Alaskan+Fish

=__**Fishing in Alaska**__=

__**Positives**__



The two most obvious   from commercial fishing are: 1) that it feeds the world's demand for seafood, and 2.) that it has a tremendous economic impact on world GDP. Worldwide demand for seafood is extremely high, especially in countries of the Pacific, where their citizens derive between 25 and 69 percent of their animal protein from fish. As a result, commercial fishing is a major economic activity, which employs more than 200 million people around the globe, generating more than $80 billion a year.

The main advantage of the   fishing industry is that it provides a steady supply of seafood to cover demand. This advantage is especially important for inland communities that want to benefit from eating fresh seafood, but cannot go out and get it themselves. Without the commercial fishing industry, people in Oklahoma would not have access to Maine lobster, Pacific rockfish or Alaskan crab.

The commercial fishing industry provides people with more options for omega fatty acid intake. Omega fatty acid is found in   such as salmon, tuna and halibut. It is also found in other seafood, including algae and krill. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, omega fatty acids are essential to the human body, but humans cannot make it. Humans have to ingest it by eating fish that contains omega fatty acids. The commercial fishing industry makes this possible by supplying fish to people that do not have access to it naturally, thereby helping to make people healthier.

__**Negatives**__



By far, the largest concern about commercial fishing stems from the major impact it has on the ecology of the oceans. The United Nations and countries around the world have grown increasingly worried about the decrease in global fish. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that more than 70 percent of the world's fish species are "depleted" or "fully exploited." Reductions of some species, including giant bluefin tuna, swordfish, haddock, cod, and flounder, have been particularly severe. In addition to depleting targeted species, commercial fishing that utilizes nets or traps may inadvertently capture and kill other marine animals, including turtles, dolphins or sharks.

Commercial fishing has done tremendous damage to several fish species. Fish   have declined with the innovation of fishing techniques. Making it easier to catch fish means more fish are being caught, and less fish have the chance to reach maturity and reproduce. The orange roughy, for example, has a really long life and takes several years to reach maturity. In addition, younger orange roughy hang out closer to the surface, making it very easy to overfish the species. The Monterey Bay Aquarium estimates that it will take decades for the orange roughy population to recover from severe overfishing.