Overfishing is causing major damage to ocean ecosystems. Trawling fishing methods kill many unintended fish and discard them, while also damaging ocean floors. Popular fish like the Chilean Sea bass are being overfished to the point of endangerment. If overfishing continues at the current rate, experts predict we will deplete all fish stocks by 2048. This is unbalancing ocean environments by reducing predator populations and increasing jellyfish and rays, which leads to more algae blooms and the growth of "dead zones" - areas devoid of life. To ensure a sustainable food source for future generations, we need stronger laws against illegal fishing and overfishing to help reverse some of the damage done to oceans.

1. Overfishing Overfishing

2. Would you eat this fish?

3. This is the Atlantic cod and we fish it with a trawler which also kills many other fish in the process, by dragging the net along the bottom of the ocean floor. We kill and throw all the unwanted fish back into the ocean. Trawling fishing is one of the most wasteful types of fishing.

4. Would you eat this fish?

5. This is the Chilean Sea bass. It is caught off Antarctica. It is a favorite in restaurants because it is a firm white fish but we are eating so much of it is becoming endangered.

6. "Biodiversity is a finite resource, and we are going to end up with nothing left ... if nothing changes," said Boris Worm. Worm also predicted that if we continue fishing at the current rate we will be out of fish by 2048.

7. With the decline of predatory fish ( we are the one causing the decline) jellyfish and ray fish populations are rapidly rising. This is further throwing the oceanic environments out of balance. This is also causing an unbalance of nutrients which is causing more and more algae blooms further throwing the oceanic environment out of balance.

8. With the oceanic environment being depleted rapidly we will end up with a oceans with very minimal biodiversity. We have these now just on a smaller scale they are called “dead zones”. They are the signs that we are killing our oceans. These dead zones are getting bigger with every passing day. With the rising populations of Earth then we need the ocean as a reliable, sustainable food source.

9. When we affect one environment then there will be a chain reaction with other ecosystems. If we want food for a future generations we need to implement harsher laws, and punishments. We need to crack down on people who fish illegally and then we might be able to reverse some of the damage we have done to the oceans. Some of the damage is irreversible ,but some we might be able to fix. We could bring backthe populations of fish, but we won’t be able to fix all the species we have fished into extinction.