How does the over fishing of sharks effect ocean ecosystems?
How does the overfishing of sharks have an effect on marine ecosystems?
In this report, I will explain how the overfishing of sharks has an effect on marine ecosystems. Also, I will be touching on the dangers to sharks worldwide and the catastrophic impacts that the mass depopulation of sharks could have on both animals and humans. Overall, sharks worldwide are in danger due to the fact that as many as 100 million sharks are killed each year. This has devastating effects on marine ecosystems due to the fact that sharks help to maintain a balance in marine ecosystems and have done so for some 400 million years. Also, as they are the apex predators of the oceans, much like wolves or lions on land, they help to stop some species from over populating an area. If sharks are almost completely removed from an ecosystem there is a boom in the population of the prey of those sharks, for example cow nose rays. Then, the population of these rays ‘explodes’ causing there to be many more rays in the ecosystem than nature intended. Resulting, in a rapid decline of the animals that these rays feed on, for example clams and oysters. Then, the rays begin to run out of viable prey and so the exploded ray population begins to decline until the once diverse and functional ecosystem has been completely destroyed.
To put this into context, a fishery in North Carolina that had been there for 100 years had to be shut down due to the fact that the exploded population of rays consumed all of the clams and oysters that the fishery was harvesting causing them to go out of business. Along with many other commercially important fisheries including; Lotze, H.K, Pattengill-Semmens, McClenachan and many more on America’s East coast alone. This is happening to fisheries all over the world however it seems that a large majority of these fisheries that are no longer viable are located in the Pacific Ocean. This is not only due to the fact that the pacific is the largest ocean in the world but
In this report, I will explain how the overfishing of sharks has an effect on marine ecosystems. Also, I will be touching on the dangers to sharks worldwide and the catastrophic impacts that the mass depopulation of sharks could have on both animals and humans. Overall, sharks worldwide are in danger due to the fact that as many as 100 million sharks are killed each year. This has devastating effects on marine ecosystems due to the fact that sharks help to maintain a balance in marine ecosystems and have done so for some 400 million years. Also, as they are the apex predators of the oceans, much like wolves or lions on land, they help to stop some species from over populating an area. If sharks are almost completely removed from an ecosystem there is a boom in the population of the prey of those sharks, for example cow nose rays. Then, the population of these rays ‘explodes’ causing there to be many more rays in the ecosystem than nature intended. Resulting, in a rapid decline of the animals that these rays feed on, for example clams and oysters. Then, the rays begin to run out of viable prey and so the exploded ray population begins to decline until the once diverse and functional ecosystem has been completely destroyed.
To put this into context, a fishery in North Carolina that had been there for 100 years had to be shut down due to the fact that the exploded population of rays consumed all of the clams and oysters that the fishery was harvesting causing them to go out of business. Along with many other commercially important fisheries including; Lotze, H.K, Pattengill-Semmens, McClenachan and many more on America’s East coast alone. This is happening to fisheries all over the world however it seems that a large majority of these fisheries that are no longer viable are located in the Pacific Ocean. This is not only due to the fact that the pacific is the largest ocean in the world but