Fishermen

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Although, fishermen especially commercial fishermen are huge contributors to the ruination of the ocean and more specifically the problem of overfishing and bycatch. It is important to understand they’re also poorly affected by this problem as well. Despite whether they are benefitted or hurt by this problem they have a stake in it nonetheless. It is easy to forget that with the deterioration of the ocean brings about the death of fishing as a livelihood. This is a perfect example of the tragedy of the commons. Eventually there will be nothing left to fish or more realistically government will greatly restrict it to protect endangered fish species on the cusp of becoming extinct as they have done in the past. At this point thousands will lose their jobs and struggle to make a living for themselves and their families. This quote by Doctor and Professor Berkes in his article Fishermen and ‘the tragedy of the commons’ explains the fisherman’s situation perfectly.

“Fish populations are classical examples of common property resources and tend to decline over time. According to the conventional wisdom, they decline through a process popularly known as ‘the tragedy of the commons’, whereby selfish users are locked into a deterministic mechanism in which they are both the villains and the victims.”

-Fikret Berkes

Fishermen are villains in the sense that they are drastically depleting the ocean’s resources while also causing the bycatch phenomenon when other wildlife get inadvertently caught in their nets. However, they’re also the victims because if the ocean’s run out of fish to catch their passion along with their employment are lost. If all these jobs are lost then millions of others affected as well either by the economy or by forced dietary changes due to the increased unemployment rate and decreasing availability of seafood. The loss of the whole fishing culture is lost in the process as well. This in turn is a loss of whole cities or nations cultures since so many are on the coast or are on islands have relied on fishing for food, work, recreation, and etc. Government specifically needs to play a bigger role in where and how we get our seafood today if the oceans are to maintain their health. More importantly though in order to prevent this outcome fishermen need to stop selfishly abusing the oceans resources in order to ensure fishing even has a future.