Essay Example on Fish is considered an important part of a human's healthy Diet

Fish is considered an important part of a human's healthy diet as it contains large amounts of protein and omega 3 fatty acids which can help stop diet related disease like heart disease However fish are being caught at a rapid rate otherwise known as overfishing Over 85 of the world's major fishing grounds are experiencing overfishing Starting in the 1990's and early 2000's fishermen began using instruments like sonar and large trawling nets to efficiently capture up to thousands of individual fish to be sold in supermarkets and restaurants around the world Resulting in some species reaching extinction like Chilean Sea Bass and Pacific Salmon Countries that are contributing to this problem are countries with high dependencies on seafood for necessity or for economic purposes Most of them are in Asia and the Americas like Japan China Chile Vietnam and the United States What these countries have in common are extremely long coastlines with populations who are used to eating fish on a daily basis Many consequences occur due to overfishing 

The most damaging of them being decimated fishing grounds resulting in reduced economic output the destabilization of local food chains and the creation illegal fishing activities When commercial fishermen capture almost tens of thousands of fish in one shift it causes a reduced population of that fish species that can breed and reproduce more fish for the next harvest Fish with long migration or mating periods are subsequently vulnerable to extinction Secondly smaller harvests eventually lead to decreased economic revenue resulting in millions of jobs around the world lost due to fish s ever growing scarcity Most of the fish that are caught for human consumption are predators like snapper or tuna When these species are left in short supply it leads to an overpopulation of producers and consumers like phytoplankton or sardines upsetting the biological food chain As yet another problem arises when foreign fishing vessels are caught fishing in the territorial waters of another sovereign state out of jurisdiction which is called illegal unreported and unregulated fishing IUU Part 1B Country Policy Overfishing in Somalia has been an existing problem since 1991 where internal instability has resulted in IUU fishing vessels depleting native fishing populations and having destroyed 120 000 sq km of underwater habitat This problem has led Somalians to commit piracy to remove the IUU fishing vessels which ultimately led to the presence of anti piracy task forces like CTF 151 The presence of CTF 151 has led to a resurgence in illegal fishing vessels as there are no pirates to deter them from fishing in Somali waters 

In 1982 the government of Somalia approved of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and soon ratified the convention in 1989 Today the Somali government is trying to regain control of its maritime territory it once lost by rebuilding the Somali Coast Guard to once again monitor and secure Somali waters from illegal fishing boats The Somali government is also in cooperation with CTF 151 and the UN Security Council to help remove illegal fishing in Somali waters stipulated in S RES 2316 The Somali Government also passed the Somali Fisheries Law which bans bottom trawling in Somali waters Bottom trawling is the practice where large nets are dragged along the seafloor catching thousands of fish and damaging native habitats in the process Part 2 UN Involvement In 1973 the United Nations convened to create the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS The Convention advised member states to pass legislation to combat illegal or excessive fishing practices The 1995 Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks was then later discussed by the states that approved of the UNCLOS The Agreement called for limits on fish harvests and compliance on maritime conservation and restoration measures The Security Council is also involved with overfishing by discussing and enacting resolutions related to illegal fishing Resolutions like S RES 2316 calls for Combined Task Force 151 to also coordinate and combat illegal and unregulated fishing in Somali waters in addition to their anti piracy role The General Assembly is involved in overfishing by discussing solutions to sustainable fishing One of the resolutions the General Assembly has approved of was A RES 71 123 which called for member states to establish long term goals for conserving and managing fisheries encourage law enforcement against illegal fishing vessels regulate harvest quotas and restrict the use of certain technologies or practices like large trawling nets NGOs like Stop Illegal Fishing contribute by offering cooperation and public awareness measures to help stop or mitigate illegal fishing The World Wildlife Fund WWF is also a major contributor The WWF takes part in inspections of fishing companies who operate in sustainable fishing practices and helps give proper certification Today over 15 000 seafood products are certified by the WWF The WWF also takes part in monitoring protected marine areas to look out for IUU fishing