Over fishing - Empty Nets First Issue | Page 11

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Controls on Bycatch

To control the amount of bycatch, fisheries can use wide mesh nets so the smaller fish and other animals can escaoe. There are also net escape devices which can be used by sea turtles and birds. Additionaly, because some bycatch is annoaviidable while fishing with nets, there should be a ban on throwing away markatable fish back into the ocean so that fish does not go to watse.

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Marine Protection Areas

Currently, less then 2% of the ocean is establsihed prtoected ladn. Makng more areas protected would ensure that ecosystems that where severly overifshed could recover. Many scientists and policy makers call for the estavlishment of fully prtoected marine reserves, The good thing about marine resrves is that they work well and quickly. Many scientific studies indicate that a fully prtoected marine resrve causes fih populations to double, fish size gorws by a third, fish reprocduction triples, and biodiversity increases by almost one fourth. These results can be detected 2-4 years after the establsihment f the reseve.Humans have resrved 99.9 percent of the worlds ocean for our use. Marine scientists aregyue that in order tosustain the oceasn biodiversity, we must establsih 30% of the oceans as reserves.

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Monitering & Enforcement

Although some protocals haevbeen established to protect marine life, these are losely enforced, and is not under the jursitciaiton to be enforced by a particular counrty.

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Only Fishing Adults

Most of the fishing gar used is smalle nough do that it can fish the young fish. WHen the young fish are tken, it makes it so that they cannot grow up and have offspring, and the fish go extinct much faster, Using large net mesh desgined to ctach only the bigger fish can help to stop this probelm and allow the fish to grow to adulthood.

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Sustainable Methods

The current methods used for fishing iare very unsustaibale, and do not only harm fish but many other organisims at higher trophic levels. By improving methods, bycatch can be prevented and the targets will only be the adult fish, which would allow a new generation of fish to exist.