The Fishing Industry

Recently in my Marine Biology class, I watched a documentary The End of the Line. This showed the current issues in the fishing industry. http://endoftheline.com/

The documentary The End of the Line explained the devastating effects of overfishing all around the world. It shows how the main cause is by improvement in technology and high demand of fish from humans. One man in the movie stated, “fish have no chance of escaping due to the amount of technology these boats now have.” Basically the whole fishing industry has come down to companies making millions for ridding off species of fish. Not only are they ridding off species such as tuna, salmon, and shrimp but they are also “bycatching” species such as sharks, dolphins, and horsefish. This is a huge problem because as explained in the movie, it is a race to catch the last fish.

            Being a vegetarian, I have always understood the impact human’s have on the fishing and meat industries. The only explanation for any of these issues is due to human consumption. I had watched numerous movies on the meat factories around the world, but never had I watched anything on the fishing industry because as someone who loves the ocean it hits too close to home. The movie gave me more of an understanding of how crucial it is for people to be educated in the matter of over fishing and how it is all happening because fish is in high demand. More than ever, people are consuming more meat and more fish, therefore it only makes sense that these companies are going to try to mass produce no matter what the consequences are.

            Although, animal cruelty is a devastating issue in the meat and fishing industries, what is even worse is the impact it is having on our environment and on our bodies. Due to fish being in high demand, they also create fish farms, which are basically no longer real fish. They are pumped with hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals beyond the human mind. Considering we are the first generation consuming these chemicals, they have no idea how it will affect us or our children in the long-run. We are merely test subjects. If we do not become informed as soon as possible and stop these industries, ecosystems will collapse. Anyone who can imagine a world with no fish, and accept that, and believe the environment will still run on its natural course, needs a serious reality check and become educated. This all starts with the politicians putting an end to this, which means it starts with us, making sure we vote for the right people, and speak up. There is still time to save our planet.