Foundations of economics: Theories

Introduction - Economic Strategies to Combat Overfishing and Protect Marine Ecosystems

Economics is a type of social science which particularly studies the scarcity of resources and the implication of it in the production of different goods and services. For the effective management of economic operations, the government must manage all the different types of resources so that production can be improved. The current essay will outline the overview of overfishing and the concept that it outlines. Further, the study will also evaluate the main economic approaches relating to the effective use of common resources. In the end, the views relating to all the approaches for the maintenance of the fish stock will be evaluated with the help of the demand and supply model.

Main Body

Concept of overfishing

Overfishing is defined as the removal of the species of fish from the water at a rate which is far more than the species can replenish their population. Catching fish is not bad practice except for the situation where the vessels catch the fish as fast as they can replenish the stock. The total number of overfished stock has tripled at the global level. Following the current working environment, a total of 1/3 of the world has assessed the fisheries and they are beyond their biological limits (de Mitcheson and et.al, 2020). This damage is caused by overfishing including hampering the marine environment and billions of people are only relying upon the fish which is a major source of livelihood for them. Thus, people must try to limit overfishing so that it does not harm the environment and the living of the person. There are many different types of reasons for the overfishing to occur. The major reason includes the fact that fishers have to bear only the private cost and are not liable for the cost which is imposed on others which is stated as the external cost. With the help of the demand and supply equilibrium, it is evident that the quantity is exceeding the present quantity and as a result of this, overfishing will cause a drastic loss for the company.

With further analysis it is clear that in case too many fish are brought out from the ocean then it will result in the creation of an imbalance. This in turn will impact the food web and the result will be the loss of other different types of marine animals as well (Link, 2021). Along with this, further study outlined that fish is the most highly traded food commodity and it is very necessary for the people and the government to effectively try to preserve the fish so that it can be used and protected further. In case the fishes will disappear from the market then it automatically results in a decline in jobs and coastal economies. Along with this, there is also high demand for seafood and as a result of this, there is overexploitation of the environment and environmental degradation as well. Thus, it is very necessary for the government to effectively manage the issue of overfishing and try to reduce the usage of fish so that overfishing can be managed properly.

Three main economic approaches to making efficient use of common resources

With the above analysis, it is clear that overfishing is not good for the country and the people doing it. This is particularly because of the reason that it impacts the working of the country and the economy to a great extent (Sumaila and Tai, 2020). Thus, for the government or the regulatory authority effective steps must be taken so that the problem of overfishing can be managed effectively. Hence, for this, the most common approaches helpful for the government or the regulatory authority include the following-

Property rights

This is the first approach which helps manage the situation of overfishing. This is a strategy within which the tragedy of commons can be solved by converting the common resources into private property. This is the most common strategy with the help of which the common resources it given to a particular person and also private property rights are provided to them. Hence, it is very necessary for the government or other regulatory body that they must effectively convert the common resources into private resources so that the issue of overfishing can be managed.

Production quotas

This is another type of strategy or approach which is helpful to the regulatory authority in managing the issue of overfishing. This production quota is defined as the upper limit set for the quantity of goods that need to be produced for a particular period. In addition to this, the production quotas and other fishing quotas must be set so that the trading can be done effectively (Schartup and et.al, 2019). The major aim of setting up the fishing quotas is that the minimum level of fish can be maintained and the fish are provided the opportunity to reproduce so that the population keeps on increasing.

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Individual transferable quotas

The individual transferable quota is a type of quota which is being imposed over the company or the individual who is particularly performing the task which is not allowed. In the present case, the task includes overfishing and it is being done by many different kinds of people and companies (Sumaila and Tai, 2019). Thus, the concept of individual transferable quotas helps the regulators to set some of the species-specific total allowable catch. This quota is specifically created by the weight and for a particular given timeframe. Furthermore, within this type of quota, the level of production is limited and is assigned to an individual who is free to sell the particular quota to someone else as well.

Thus, with the above evaluation, it is evident that the effective use of these approaches is very helpful for the company or the regulatory body in managing the work better. This is about the fact that when effective approaches are used and complied with by the people then automatically the problem of overfishing will decline.

Along with these three major approaches, there are also some other ways through which the issue of overfishing can be managed and tried to reduce. There are some of the methods and other guidelines for controlling the issue of overfishing are as follows-

The first strategy is to implement effective Marine Protected Areas. This is a strategy within which the MPA are a type of area in which fishing is prohibited. Thus, for this, it is the responsibility of the government or the other regulatory authorities that they must effectively convert the areas of fishing into the Marine Protected Areas. Thus, it is very helpful for the government or the regulatory authorities in managing the issue of overfishing. This MPA must be implemented in the areas within which overfishing is very common. This will restrict people from fishing and as a result, overfishing will be reduced.

In addition to this another strategy includes the promotion of selective fishing techniques. This is particularly necessary to restrict the use of the fishing practice so that the appropriate fishing can be managed. There are different types of fishing techniques which help manage the fishing (6 Effective Ways for How to Stop Overfishing, 2023). Also, there are many different types of fishing practices which result in a large amount of habitat damage and unintended catch. Thus, all these types of fishing practices must be restricted from use and as a result this overfishing will be managed effectively.

Moreover, another major type of strategy recommended to the government or the regulatory authority is to support sustainable seafood choices. This includes educating the people that which types of fish are present in the area. After that, they must go through the fishing laws and regulations to ensure that whether that particular fish is allowed to be purchased or not (Dulvy and et.al. 2021). In case the fish is not allowed within that particular area then it must not be included and the person must refrain from buying that product. Thus, when the demand for that particular product declines then automatically the overfishing of that particular species will reduce. Thus, it will result in control of the overfishing.

Ways in which each approach assists in managing the fish stock

With the above analysis, it is evident that the effective use of these approaches will help in improving the position of fishing and reduce overfishing. This is particularly because of the reason that when all these approaches are effectively used it will result in a reduction in the level of overfishing. In case all these approaches are effectively used by the companies or the people doing fishing then this will result in better and optimum utilisation of the resources which in turn will improve the working efficiency of the company (Guiry and et.al, 2021). With the help of the demand and supply graph, it is evident that these three types of approaches are very helpful for the effective working of the company so that the problem of overfishing can be minimised.

With the help of the demand and supply graph, it is evident that when these approaches are efficiently used by the company or the person doing fishing then this will result in successful management of the fishing. By evaluating the above demand-supply graph it is clear that when the people will be working by the free market allocation then it will result in the earning profit. This simply means that the working is better and the people are not overfishing (Gough and et.al, 2020). This is very necessary for the company to manage the working so that an effective analysis can be done and fishes can be protected as well. In addition to this, when the person is working according to the output over-restricted by regulation then also the company or the people will be suffering with loss. This is about the fact that when the restriction made will be too high then this will be impacting the working to a great extent.

Thus, as a result of this excessive fishing will not be implemented and it will improve the working efficiency of the company. In addition to this, the over-restrictions will reduce fishing to a higher level and this is also not good for the company or the person doing it. Thus, according to the demand-supply graph, it is very necessary for the person to effectively work on the socially efficient allocation so that work can be managed effectively. Along with this, the equilibrium point of B will be providing the optimal benefits to the person. this is because of the reason that at this point, the marginal social benefit is equivalent to the marginal social cost. Thus, this simply means that the company at this point is in a no profit no loss situation which is good for the person (Froese and et.al, 2021). The reason underlying the fact is that when the person is operating at this point then it will assist the person in developing the working better and managing the fishing effectively and there will not be any shortage of it within the working.

Conclusion

With the above evaluation, it is evident that overfishing is not good for the economy. This is particularly because of the reason that overfishing includes taking out the fish from the ocean and not providing them the environment to reproduce. Thus, as a result, these species will become extinct from the economy. The above study highlighted that overfishing is not good and it results in a reduction in the species of the fishes within the surrounding. Further, the study also highlighted that there are different kinds of approaches which help restrict the concept of overfishing. These approaches include providing private rights, production quotas and individual transferable quotas which help reduce the concept of overfishing. With the help of the demand and supply graph, it was also evaluated that working in the socially efficiency allocation is beneficial for reducing the problem of overfishing. Further working at point B in the demand and supply graph would be beneficial for the companies in reducing overfishing.

References

Books and Journals

• de Mitcheson, Y.J.S., Linardich, C., Barreiros, J.P., Ralph, G.M., Aguilar-Perera, A., Afonso, P., Erisman, B.E., Pollard, D.A., Fennessy, S.T., Bertoncini, A.A. and Nair, R.J., 2020. Valuable but vulnerable: Overfishing and under-management continue to threaten groupers so what now?. Marine Policy, 116, p.103909.
• Dulvy, N.K., Pacoureau, N., Rigby, C.L., Pollom, R.A., Jabado, R.W., Ebert, D.A., Finucci, B., Pollock, C.M., Cheok, J., Derrick, D.H. and Herman, K.B., 2021. Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis. Current Biology, 31(21), pp.4773-4787.
• Froese, R., Tsikliras, A.C., Scarcella, G. and Gascuel, D., 2021. Progress towards ending overfishing in the Northeast Atlantic. Marine Policy, 125, p.104282.
• Gough, C.L., Dewar, K.M., Godley, B.J., Zafindranosy, E. and Broderick, A.C., 2020. Evidence of overfishing in small-scale fisheries in Madagascar. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, p.317.
• Guiry, E.J., Kennedy, J.R., O’Connell, M.T., Gray, D.R., Grant, C. and Szpak, P., 2021. Early evidence for historical overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Science Advances, 7(32), p.eabh2525.
• Link, J.S., 2021. Evidence of ecosystem overfishing in US large marine ecosystems. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 78(9), pp.3176-3201.
• Schartup, A.T., Thackray, C.P., Qureshi, A., Dassuncao, C., Gillespie, K., Hanke, A. and Sunderland, E.M., 2019. Climate change and overfishing increase neurotoxicants in marine predators. Nature, 572(7771), pp.648-650.
• Sumaila, U.R. and Tai, T.C., 2019. Ending overfishing can mitigate the impacts of climate change. Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Working Paper Series, 5.
• Sumaila, U.R. and Tai, T.C., 2020. End overfishing and increase the resilience of the ocean to climate change. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, p.523.

Online

• 6 Effective Ways for How To Stop Overfishing. 2023. Online. Available through: <https://unity.edu/careers/how-to-stop-overfishing/>