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"Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystems services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with declining diversity..... We conclude that marine biodiversity loss in increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from perturbations. Yet available data suggest that at this point, these trends are still reversible" (Worm et al., 2006, p. 787). With estimates placing the collapse of fisheries and all seafood species by the year 2050 (ScienCentral, 2006), we have little time to take action and save the oceans and global fisheries from unprecedented crises.
Human Impact
Job Loss
This concept is simple: if fisheries continue to overfish, consequently resulting in species or ecosystem collapse, the entire industry will flounder. According to the United States Department of Labor, as of 2004, there were approximately 38,000 people working as fishermen in the United States (US Labor, 2006). Greenland and Faeroe Island produce 85 kilograms of fish per capita per year - second only to the Maldives, where production tops out at 190 kilograms of fish and shellfish per capita per year, placing an extraordinary amount dependence on the productivity of our oceans (NMFS, 2006). With estimates placing the collapse of fisheries and all seafood species by the year 2050 (ScienCentral, 2006), the The outlook is bleak for nations and individuals dependent on the oceans. For : for each fisherman out of work, there is a family with an unemployed provider, an out-of-work factory employee, a bankrupted boat company, a boarded up restaurant, and several other affected industries. Though our plan will necessarily call for an overall decrease in fishermen and new job training, we hope to relocate the fishermen to new occupations, thereby avoiding greater unemployment while still retaining a fishing industry.
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