Fishermans' Perspective

Fishermen all around the world are heavily affected by dead zones, which limit fishable waters for fishermen and kill all underwater organisms. Fishermen are mainly affected economically by this hazard; however, the decrease in captured fish has had a domino affect on many other major economies. For one, the seafood restaurants in the near by area are faced with increased fish prices, as the many fish types, specifically shrimp on the Gulf of Mexico, have become scarce and more rare. Dead zones hurt the fishermen because the supply of fish is steadily diminishing, as many of the fish have died from hypoxia, and the cost of fishing has increased. Conflicting, the demand of fish on the world market is the same and steadily increasing annually.  It is also becoming more costly for the fishermen because they need to search for fish farther away from the coast, in order to move to an area void of hypoxia. The fishermen are spending more time and effort in these fishing areas in order to maintain fishing yields. They are forced to spend more money on additional fuel, machinery, and labor cost in order to catch the fish that have been forced to live in more distant habitats (Quinlan, 2011). Consequently, the income of the fishermen decreases. The demand of fish is consistently high, but the fish quality is suffering. Many farmers are forced to farm fish instead of getting fresh fish, as it is more accessible and cheaper. Fishing is detrimental to the economy of all areas surrounding dead zones. For instance, the state of Florida’s economy is tremendously dependent on fishing yields, that’s why Jim Giattina, director of the Gulf of Mexico Program, emphasized the importance of fisheries and the income of approximately $26 billion dollars a year from this business (Yoon, 2013). The decline in fish population, by these dead zones, is affected according to species. The different characteristics of fish, from their adaptability to environment to capability of evading these hypoxic sites, determine their percentage of species decline, ranging between 44 to 86 percent (Jackson, 2008). In result, many fishermen, watermen, dealers, processer’s grocers and restaurants have lost their jobs because of the lack of fish availability.  A great example of this is the loss of jobs in Maryland and Virginia due to Decline of Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake Bay (Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 2008). Fishermen as a whole are frustrated and furious about this situation, blaming the government for not taking action to clean up the water or help through subsidies.

This picture presents the varied marine
creatures, that live in coastal areas, and
the percentage of their decline

This graph displays the amount of jobs lost in Maryland and
Virginia over the years, due to the decline of blue crabs in
the Chesapeake Bay. (Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 2008)

Works cited

Saving a National Treasure. (2008) Bad Water and the Decline of Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake                  
     Bays. Chesapeake Bay Foundation. (Date Accessed: February 21, 2013.) http://www.cbf.org/

     document.doc?id=172.

Quinlan, P. (2011) Largest-Ever Dead Zone 'a Disaster in the Making'. Fishermen. Energy &

     Environment. New York Times (Date Accessed: February 20, 2013.) <http://www.nytimes.com/

     gwire/2011/05/26/26greenwire-largest-ever-dead-zone-a-disaster-in-the-makin-58843.html>.

Yoon, C. (2013) A 'Dead Zone' Grows in the Gulf of Mexico. Fish and Fishing. fishing
    (Date Accessed: February 13, 2013.)

    http://www.fishingnj.org/artdedzn.htm