Seafood could collapse by the year 2048
According to an article posted on CNN.com, seafood could soon be a thing of the past. A team of economists and ecologists have warned people in a science journal that if pollution and overfishing continue to occur at the present rate, the populations of most seafood will die off by the year 2048. This trend is noticed in oceans all over the world, and if species of fish and other sea animals continue to collapse, the different ecosystems will suffer as well. Not only do scientists worry about the oceans, they are becoming increasingly concerned with the Great Lakes and other bodies of water. Scientists have studied records from up to 1000 years ago and have found that 29% of seafood and other fish have collapsed (meaning the amount caught has declined by 90%)! In the year 2000, the average person ate 15.2 pounds of seafood per year. However, by 2004, people were eating 16.6 pounds of seafood per year.
What do you think about this problem? Do you think society can make changes before it's too late?
2 comments:
I agree with Drew; regulations on water pollution and the commercial harvesting of fish and other edible sea creatures must be put in place in order for these animals to be able to maintain sustainable populations. While tougher regulations on pollution and fishing would lower the profits made by some industrial firms (that would now have to more carefully treat their wastewater before they release it into rivers and oceans) and fisherman, I believe that the benefits outweigh the economic costs. It would be really lame if eating freshly caught shrimp, crabs, fish, lobsters, and squid tentacles became a thing of the past.
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