The video The End of the Line investigates the issue of over fishing Essay

The video The End of the Line investigates the issue of over fishing of fish species due to illegal catches and surpassed fishing quotas - Essay Example Eventually, the effects of overfishing would be briefly discussed before touching on the economic issues of overfishing. According to the film, commercial overfishing actually started about 50 years ago when advances in technology enabled various fishermen to increase their catch magnanimously. The conventional trawlers and small fishing boats were replaced by huge factory ships which have the capacity to freeze or tin fishes up to the time that their holds are full. Economies of scale are practiced as early as this when these huge factory ships invested the necessary funds to ensure that their catches should be maximized before they would return to the respective ports. Overfishing has debilitating effects on all marine life. As the film emphasized, it initially examined the worrisome extinction of the bluefin tuna and other big fishes due to the increasing demand for sushi. The decrease in the pool of big fishes has the repercussion of increasing the population of jellyfishes. The economic implications of an overpopulation of jellyfishes are follows: there are more losses in terms of revenues for the fishing industry; without fishes there is rampant unemployment; the jellyfishes endangers fishermen and beach goers; and the presence of jellyfishes cause a decline in the prices of the remaining fishes caught. According to Kelly (2010), â€Å"the existence of jelly fish has changed consumer preferences, concerns about the quality of fish has led to a decline in the price of fish, this has resulted as consumers demand less fish given that they fear that the fish may be contaminated with sting venom from jelly fish, therefore this has resulted into a loss of revenue for fishermen who have now decided to exit the fishing industry.† The film has warned viewers that â€Å"scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048† (The Film, n.d. par. 8). This