Marine Fisheries

The idea of depleting our resources of fish is not a new one, nor will it ever truly be resolved. Environmentalists say that we must stop over fishing for it will be better in the long run for the economy. Scientists say that there aren't enough fish in the ocean of certain species and that something must be done about it. The government tries to intervene regularly, creating new rules and regulations, only causing more problems. The men who fish the waters say there is not a problem and wonder if they will have jobs, or even a livelihood in the future. Any way we look at this dilemma there are different views and opinions. To best accommodate both the environment and the industry, everyone must work together and have all the facts about what is truly going on in the ocean.

To know what is really going on down in the ocean many people collect and combine their data in hopes of coming to some conclusions. There are many different people studying the ocean, such as chemists, biologists, geologists, and many more that help to determine what is truly taking place down there. The methods that many scientists use to collect this data are with their own studies, and also gather information from other sources. They use fisherman's logs and the catches recorded over time within nets and lines. They also take U.S. Fish and Wildlife records to compare over the last few decades. They have people dockside that wait for the fisherman to come in and get the numbers of what they have caught over the day. While the idea behind this is a good one, it is not always very accurate, because many fishermen would choose to not give the true numbers, not wanting to have reached their quota yet. While using surveys throughout the industry, scientists also rely on historical catch statistics and sampling done by government boats. The historical statistics can be useful in showing if there is depletion in fish based on declining numbers of catch of certain species. As certain species are over fished scientists' will began to see a declining pattern, since they are not being found as often as before.

Scientists also use samplings taken by government vessels to help procure an estimate of what the amount of species of fish is. While the actual numbers of fish are never accurate, scientists can also study the biological makeup of fish to get an idea of how long it would take for a species to make a comeback. For instance, they have done studies on the Orange Roughy and have found that it takes that fish a long time to grow, let alone reproduce. It can take up to 30 years for the fish to grow before it is able to reproduce, which can lead to quick depletion as they are continuously fished out of the ocean. At the same time as doing research on the age and growth of many species, there are also scientists doing research on the impact recent technology has had on the environment of the ocean itself. With the new long lines and what is termed trawling, the ocean floor has been damaged in many ways. Some parts of the ocean have been so ripped up by these dragging lines that no fish can inhabit them, and therefore many more are dying with no place to live or reproduce.

As scientists collect and compact their data they are able to make estimates about what the population is like for certain species. They can take these numbers