Abstract and Introduction

The main point of concern seen with the issue of overfishing the world’s oceans is that Fish are being harvested from the oceans more quickly than populations are able reproduce and replenish their numbers. This is majorly due to the rapid increase in industrialization in catching methods seen in the last 50 years, where most fishing vessels are able to equipped with State-of-the-art sonar systems used by fishing vessels are able to detect schools of fish with a much greater accuracy and much more efficiently than the past (Greenpeace). The main effect that overfishing causes is the chain reaction that is set in motion when a species is removed from a local food web, resulting in a disruption in the ecological community that can lead to dangerous imbalances, such as an overproduction of biomass like algae and phytoplankton, or even a depletion in apex predator populations. The issue is being met with little international or local regulation, however the US has taken certain measures such as passing the Magnuson Act (Mitra) to install tighter catch limits. Measures have also been taken to initiate a stronger and more sustainable fisheries industry in the United States.