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Re: Members Sites « Result #2 on Aug 24, 2009, 11:40am »
Started up a new showcase of work at www.paulhurt.webs.com and would appreciate some feedback! I like to think my work is of a decent standard so would really love some level criticism xxx
I haven't thought of a title yet « Result #3 on Mar 13, 2009, 4:48pm »
Yeah, I just started this. So, he is about one fourth.
5 minutes. That was all he asked for. 5 minutes. And in those “innocent” five minutes, the weight of a secret was weighing down on his shoulders. And it all started with her.
It was a dull, bleak Monday, rain dribbling outside Jonah’s room like basketballs. He yawned and sat up, trying to flatten his bed-head. Jonah couldn’t believe it was summer, yet it was still raining. Oh well, he thought to himself. At least we’ll be going to D.C. today. It was true. Since his father had gotten a promotion in his job, the Catos family was going on vacation. “Jonah!” His dad, Thomas McLean, called from his bedroom. “Pack!” Jonah let his head plop back onto his pillow. He hated packing for trips; he always forgot something. But he sat back up, sighed and stepped out of bed. Might as well get it over with. Jonah thought as he rolled his outfits into cylinder shapes. He also packed three books to read; he banged down novels like nobody’s business. Or at least, that’s how his mom put it. He would find out soon enough that he would bring something home better- and more dangerous- than a souvenir.
Kyana Master Administrator Moon Writer member is offline
Joined: Feb 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 149 Location: I wander Karma: 1,305
Overfishing and Bycatch Research Paper « Result #4 on Jan 5, 2009, 11:28pm »
Kyana M.
Overfishing and Bycatch Essay
The health of the Earth’s environment is stressed to the public. For example, everyone has heard about Global Warming. The ocean takes up over 70% of the Earth’s surface, but who has heard about the damage that is being done to the ocean environment as a result of overfishing and bycatch? Bycatch are the fish caught as part of a fisheries’ catch which are not meant to be caught. They can not be used or sold and are usually discarded at sea, dead or dying. This is very damaging to marine populations, as well as the ocean habitat. Overfishing and ultimately bycatch are serious problems that are having a harmful impact on marine life around the world and something needs to be done.
Overfishing is the result of there being too much demand for fish and not enough marine life to support that demand. Large commercial fisheries are mostly to blame, as many of their methods are nonselective.
Fishing methods [also] have become more sophisticated, and fleets now find fish by using sound navigation, and ranging (sonar) vessels, planes, helicopters, and satellites. Fishing has evolved into a more efficient and often more lethal activity (Desonie 75).
Globally, about 25-30% of all commercial fisheries are experiencing some degree of overfishing with another 40% heavily overfishing to fully exploiting the ocean’s fish population (Harmful Fishing Practices 2). A report from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization says that about two thirds of pelagic or deep ocean marine life are being overfished while, even closer to shore, the fish populations are being fully exploited and availability has fallen drastically. About 41% of the fish species that reside in US coastal waters are being overfished. The amount of catch worldwide has stayed fairly level (between 85 and 95 million tons) since the 1980s, but the number of fish available is dropping (Desoine 134). The tuna population, for example, is 10% of what it once used to be during the 1950s. While fish populations are dropping everywhere, a report from United States National Marine Fisheries Service say that global demand on seafood will triple by 2025, as human populations rise. (Desoine 136). Fishing practices need to be altered, so the effects are less harmful and traumatic.
The predominant methods for fishing are the use of large nets like trawlers, drift nets, and long lines which damage habitats and the animals which reside there. It is these methods that lead to bycatch, as the large nets that commercial fishing companies use, are indiscriminant in what they catch. Longlining and trawling are two of the more common methods used. A report was done in 2002, compiling data about bycatch from the major fisheries in the USA, from both published and unpublished literature. It was estimated that overall 1.06 million tonnes (metric tons) of fish were discarded (Harrington, Meyers, Rosenberg 350). Globally, the estimate is that bycatch makes up at least 25% of the catch, which as of 2006, was equivalent to about 88 billion pounds of fish life (Whitty).
Trawling is the worst method of fishing, said to be “the brutal equivalent of fishing the seafloor with bulldozers” (Whitty). Trawling is when you drag large nets across the ocean floor, catching anything that is in the way. The worst type of trawling is the shrimp trawlers. As much as 47% of all bycatch comes from (US) shrimp trawlers, while other trawlers bring in only 25.1% of all bycatch in the United States (Harrington, Meyers, Rosenberg 357). Shrimp trawlers catch between 2 and 10 pounds of fish for every one pound of shrimp. Trawlers are drawn across the continental shelves about every two years (Whitty). The damage that trawlers inflict on the ocean habitat is unimaginable and disruptive to the ecosystem.
Longlining is said to be the second worst method of fishing in the fact that it produces the most bycatch. Longlines consist of thousands of baited hooks, set at different depths in order to catch a variety of pelagic species. These nets stretch for miles, some longlines going for 60 miles or more (Whitty). Longlines are usually used for catching large fish like tuna and swordfish, but many other species fall victim to the tempting hooks (Hinman 3). Long lines catch anything that is attracted to the bait. Some 40,000 sea turtles, 300,000 seabirds and millions of sharks are caught on longlines and killed annually (Whitty). A study showed that longlines are responsible for about 7.2% of bycatch in the United States (Harrington, Meyers, Rosenberg 357). {see image}
Drift nets are also one of the other hazards faced by marine animals. Also known as “ghost nets” or “walls of death”, they are nonbiodegradable, monofilament curtains. These nets can be up to 150 miles long, and can be set as deep as 1,600 feet. Nets frequently get lost in the storms that occur over the oceans or are just abandoned, but even after they’re left, they keep on fishing, ensnaring life (NOAA Scientists Battle Ocean Ghostnets 2). Animals get caught and die, which attracts more animals and predators. When a predator comes, it also gets caught and dies; and more predators are attracted and die and a never-ending cycle of death occurs. The nets tangle around fragile corals and sponges. Birds get caught in them as well as fish and other marine life (Whitty). Drift nets are moved about by winds and currents. Places where wind and current combine are called convergence zones, and here debris collects. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists are using satellite and other technologies to predict where these convergence zones are. On a mission to one of these zones in late March and April of 2002, near Hawaii, scientists found over 2,000 individual pieces of debris, at least 100 being identified as drift nets (NOAA Scientists Battle Ocean Ghostnets 2), which can a cause serious problems to the ocean environment, damaging the ecosystem.
Overfishing and bycatch are all serious problems that need to be addressed. Overfishing which leads to bycatch depletes populations; destroys habitats; removes predators, disrupting the predator-prey relationship, and alters food chains and ecosystems. So overfishing is increasing the problem it is intended to address, that is, to catch more fish is response to demand. Hinman says that, “The success of fisheries management quite simply depends on our ability to regulate the number of animals we kill” (4), and he is right. Things can and should be done to better the ocean environment. If fisheries can be monitored better with better regulation, and more research is conducted to improve fishing techniques and knowledge on the ocean, it can help decrease the harm we have on marine life. Overfishing and bycatch need to be taken care of before there is irreversible damage to the ocean ecosystem.
Works Cited
Desonie, Dana Ph.D. Oceans: how we use the seas. New York: Chelsea House, 2008.
Harrington, Jennie M; Meyers, Ransom A; Rosenberg, Andrew A. “Wasted fishery resources: discarded by-catch in the USA.” Oceana. 2008. Fish and Fisheries. 18 May. 2008 <http://www.oceana.org/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/Big_Fish_Report/
faf_201.pdf>.
Hinman, Ken. “Ecosystems principles, Overfishing and Bycatch in Marine Fisheries.” National Coalition for Marine Conservation. 2008. National Coalition for Marine Conservation. 18 May. 2008 <http://www.savethefish.org/PDF_files/
ecosystem_principles.pdf>.
“NOAA Scientists Battle Ocean Ghostnets”. NOAA Magazine. 29 April 2005: 2. SIRS Government Reporter. ProQuest Information and Learning. 20 May 2008. http://www.sirs.com>.
“Report Says Harmful Fishing Practices Endanger US Ocean Ecosystems”. Washington File. U.S. Department of State. 30 Oct 2002: 3. SIRS Government Reporter. ProQuest Information and Learning. 19 May 2008. http://www.sirs.com>.
Whitty, Julia. “The Fate of the Ocean”. Mother Jones Vol 41, No. 2. March/April 2006: 32-48. SIRS Government Reporter. ProQuest Information and Learning. 12 May 2008. http://www.sirs.com>.
All material presented is property of Kyana, and therefore is copyrighted. Do not take!
Joined: Oct 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 12 Karma: 0
Cookies « Result #7 on Oct 12, 2008, 9:28pm »
Crunchy, soft! I happily scoffed. Chewy, thick! Down into my stomach! Round, thin! Time to use a napkin! Mouth watering, sweet! My favorite treat! Chunky, nice! Take my advice! Chocolaty, Moist! Its my first choice! Tasty, crumbly! Good in my belly! Crispy, fragerent! Gone in an instant! Thats the end of my song, 'cuz sadly now there all gone.
What can I say? Cookies are awesome!.........but cake ios better. ^^;
Joined: Oct 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 12 Karma: 0
Because I love you....(A poem for the mad hatter) « Result #10 on Oct 12, 2008, 9:23pm »
The mad hatter is a story I'm working on (Actually re-writing^^;) about a demon (under the false name 'the mad hatter') loving a human girl named Jazmine. Of course, the one resiting the poem is the mad hatter.
I could easily kill you, with my bare hands. Choke you until, your lungs cannot withstand! Something, I would gladly do. But I won’t… because I love you.
I could easily kill you, with a small knife. Stabbing you until, there is no more life! This I would do, if I wasn’t true. But I wont… Because I love you.
I could easily kill you, don’t even have to try. Burn you alive, with my anger inside! This rage inside me, stirring like hot, hot stew. But I wont… Because I love you.
Nothing ells in this world, pleasures me more... Than the sight, of true horror and gore! Except for one sight, and this will always be true. The glorious sight, of me and you.
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