Oceans, the beautiful blue gems of our world, full of abundant resources. Well, that was before humans slowly overfished on several species of fish and shellfish. Overfishing like this causes many problems, from ecological issues to social issues. Americans are eating more fish, increasing the demand for fish. As shown by the Department of Agriculture's Per Capita Consumption of Major Food Products: 1980 to 2010, the average person in 1980 ate 12.4 pounds of fish per year and this increased to 15.8 in 2010 (Department). It doesn't seem like a significant increase, but when you take into account the number of people in the United States it is a significant increase. This increase in demand puts a strain on suppliers. As a result, it causes overfishing of many species. The effects of overfishing are much more diverse and upset the ecological balance of the region. An example of this is in a National Geographic article written by Warne Kennedy showing how overfishing of lobster and snapper in waters near a New Zealand island called Goat Island has caused the population of a species of urchin to explode sea. As a result, local coral reefs and kelp fields were severely damaged, and when fishing was stopped the numbers of sea urchins returned to normal and the kelp grew back (Kennedy 70-89). Observe when the population of predators (lobsters and snappers) decreases, it causes an increase in the population of its prey (sea urchins). When this happens, the needs of the prey population increase, causing damage to everything below the food chain. One of the only good things to come out of this are movements to create marine reserves. These reserves are off-limits to fishing, so scientists can tell the difference... middle of paper... we'll have to carry around filing cabinets full of regulatory documents, and sea urchins will eat all the algae and take over the world. But it's not all bad, at least we will have more reserves that will allow us to see what the seas could be like. Works Cited Department of Agriculture. “Per Capita Consumption of Major Food Products: 1980 to 2010 [Selected Years].” ProQuest Statistical Abstract from the 2014 US online edition. ProQuest Ed., 2014. Web: ProQuest Statistical Abstract 02/14Warne, Kennedy. “Global Seafood Crisis: Blue Haven.” Vol. National Geographic 211, no. 4. April 2007: 70-89. SIRS problem researcher. Network. February 25, 2014. Robbins, Michael W. “The Fate of the Ocean: The Capture.” Mother Jones vol. 31, no. 2. March/April 2006: 49+. SIRS problem researcher. Network. February 25, 2014. “Global Consequences of Overfishing.” Fisheries and Canadian oceans. Network. 05 March. 2014.