UNIV 112!
12/07/14!
Mr. Murray!
Sydney Penza!
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Human Error and Suffering Marine Life!
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Imagine, you sit down and order your favorite dish, the seared tuna with that spicy
wasabi aioli you've been telling your friends about for the past month. The feature of this dish is
the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, which is on the endangered species list. When you ask the waiter for
it, he says “Im sorry ma’am, we can no longer offer that dish, in fact no restaurant in the United
State is able to acquire that fish.” This is the future of our planet if we do not curb our abuse of
marine life. Human activities need to be limited by the government through introducing limits on
suburban housing, designated aquatic recreation areas, a maximum fishing amount, and a limit
on dam building. Even though our actions against marine life do not effect us now, they will in
the future. Our current food sources coming from bodies of water will be wiped out. Species
such as the very important Bluefin Tuna, as well as the leatherback turtle, beluga whale, and
manatee, are endangered. It doesn't matter who you are, whether you eat fish all the time, or
don't eat it at all, it is our job to do something about the degradation of marine life. As long as we
sit in silence and let these things happen, we are at just as much of fault as the people actively
implementing these allowances. !
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It is morally unjust to let the issue of marine life endangerment go unnoticed, They are
living breathing things and have just as much of a right to live as we do, and it is selfish to
actively exterminate them. They provide us with resources and we are foolishly denying them
whilst killing them. The bible says that man has complete reign over animals, however we must
not abuse this power, abuse the animals, and cause for their demise. “We are to control the
numbers of animals so disease and sickness do not kill them off; we are to use the animals for
our needs; we are to control animals in a manner in which they are not harmful to humans; and
finally we should protect them from over-killing and abuse.” (gotquestions.org) So, we can use
these animals for food, but it is up to us to not abuse this power, because when me do, it turns
into murder. We take these animals for granted, we don't ever think we could wipe out the
entirety of marine life. The shocking realization is that we can. We have chain reactions, the
removal of prey and predators. All these things will severely alter ecosystems and lead them to
extinction. “An important nutrient to sea life is nitrate, and this nutrient became much lower after
the overfishing of cod. It became lower because the cod was no longer there to consume the
phytoplankton, and the phytoplankton takes in higher nitrate amounts.” (Scheffer, Carpenter,
Young 1) Let us stop abusing our power as the most dominant species on earth by monitoring
and decreasing our negative effect on marine ecosystems.
One of our biggest discrepancies against marine life is our overfishing their populations.
However, are we really consuming all of the fish being overfished? No. ““Bycatch, or the capture
of non-target fish and ocean wildlife, remains one of the biggest threats to the health of ocean
ecosystems, contributing to overfishing and the decline of fish populations around the world,”
wrote the report’s lead author, Amanda Keledjian, estimating that 2 billion pounds of fish are
abandoned by American commercial fishermen annually.” (Todd Woody) This further exemplifies
our glutenous, wasteful, and abusive habits. We are catching these animals in exponential
amounts, and end up throwing a large portion of that away. Needlessly ending lives, and altering
their habitats. As a nation we must come together and right this unjust situation by limiting the
amount fisheries are allowed to catch to stop abusing our power. This is why we must start
putting restrictions on our actions. !
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Terri Klinger says “The growing human population puts direct pressure on marine
biological resources through extraction of food and natural resources from the ocean;
conversion of coastal habitats for housing, marinas, and other purposes; use of waterways for
shipping and recreational purposes; intentional and unintentional translocation of exotic marine
species; and pollution of coastal waters and their underlying sediments.” (Klinger 1) Terri Klinger
is a marine ecologist who studies what factors put stress upon the ocean life. She furthers the
argument that humans are the cause for marine degradation. We build to close to, or on top of,
marine habitats using up their resources. We also damage their environment by runoff from our
houses. Marinas do the same thing when it comes to taking up their space and damaging their
environment. Human recreation effects them negatively from direct collisions with marine life.
We must curb our invasion on marine ecosystems, and our recreational use of their habitats so
they may sustain life. All of these are harmful to marine life, but the most hazardous human
practice is over fishing.!
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By overfishing selected marine species, fisherman are causing the population of said
species to become dangerously low which will lead to eventual endangerment. “In 2003, a
scientific report estimated that industrial fishing had reduced the number of large ocean fish to
just 10 percent of their pre-industrial population.” (National Geographic) The alarming thing
about this number is the fact that fisheries aren't even using all of these fish. The United States
Fishing Industry “is wasting $1 billion worth of fish caught as bycatch, according to a report
released Thursday by Oceana, a nonprofit that works to protect the world’s oceans. The waste
represents 20 percent of the industry’s 2012 revenues.” (Todd Woody) We must limit the
number of fish we catch, by calculating the waste and the available population.!
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If we do not start conserving the population of endangered marine species, they will go
extinct just like the leather back turtle, the beluga whale, and the manatee. The overall reason
for the demise of marine species falls on human shoulders. “Other human activities such as
habitat destruction in combination with climate change are making the situation only worse.
Increasing temperatures may force species to move toward their preferred, and generally
cooler, climate range. Thus, if those habitats have already been destroyed, then the species are
not be able to escape the climate change and will go extinct.” (Endangered Species
International) Here we see the negative effects of human life on an animal that relies on marine
life to live, polar bears. “The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report in 2005 stated that polar
bears are unlikely to survive the complete loss of summer sea-ice cover. A 2007 report from the
U.S. Geological Service estimated that as a result of sea-ice decline, today’s population of
about 22,000 polar bears would decrease by two-thirds by the year 2050, even with moderate
projections for future climate change.” (New England Aquarium) This means that by 2050 there
will only be 14,667 polar bears left. You'd think that these numbers might shock people into
restoring the species population in any way they can. Unfortunately, that is not the case. To put
it into perspective, manatees were put on the endangered species list in 1972, and are still
losing population numbers to human causes. “According to a report from the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Commission, 585 manatees have died as of May 2, 2013- that’s approximately 11
percent of their total population!”(Jennifer Mishler) This means, a species that was put on the
endangered list 42 years ago is still losing numbers. The polar bear was only put on the list in
2008. All of these animals don't have to die, if we take simple steps to conserve their
populations, we wont have to face the problems that come with their extinction. !
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We should prohibit acts that exponentially decrease the population of marine species
because it is easily preventable. First, it is incredibly easy to make our boats eco friendly. Some
people dispose of their oil filters and excess boat oil into the water. Instead, use a disposal
facility. “The volume of hydrocarbon and oil pollution entering North America's waters every year
from recreational boating is estimated to be more than 15 times the amount of the Exxon Valdez
spill (up to one billion litres per year).” (Eartheasy) We can use non toxic boat cleaners so the
toxins on normal boat cleaners don't contaminate the water. And lastly, simply maintain your
boat. “An estimated 30 percent of all fuel and oil used in two-stroke engines ends up in the
water. We can reduce these threats to the ecosystems by careful attention to routine boat
maintenance and use.” (Eartheasy) The ways we can help the marine life populations are
endless, we can also help by limiting the amount of dams we build. !
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First, dams block the pathways that fish use in order to find more food or to mate. Dams
also interrupt the flow of water, changing the characteristics of the water thus instilling an
environmental change that some species might not be able to tolerate.!
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However, some people argue for the construction of dams. “Some dams provide real
benefits to the dam owner and sometimes to the surrounding community as well. Certain types
of dams can provide hydropower or flood protection, and others provide still-water recreation
like motor-boating and waterskiing.” (American Rivers) This website argues for both the benefits
of building a dam, but also includes the downfalls that have been previously mentioned. Dams
serve a great benefit when it comes to flood prevention, implementing a system that lets us
keep our homes and livelihood intact. And they give us to room we desire for more fun with
aquatic recreation. However, the only ones reeling the benefits of a dam are humans. Further
pushing the point that humans are the cause for the degradation of marine life. When it comes
to flood prevention of dams, we could choose to simply not house so close to large rivers.
Instead of looking out for our own benefit in the here and now, we need to observe the
destruction we cause on marine life. Not only is it directly hurting marine life, but it could end up
hurting us in the future when our food sources become extinct.!
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Restoring marine populations is not a gigantic feat. If we could simply put regulations on
the amount of fish we catch, the amount of dams we build, how close our habitats are to theirs,
and how much and where we take part in aquatic recreation, we could restore marine life. Even
if the government chooses not to change a thing, if the majority of americans took note of their
impact on marine life and made the decision to live less impactful lives, the populations would
increase. If we do not, life as we know it would alter severely. Aquatic food chains would
diminish and change, and ours would too. !
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"Eartheasy." Eco-Friendly Boating. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://
eartheasy.com/play_eco-friendly_boating.htm>.
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"Endangered Species and Habitats." Climate Change: The Effects on Ocean
Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.neaq.org/
conservation_and_research/climate_change/effects_on_ocean_animals.php>.
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Klinger, Terrie. "Marine Conservation." - AccessScience from McGraw-Hill
Education.Friday Harbor Laboratories, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <http://
www.accessscience.com/content/marine-conservation/757590>.
McLean, Kerri. "The River Blog." American Rivers. N.p., 18 June 2014. Web. 07
Dec. 2014. <http://www.americanrivers.org/blog/dam-ownership-argument-foragainst-keeping-dam/>.
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Mishler, Jennifer. "Florida's Manatees Are Dying in Record Numbers - Sea
Shepherd Conservation Society." Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. N.p., 23
May 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.seashepherd.org/commentary-andeditorials/2013/05/23/floridas-manatees-are-dying-in-record-numbers-607>.
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"Overfishing -- National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Dec. 2014. <http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-overfishing/
>.
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Scheffer, Marten, Steve Carpenter, and Brad De Young. "Cascading Effects of
Overfishing Marine Systems." Science Direct. Cell Press: Trends in Ecology and
Evolution, Nov. 2005. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/
article/pii/S0169534705002752>.
"The Five Worst Mass Extinctions." Endangered Species International. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/
overview.html>.
"What Does the Bible Say about Animal Rights?" GotQuestions.org. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.gotquestions.org/animal-rights.html>.
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Woody, Todd. "The U.S. Fishing Industry Is Throwing Away $1 Billion in Catch a
Year." TakePart. N.p., 27 June 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://
www.takepart.com/article/2014/06/26/fishing-industry-wastes-1-billion-worth-fishyear>.
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