With its plentiful supply of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, seaweed, and salt, the ocean has always been an important source of food for humans. Some coastal and island populations live almost entirely on what the sea can provide them, particularly fish. Today, more than 90 million tons of fish are caught worldwide. In the past, fishermen would bring their catch ashore right away, but today's fishing boats can remain at sea for months at a time. These fishing vessels are actually floating factories that clean, freeze, and pack or can the fish on the spot. Some ships are able to turn out 300, 000 cans of fish in a day. To keep these factories busy, huge nets are spread out to scoop up entire schools of fish. While fishing techniques like these are extremely efficient, they can threaten the survival of some species. The nets may also accidentally trap seabirds, turtles, seals, and dolphins, which die by drowning. |