Water Resource Plan - Surviving Without Depleting

The time has come when people need to look around and see what needs to be done to save our world for our children and the generations to come. For if we do not take the time and the energy to try to resolve this issue time on this earth will be limited as the extinction of human lives will happen and there will have no one to blame but ourselves. By resolving the issue of over fishing, we will be one-step closer to preserve the food chain for lives to come as the population rises and the consumption of such resources will increase.

The video "Decling Fish Stock," is a wake up call for all humans. The fishing fleets have stripped the seas of 90% of all the large tuna. Leaving the stocks depleted of prize winning tunas. With such advance technology, being used the commercial fishing industry can harvest thousands of fish from the ocean in a small fraction of time. Unfortunately, we are depleting the tuna faster than it can replenish. According to the Rhode Island Sea Grant on tuna, it takes three to five years for a female to reach maturity and be able to spawn.

If we continually increase the restrictions on the commercial fishermen it will affect their livelihood. They will be forced to close their operations, as it will not be cost-effective for them to continue, in which causes other issues. We are in need of finding a solution that will be beneficial to both the saving of the tuna and the fishing industry as well.

Although the tuna industry has been under management since the 1980's with such programs as the "National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)," which produced in 1999 the "Final Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas," it also included sharks, and swordfish to help in the effort the United States tuna industry. There are questions if enough is being done to replenish the stock or if more limitations are needed.

There are many solutions in the effort to fix this issue but finding the balance for both sides is hard. The table below illustrates a possible solution:

Action Items

(in the correct order) Action Steps Timeline

Research and identify the effects commercial fishing.

Conduct studies by an economist, Department of Fishery and biologist and oceanographers as well as ecologists.

Year 1-3

Develop a program that will ensure the replenishment of the fish and the continuation of the fishing industry.

Create a presentation about why this program should be put into place, what should be done to ensure the replenishment of the fish and the continuation of the fishing industry. Year 1-4

Conduct meetings with the