Ocean Pollution, and Overfishing - How can we solve it?

The ocean, it is a body of water that covers more than 70% of our planet and provides food, and water for all of us. Yet, even though we know it's a needed resource, we still throw up to 14 billion pounds of trash into the ocean each year.

“Healthy oceans and seas are essential to our existence.They cover 70 percent of our planet and we rely on them for food, energy and water. Yet, we have managed to do tremendous damage to these precious resources. We must protect them by eliminating pollution and overfishing and immediately start to responsibly manage and protect all marine life around the world.” - globalgoals.org In this blog, I will be listing some problems with ocean pollution and how we can solve these problems. 

Ocean pollution, ocean pollution occurs when harmful effects result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, or the spread of invasive organisms. Eighty percent of marine pollution comes from land. I’ve gone more in-depth (no pun intended) about ocean pollution in my other blog: Ocean Pollution 

Next, overfishing, overfishing is the removal of a species of fish from a body of water at a rate that the species cannot replenish, resulting in those species becoming underpopulated in that area. Currently, overfishing is a huge problem. More and more underwater species are going extinct  because of this and attempts have been made to stop this.

Now the big question, how can we stop these from happening? Well, I’ll tell you. In order to stop Ocean pollution we have to first, reduce pollutants. We have to use non-toxic chemicals and dispose of them properly. Second, reduce our waste production. Try to minimize as much waste you throw away. Third, shop wisely. Use reusable bags, buy less plastic, and choose sustainable seafood. Sustainable as in seafood that is not at risk for going extinct. Fourth, reduce our vehicle pollution. Instead of taking your everyday car, try riding a bike, walking, taking a bus, or maybe even a train. Fifth, say you're out fishing and caught a fish, always follow the catch and release practices to keep more fish alive. Sixth, practice safe boating. Try to avoid lowering an anchor in areas of coral, or grasslands. 

Now, how can we stop overfishing? 

Well, first always avoid catching big fish, only 10% of the big fish population (sharks, marlin, tuna) are left. Second, buy local. Try to buy more fish caught in North American waters, these waters have better regulations than other parts of the world, plus less energy is used to store these fish. third go wild, not farmed. Fish farmed in big nets in the ocean pour tons of waste onto the seafood floor, spreading diseases, and create conflict with many animals like the seals, whales, and sharks when they are killed when trying to eat the fish caught in the nets. 

The ocean, it is a body of water that covers more than 70% of our planet and provides food, and water for all of us. Yet, even though we know it's a needed resource, we still throw up to 14 billion pounds of trash into the ocean each year.

As you can see, overfishing  and ocean pollution is very dangerous to the aquatic animals we all like. Though it will take many years to solve this problem, just as soon as it ends many new things are to come and the world will be a better place. Thank you for reading my blog!