Chapter 5 HYDROSHERE 1

CHAPTER 5: OCEANS AND FISHERIES

Introduction
 Oceans occupy 70 % of the Earth’s surface
 All the water on Earth ,97 % is in Oceans
 In the life filled oceans ,oxygen is generated and Carbon dioxide absorbed
 Without the Oceans, Earth would be a lot like mars
 The primary producers, upon which all other ocean life depends are the phytoplankton, simple
single celled organisms of the sea.
 They only exist in the upper layers of water because they depend upon sunlight
 There are four trophic levels of a marine ecosystem
 100 % of energy available from the Phytoplankton level
 Only 2 % is left by the third level
Resource potential of Oceans
 Potable (drinking ) water(desalination plants)
 Fisheries and food
 Energy supplies
 Transport
 Tourism
 Building material
 Minerals and chemicals
World Fisheries
 The world’s most important fishing grounds are located on continental shelves
 More light can penetrate here than in deeper waters and more oxygen is present
 They are also most nutrient rich parts of the oceans
 Nutrients are carried from nearby land areas by rivers, which encourages an abundance of
phytoplankton
 Most fishing grounds are located in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Many
coastal regions in temperate areas are heavily populated
 This is mainly due to environmental factors which is wide expanses of continental shelf off the
east coasts of North America and Asia and off the west coast of Europe
 An ocean current is a great surface movement of water in fairly well defined direction
which can be warm and cold.
 The friction between the wind and the surface causes drifts of water.
 Ocean currents have direct effects upon the climate of adjacent coastal areas.
 Warm ocean currents keep nearby coastal areas warmer in winter.
 The effect of a cold ocean currents on climate is to reduce amount of rain, however,
they increase fishing opportunities in offshores.
 Currents carry nutrients.

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 They are constantly being replenished to support great amount of Phytoplankton.

 They support the world’s richest fishing grounds.
Decline in Fish stocks
 During the last 100 years, a the total population has increase massively, not much thought was
given to the world’s oceans and seas
 People have removed billions of tonnes of living creatures from the sea in the blind belief that
this was an inexhaustible resource
 Fish and other living things are seen as commodities instead of important components of a living
ecosystem
 Fish stocks do go up and down according to variations in ocean temperature and changes in
ocean
EL Nino and its effects on fish stocks
 Movements of ocean currents are very complicated, they all vary in strength and
change course from time to time.
 El Nino takes place in Peru South East trade winds are weaker in some years due to
which water from Indonesia drifts eastwards.
 Due to this the pattern of surface current changes.
 Water gets very warm which kills plankton and fish because its currents are low in
oxygen and nutrients.
 Sometimes dry up rivers.
 Fishes tend to further offshore away further offshore from the fisherman.
 Irrigation works are destroyed.
 Mosquitoes and insects multiply in the wet environment.
Overfishing and its consequences
Causes of overfishing
 Causes include modern techniques (large and unbreakable nets) that scoop up
everything.
 Satellite for weather data
 Specialized radar to locate fish near surface
 Drift nets
 Sonar to locate shoals and identify size and species
 Modern boats
 Fish is in demand as a healthy food accompanied by an increase in population.
 Many of the fishes die during the El Nino years which leaves behind less fishes for
fisherman( a cause not directly related to overfishing)
Consequences of Overfishing
 Loss of large number of fishes which does not allow commercial fishing for a long period
of time.

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 Loss of jobs for fishermen due to lack of fish.

 Loss of food for local people.
 Fishing boats left rusting in ports
Fish farming
 The big growth in fish farming since 2000 has been response to increasing world demand for
Seafood and the decline in natural fisheries due to overfishing
 It is estimated that over half of all seafood consumed by American comes from Aquaculture of
some kind
 Fish farming is raising fish in tanks or enclosure for sale
 Most fish farms are run by large companies

Management of the harvesting World fisheries

The main way that countries manage fish stocks in their EEZs is though Quotas. Annual limits are
set for the amount and types of fish that can be caught.Qotas can be supported by other
management policies. These include:

 Quotas should be restricted such as a close season when fishing is only allowed in the
main breeding time during the year.
 Restricted areas with no fishing allowed so that breeding can take place and stocks
recover
 Limits on net types and size, so that young fishes can swim through the nets and not get
caught, leaving them time to grow to maturity and reproduce.
 Implementation of fine on overfishing
Why have these strategies for sustainable harvesting had
only limited success?
Many local fishermen do not believe that quotas and restrictions are necessary. They are not
convened that the scientific evidence is correct. Unless the regulations are strictly enforced by
the authorities. Many boat owners will engage in activities that are illegal such as
 Catching more than allowed by the quotas and not declaring the full amount
caught
 Using nets with mesh sizes that are smaller than allowed
 Fishing in restricted areas or trespassing into fishing grounds belonging to another
country

Past Papers Questions

Q. Suggest reasons why annual fish catches vary

Ans. number / size of fishing vessels;

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 overfishing / under-fishing;
 reduces / increases reproduction of fish;
 quotas changed;
 net sizes changed;
 fishing methods changed;
 change in fishing season length;
 reversal of ocean currents / change in sea conditions;
 reduction / increase in food for fish;
 reduction / increase in predators.

Q. Describe the main fishing areas are located

.Ans. Most are north of Equator/northern hemisphere, only one south

of the Equator, in temperate latitudes, both on western and eastern
sides of the continents, large areas enclose islands (e.g. Japan,
British Isles, Iceland).

Q. Explain any two factors which are important for major ocean
fisheries.

Ans. Wide continental shelf;

 shallow seas (under 200m deep) next to the land masses,
 more light, minerals, plankton and other food supplies for fish,
 further explanation of how these favour fish life,
 easy access from populated land area,
 significance of wide producing a large area for fish/fishing. Presence
of ocean currents; bring fresh supplies of nutrients, plankton rich
(especially cold ocean currents),where currents upwell to surface
(e.g. Peru)/where currents meet (e.g. Newfoundland),named
examples of currents. Nearby densely populated coastal areas; fish
are important food/protein source, close to harbors for fishing boats to
operate out of, quick/easy to reach fishing grounds/take catch back to
shore, fish reach the market fresh (refrigerated ships not needed).

Human causes of overfishing

Ans. Larger size fishing boats – fish further from shore/in more
difficult locations or weather conditions, hold more before they need
to return to shore, economies of scale favoring use of more
sophisticated equipment High technology for locating shoals of fish –
mention of an example of the technology such as radar and sonar, or
technology in terms of operational capabilities of boats Bigger nets in
use – trap larger shoals/numbers of fish, nonselective which means
that immature fish are caught as well Refrigerated factory ships –

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allow fishing much further from the shores/out in the oceans, some
processing at sea means that enormous numbers of fish need to be
caught before it returns to port

Q. Are different strategies for the sustainable harvesting of

ocean fisheries easy Or difficult to carry out?

Ans. Problems for implementation of strategies include; economic

costs to boat owners, fishermen and economy of countries,
increasing demand for fish for animal feed(not just human
food),difficulty of monitoring/patrolling fishing grounds, problems in
international waters with boats from many countries, difficulties of
reaching international agreements and abiding by them, some fishing
stocks may have already fallen below safe biological limits e.g. cod in
many parts of the North Sea
Easy? – general point that sustainable strategies are rarely easy to
implement because
they involve costs for humans; only easy where fish stocks remain a
plentiful natural
resource.

Q. Explain the causes of an EL NINO event.

Ans: Trade winds weaken; allows warm water/ocean current to
move eastwards/into the area; prevents cold water reaching the
surface;
Q. Describe valuable resources which oceans can provide.
Ans. Useful natural resources such as oil/gas, also sand and gravel
from shorelines, energy sources such as wave/tidal power, useful
sites for offshore wind farms, water supply from desalination,
locations for recreation/tourism, world’s major shipping routes,
possible sources for medicines, salt sources.

Q. Suggest why a full exploitation of the resources of the open

oceans is unlikely.
Ans. Water depth/ pressure, distance from shore for supplies / high
transport costs, weather problems such as cold / storms / strong
winds, at or beyond the limits of known technology, Overall expense
compared with obtaining resources on land.

Q. Explain why the world’s most productive ocean fishing

grounds are found on Continental shelves. (N-11)

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Q. Explain why large numbers of fish live in sea areas near the
coast. (N-11)
Ans. Wide continental shelf, shallow water with available light for
photosynthesis, water contain minerals, some brought from the land
by rivers, some carried in ocean currents, where upwelling or meeting
of currents occurs, make them rich in plankton, plankton are food for
fish

Q. Explain how following methods can reduce the impact of an

oil spill.

Ans. (a) Setting fire to the oil spill burns the oil before it reaches
the coast / affects wildlife
(b) Spraying chemicals on the spill to disperse the oil / break
up slick making it easierfor currents / tides to carry oil way
(c) Skimming the oil up removes it from the sea / allows it be
disposed of safely
elsewhere.
(d) Floating barriers near the coast prevent to prevent slicks
from reaching the populated areas/ coastal areas rich in fauna and
flora.

Q. Explain how problems are caused by overfishing.

Ans. Insufficient fish / no young fish left in the sea to breed,
Commercial fishing cannot be sustained ,leads to income / job
losses, fisherman more likely to search out new fishing grounds, more
and more pressure on ocean resources resulting in less caught to
eat, disrupts the food chain

Q.How a researcher could carry out a new survey to find out if fish population in
the no catch zone are recovering?
Ans. Sample in a repeatable manner, several samples, record location, record number
of fish , species of fish, length of fish, mass of fish, sex of fish, sexual maturity, breeding
condition.
Q. How a scientist could carry out more research to confirm his findings?
Ans. Sample all around the site, repeat in following years, compare results over the
years, use more time / days

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