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Water Resource Plan

Declining fish stocks is a growing problem in our ocean environment today (Axia College, 2008). Commercial fishing is a huge industry that is beginning to deplete our waters of many species of fish. Overharvesting is a problem that must be addressed soon or we will be depleted of fishing grounds. Commercial fishing is causing dramatic declines in the number of available big fish in certain “hot spots” around the world. If fish are overharvested faster than they can reproduce and replenish themselves, one day there will be no more of that fish. The depletion of fisheries poses a major threat to the food supply of millions of people (. We must take steps now to manage and sustain our fishing future.
The following is a plan to manage our fishing resources to still provide productive fishing capabilities for commercial fishing and allow natural replenishment of fish stocks. This plan involves zoning the ocean and allowing fishing in certain zones at certain times. This will allow the most productive harvesting for the fisheries and at the same time allow time for different species to reproduce and replenish.
Research needs to be done to determine the best way to create the oceanic fishing “zones”. The creation and locations of the “zones” is the most critical part of the plan. The zones should be created so that the same species can be harvested throughout the year simply by moving to the open zones at the proper times. This creation part of the plan should include representation from the fisheries, marine biologist, ecologist, and environmental agencies involved in marine activities. Acceptance by all parties is critical in the success of this plan. This plan, if properly created, will benefit both the fishermen and the fish. The fishermen will still have access to the same species at any given time in open zones while the fish will have time to reproduce and replenish in other zones which are not open.
Once the zones and best rotation of access to the zones are...