Primary Source vs. Secondary Source: Seafood Crisis

A recently published National Geographic article entitled “Seafood Crisis” uses the research of the “SeafoodPrint” study to draw attention to the effects of overfishing and explain the steps that need to be taken to combat this crisis. “SeafoodPrint” is a study conducted by the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Centre (lead by Daniel Pauly), the Pew Charitable Trusts, and National Geographic.

Part of this study includes analyzing global “catch losses” (Srinivasan, Cheung, Watson, and Sumaila, 2004) and their effect on world hunger. Both sources highlight how unsustainable our current rate and methods of fishing are. They don’t allow populations to restore themselves. The authors of the study defined overfishing as when “after the year of maximum catch the species stock fell to fifty percent of its maximum level for at least ten consecutive years”( Srinivasan, Cheung , Watson, and Sumaila, 2004). The study also brought up a very interesting point; different species of fish have different levels of effect the entire ocean population. Catching predator fish higher on the food chain has a greater effect or “footprint” than smaller, herbivore fish. The primary study did focus on how this lost food source could be used to feed the poorer countries with large fishing resources. However the National Geographic article brought up the issue of how in our current system the poorer nation’s are being dominated by the wealthier and are losing their resources, which they need far more to feed their people. Overall the secondary article provided a constructive interpretation and application of the information of the study.

References

· Srinivasan, Cheung , Watson, and Sumaila. 2004. The Pew Environmental Group. http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/News/Press_Releases/Protecting_ocean_life/Pew%20OSS%20Food%20Security%20FINAL.pdf?n=8950

· Greenburg, Paul. October 2010. National Geographic. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/10/seafood-crisis/greenberg-text/2