- In local communities and regions throughout the coast of the NW Atlantic in New England and Eastern Canada, many people rely on commercial fishing as a means of income. From dockworkers to fishermen, these regions have long depended on commercial fishing since Europeans first settled these areas. As fisheries continue to collapse and resources become more scarce, the commercial fishing industry will continue to suffer the wide-scale depletion of jobs. Also, as fishing gear and technology continue to advance, less crew members are needed on the fishing fleets; further resulting in the loss of jobs.
- As the demand for seafood products for consumption and the use of sea products in manufacturing continues to rise, a total collapse of the fisheries that supply these resources could significantly impact the way humans both economically and socially depend on oceanic resources. Many coastal communities heavily rely on seafood as a means of protein, which in turn has become a cultural identity in their lives.
- Sea products are now used in a variety of ways other than for consumption. Items include: cosmetic products (such as make-ups and body washes), medical products (including creams, fish oils, and skin treatments), fertilizers, animal pet foods, and many other manufactured products.
- Unfortunately, this socio-economic reliance on commercial fishing has been a part of the overfishing problem; as governments have often neglected the ecological impacts of overfishing to meet the growing social and economic demands of coastal, fishing communities. This shows the complication in combating the wide array of problems associated with overfishing and satisfying all the different needs of marine ecosystems and humans.
- The time is upon humans to make a conscious decision toward what sea products and companies they will continue to support as consumers, if they will make the necessary sacrifices to promote sustainable commercial fishing practices, applying pressure on governments to impose the necessary legislation to fix these problems, and how they will adjust to a future without these products if overfishing is not corrected and global fisheries become completely exhausted.