Water Resource Plan

2.     Assignment: Water Resource Plan

 

         Resource: Ch. 10 of Visualizing Environmental Science

         View the Declining Fish Stock VLR located under the Week Six Materials section of your student Web page.

         Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper that includes the following:

 

o    A brief description of the water resource problem in the video and how it originated

o    A management and sustainment plan you think will benefit both sides of the issue

o    How your plan will be viewed, both negatively and positively, by the environmentalists and the fishermen

o    Other problems, besides declining fish stock, that result from fishermen’s techniques for catching fish

o    How your plan affects the community

o    Consider issues relating to jobs, resources, and lifestyles. Explain your answers.

 

         Use Appendix F as a guide when developing your sustainment plan.

         Include a minimum of two outside references.

         Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

         Post your paper as an attachment.

The “Declining Fish Stock VLR” video outlined an overfishing resource problem. Scientists feel as though our fish population is declining specifically swordfish and tuna are becoming extinct. Commercial fisherman find their catches in the ocean and bring them on land to sell. This is how they live and earn money to support their families. They feel as though the ocean is a big place and it would take a long time to decrease the fish population to a significant degree.

The table below outlines the action items and describes the steps in my management and sustainment plan that will benefit both sides of the overfishing water resource issue.

Action Items	Action Steps	Timeline
Research studies from scientists on fish population and effects	Research studies from scientists on how they discovered the endangerment of fish population Research the short and long term effects of the depletion of fish in the ocean Research the benefits and disadvantages of ocean fishing on the commercial fishermen, their families, communities, and the world at large.	Month 1
Develop presentation	Educate the Commercial fisherman on findings of the studies and the effects Establish basic ground rules such as saving catch limits, controls on bycatching, protection of important habitats, and how to implement a monitoring system.	Month 2
Coordinate with local Associations for place and time	Enlist help from the Gulf Fisherman’s Association to schedule the best time and place to hold meetings And from local Commercial fishing companies Make a list of scientists that have helped with research and ask if they would speak at these meetings.	Month 3
Retrieve local fisherman membership lists and other interested parties	Create mailing for each member of GFA and all local commercial fishing companies informing of the meetings time and places. Mail meeting places and times to some scientists against fishing. Post presentation on GFA and other active fishing cites	Month 4

There may be some resistance on both sides of the issue concerning any new plan to reduce the likelihood of overfishing. The local Commercial fisherman will against any restrictions on their fishing since this is their livelihood, how they support themselves and their families. Hopefully by viewing the scientist’s studies and the effects of overfishing they will be more inclined to help protect the ocean’s environment and fish population.

The scientists may have some negative views on implementing my sustainment plan. Their view maybe to have a more restrictive and aggressive plan than the one I would outline. The scientists would be more concerned with saving the ocean’s environment than the effect it would have on the local fisherman, their families, communities or the world at large if fishing laws were too restrictive and aggressive. My hope is by hearing the effects of more restrictive and aggressive laws on the fisherman and environment they would be more inclined to go with a less restrictive rules that my plan allows.

The positive views of my plan is that each side and see how they affect the other and that they need to work together to address this issue before it is too late to help at all, and how important it is to do something now.

Fishing techniques include hand fishing, spear fishing, netting, angling and trapping. Some of these techniques have other environmental problems other than the declining of the fish stock. One hand fishing technique is called trout binning, and it involves striking rocks in a stream with a sledgehammer to stun fish. This kind of technique can cause rocky streams to become dirtier from the breaking up of rocks by the sledgehammer. All kinds of bacteria and algae can be forced downstream that was once a safer environmental area, due to the breakage. One method of spear fishing that has other lasting environmental problems is harpooning. Harpooning, along with other boat using fishing techniques, run the risk of hitting the native manatees as they cruise out into open water. Most believe the harpooning technique is inhumane and cruel to the whales being killed. Netting is a huge negative environmental fishing technique. The nets scrape across the bottom of the ocean floor and destroy fragile coral reefs and other fish habitats. Nets can also be lost at sea where they become a menace for all marine life for many years.

My plan will affect the fishing community in that there will be less fishing allowed, more monitoring to ensure laws are being followed. This will most likely cause some fisherman to bring home less money or cause them to demand a higher dollar amount for the marine life that was caught. There will be less fish and other marine animals caught for not only the communities but the world at large. Most lifestyles will have to adjust to accommodate the lower availability of marine life.

References

Brooks, G (2009) The Gulf Fishermen’s Association. Retrieved Jan, 2010. www.gulffishermen.org

Overfishing.com (2007) “What can I do to help” Overfishing – A global disaster. Retrieved Jan, 2010. www.overfishing.org