seeking fishing fleets rose to fulfill these needs (National Geographic 2021). These fleets invented new ways of catching fish in immense quantities. With no regard to bycatch or environmental harm, these profit hungry fishing fleets would stop at nothing to fulfill their quotas and provide the public with fresh seafood.

Once these companies caught a taste of how profitable their new fishing techniques were, it was game over. Money hungry fishing fleets continued to grow in order to fish further away from home and for longer periods of time. These companies, located all over the world, saw only profit, often times resulting in the use of slavery on their vessels (Monbiot 2021). Not only were the fishing fleets having a detrimental effect on our ocean’s health, but they were also violating basic human rights. The drive for profit and power is something we have seen to consume individuals all throughout history and time.

We have seen this power and profit hungry driven business model before. The Gilded Age showed us all too well how power hungry robber barons would stop at nothing to gain wealth, exploiting their workers and ignoring basic business standards for operation (History.com Editors 2018). No matter what industry you may be in, there is always potential for business owners to take advantage of their workers and business practices in order to accumulate wealth and power. The fishing industry is no different from that of the railroad industry in the late 1800’s. But power hungry robber barons are not the only deeply rooted issue causing the global decline of all fish species.

Moving forward from overfishing, even if we were to stop the chaos all together, the ability for these fish to bounce back in population is much harder now than it was 40 years ago. Habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change have all played a major role in the decline of fish populations, but in a different way. While overfishing is killing off the adult populations of these species, the habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change is making it nearly impossible for these fish to reproduce, let alone survive to adulthood. So not only is the adult population of fish species being killed off, the young and juveniles are as well. Many fish populations are facing sterilization due to chemicals leached into their water (Wedekind 2014) . Sterilization of fish populations greatly diminishes the amount of spawn that have a chance to survive, furthering the crisis. Now that we understand the deeply rooted issues at hand, let's take a look at what is stopping us as a society from making change, and what we can do to help.

The main problem with this overfishing crisis is hegemony. Hegemony, “when the majority of people in a society accept the social hierarchies as natural and the dominant ideologies as true” (Twohig lecture 2021). This hegemony pertains to the overfishing crisis in the sense that no one is actually doing anything substantial to put an end to this rapid decline. Most people are just accepting the untrue narrative that our fish populations are fine and are okay with the fact that the fishing industry is run by profit hungry tycoons. Society as a whole needs to recognize that it doesn't need to be this way. Fishing was once done sustainably and can still be done sustainably with little to no impact on the environment. With education, we can show people that the ideologies surrounding the fishing industry are incorrect and toxic for healthy oceans. To teach society that we don't have to support these companies who fish for profit and destroy the ecosystem while they do so, is the only way we as a society can create change.

Another obstacle holding our society back is the love for sushi and food that comes from the sea. It is as simple as supply and demand. There is such a high demand for these fish and prices are so high that it is fueling the drive for more and more fish to be caught. Our society seems to love “exotic” food and food that is pricier or known as being for the wealthy. There is an entire industry that surrounds seafood, from the capture of the fish, to the selling of that fish to a restaurant, and then to the often upscale restaurant itself. The need, want, and demand for fish is what is allowing the fishing fleets to get away with such malpractice.

In order to stop this crisis, a serious change must start with the consumer. This means that the demand for fish and the demand for these outrageous fishing techniques and practices will no longer be relevant. For those who see fish as a treat and not a necessity, try to source fish from only local and small fishermen who practice sustainable fishing. Allow the demand to fall, so that these companies will have no option other than to downsize and lessen their impact on the crisis.

This change needs to be done with the use of solidarity. “The idea of solidarity describes the ways in which we are bound together and how we can act, in concert, to change our circumstances” (Taylor and Hunt-Hendrix 2019). With a crisis as serious as the global decline of our oceans and the wildlife that is in these oceans, this couldn't be more of a collective action issue. Through solidarity, we have a chance of actually making a difference in the demand for fish and the impacts on their habitat. Collectively we can stop eating fish unless we absolutely have to. We can speak out against habitat destruction, so that these fish species have a place to live and reproduce. We can all do our part to lessen our carbon footprint and hand in pollution.

We can all make change by not allowing companies to dump waste water or runoff into our oceans, lessening the chemicals exposed to our sensitive wildlife. Together we can actually have a chance, an opportunity, to stop and reverse the overfishing crisis.

This potential for a bright future can only be achieved if we all collectively work together towards the same shared goal. As said by AOC in the short film “A Message From the Future”, “We can be whatever we have the courage to see.” (Ocasio-Cortez 2019). This quote really resonated with me because it shows us that if we don't have the courage or strength to even think about making change, that change will never come. It all starts with the envisioning of a better world, and once we can see the end goal, we are one step closer to ending the overfishing crisis and saving our future oceans.

With all of this being said, all of this information being shown, why should you care about the overfishing of our oceans? Well, even if you do not enjoy the taste of seafood or live near an ocean community, the fact is that we are all connected to the ocean in some way, shape, or form. Entire societies live and survive off of protein harvested from the ocean. Our weather patterns and climate are influenced by the tides and currents throughout our seas. Even the air we breathe comes from our oceans, with up to 80% of our oxygen being produced by algae in the ocean (NOAA). If we see an oceanic ecosystem collapse due to overfishing, then we could very well see a decline in 80% of our oxygen. Now that just became much more serious than not being able to enjoy sushi every once in a while.

Or what about that little boy who grows up loving the ocean? Being inspired by the beautiful underwater world and the coastal waters teeming with life. Being able to see the ocean floor covered in beautiful colors, being surrounded by an army of colorful tiny fish. These are the experiences we want to be able to share with our future generations. To inspire them to explore new places and love our oceans. If not for your own sake, you should care so that a future generation can continue to have the opportunities we once had, to be able to share these simple life experiences and be whole.

Works Cited

History.com Editors. “Gilded Age.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Feb. 2018.

“How Much Oxygen Comes from the Ocean?” NOAA's National Ocean Service.

The Intercept. “A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Apr. 2019.

Monbiot, George. “Seaspiracy Shows Why We Must Treat Fish Not as Seafood, but as Wildlife | George Monbiot.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Apr. 2021.

Twohig, Niall. Class Lecture, 6 April 2021

“Overfishing -- National Geographic.” Environment, National Geographic, 3 May 2021.

“Science Study Predicts Collapse of All Seafood Fisheries by 2050.” Stanford University, 2 Nov. 2006, .

Taylor, Astra, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix. “One for All.” The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2019.

Wedekind, Claus. “Fish Populations Surviving Estrogen Pollution.” BMC Biology, vol. 12, no. 1, 2014, doi:10.1186/1741-7007-12-10.