Every time that commercial fisheries use mile-wide nets to catch thousands upon thousands of fish, other mammals and marine wildlife are caught, harmed, and killed within the process. These animals that are unintentionally harmed are called bycatch.9 Hundreds of bycatch animals are caught each day, and wasted-they are dumped back into the ocean after being killed or harmed. Rules and management need to be developed and carried out to protect the innocent animals that accidentally get in the way of fishermen. New methods need to be invented so that unintentional targets are not harmed.
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Easy Solutions Solutions
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The phenomenon of overfishing as an international commodity has led to a tragedy of the commons in many marine species. So many species are being caught and consumed internationally, without enough time to spawn and reproduce to meet the needs of the growing population. This overfishing of species causes food insecurity, a decrease in biodiversity, and possibly the extinction of species. This problem can be solved, with the help of the 5 steps listed here!
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Knowing
Our Limits
In order to reduce this tragedy, we need to determine scientifically calculated limits on the number of fish caught for individual fisheries, otherwise known as “safe catch limits”. 9 Some of these limits exist, but there need to be more limits on different species of fish, and these limits need to be enforced on bigger fishing companies.
Throw Away The Bycatch