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Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms.
Jack mackerel caught by a Chilean purse seiner Fishing down the food web. Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area.
Jack mackerel caught by a Chilean purse seiner Fishing down the food web. Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area.
A recent survey of global ocean health concluded that all parts of the ocean have been affected by human development and that 41 percent has been fouled with human polluted runoff, overfishing, and other abuses. [26] Pollution is not easy to fix, because pollution sources are so dispersed, and are built into the economic systems we depend on.
The overfishing list reflects species that have an unsustainably high harvest rate. NOAA also keeps a list of overfished stocks. Those are species that have a total population size that is too low.
Ray Hilborn stated that the unsustainable nature of fisheries can be characterized by three aspects: . Inconsistent long-term yield refers to the imbalance in nature when fishing is practiced improperly, which results in the inability to capture the maximum sustainable yield at a regular and predictable rate.
The Atlantic fishery abruptly collapsed in 1993, following overfishing since the late-1950s, and an earlier partial collapse in the 1970s. [1] It is expected to recover to historical, sustainable levels by 2030. [2] In 1992, Northern Cod populations fell to 1% of historical levels, due in large part to decades of overfishing. [3]
From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found there. [28] The ocean's surface acts like a skin between the atmosphere above and the water below, and harbours an ecosystem unique to this environment.