Chincoteague Bay ( locally / ˈ ʃ ɪ ŋ k ə t iː ɡ , - t ɪ ɡ , ˌ ʃ ɪ ŋ k ə ˈ t iː ɡ / ) is a lagoon between the Atlantic barrier islands of Assateague and Chincoteague and the mainland of Worcester County, Maryland and northern Accomack County, Virginia . At the bay's northern end, where it narrows between Assateague and Sinepuxent Neck, it becomes Sinepuxent Bay ; Chincoteague Bay's southern end drains into the Atlantic Ocean via Queen Sound and Chincoteague Inlet . No major river flows into Chincoteague Bay—its largest tributaries are Newport Creek in Worcester County and Swans Gut Creek in Accomack County.
52-667: Chincoteague may refer to: Geography in the United States [ edit ] Chincoteague Bay , a bay on the coast of Maryland and Virginia Chincoteague Channel , a channel in Virginia connecting Chincoteague Bay and Chincoteague Inlet Chincoteague Inlet , an inlet on the coast of Virginia Chincoteague, Virginia , a town in Virginia Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge ,
104-410: A decreasing trend, from 90% in 1974 to 66.9% in 2015. In contrast, the percentage of stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10% in 1974 to 33.1% in 2015, with the largest increases in the late-1970s and 1980s. In 2015, maximally sustainably fished stocks (formerly termed fully fished stocks) accounted for 59.9% and underfished stocks for 7% of the total assessed stocks. While
156-463: A fishery to recover from overfishing depends on whether its overall carrying capacity and the variety of ecological conditions are suitable for the recovery. Dramatic changes in species composition can result in an ecosystem shift , where other equilibrium energy flows involve species compositions different from those that had been present before the depletion of the original fish stock. For example, once trout have been overfished, carp might exploit
208-663: A fleet that burns 1.1 billion litres of fuel annually to maintain paltry catches of old growth fish from highly vulnerable stocks, while destroying their habitat in the process" – Pauly . "Eliminating global subsidies would render these fleets economically unviable and would relieve tremendous pressure on over-fishing and vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems" – Sumaila . Over 30 billion euros in public subsidies are directed to fisheries annually. Fishing techniques may be altered to minimize bycatch and reduce impacts on marine habitats. These techniques include using varied gear types depending on target species and habitat type. For example,
260-404: A given harvest." Another possible solution, at least for some areas, is quotas , restricting fishers to a specific quantity of fish. A more radical possibility is declaring certain areas of the sea " no-go zones " and make fishing there strictly illegal, so the fish have time to recover and repopulate. In order to maximise resources some countries, e.g., Bangladesh and Thailand, have improved
312-412: A habitat for commercial fisheries species. This destruction alters the functioning of the ecosystem and can permanently alter species' composition and biodiversity . Bycatch , the collateral capture of unintended species in the course of fishing, is typically returned to the ocean only to die from injuries or exposure. Bycatch represents about a quarter of all marine catch. In the case of shrimp capture,
364-411: A highly depleted state. Because government provided financial subsidies can make it economically viable to fish beyond biologically sustainable levels, several scientists have called for an end to fishery subsidies paid to deep-sea fisheries. In international waters beyond the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones of coastal countries, many fisheries are unregulated, and fishing fleets plunder
416-599: A historic building in Chincoteague, Virginia Chincoteague High School , a public high school in Accomack County, Virginia Chincoteague Island Library , an historic building in Chincoteague, Virginia Chincoteague Pony , breed of wild pony living on Assateague Island in Maryland and Virginia Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
468-994: A net with larger holes will allow undersized fish to avoid capture. A turtle excluder device (TED) allows sea turtles and other megafauna to escape from shrimp trawls. Avoiding fishing in spawning grounds may allow fish stocks to rebuild by giving adults a chance to reproduce. Aquaculture involves the farming of fish in captivity. This approach effectively privatizes fish stocks and creates incentives for farmers to conserve their stocks. It also reduces environmental impact. However, farming carnivorous fish , such as salmon , does not always reduce pressure on wild fisheries, since carnivorous farmed fish are usually fed fishmeal and fish oil extracted from wild forage fish . The various species of Pacific salmon and Atlantic salmon are relatively easy to raise in captivity and such aquacultural operations have existed for more than 150 years. Largescale releases of salmon raised in captivity to supplement wild salmon runs will usually increase fishing pressure on
520-502: A number of these. Many regulatory measures are available for controlling overfishing. These measures include fishing quotas , bag limits , licensing, closed seasons , size limits and the creation of marine reserves and other marine protected areas . A model of the interaction between fish and fishers showed that when an area is closed to fishers, but there are no catch regulations such as individual transferable quotas , fish catches are temporarily increased but overall fish biomass
572-589: A restructuring of the ecosystem have been found to be major roles in an increase in jellyfish population in the Irish Sea in the 1990s. According to the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services , overfishing is a primary driver of mass extinction in the world's oceans. A 2021 study published in
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#1732772992052624-436: A size that will allow maximum yield per recruit. Recruitment overfishing happens when the mature adult population (spawning biomass ) is depleted to a level where it no longer has the reproductive capacity to replenish itself—there are not enough adults to produce offspring. Increasing the spawning stock biomass to a target level is the approach taken by managers to restore an overfished population to sustainable levels. This
676-482: A wildlife refuge on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island Ships [ edit ] USCGC Chincoteague , the name of more than one United States Coast Guard ship USS Chincoteague (AVP-24) , a United States Navy seaplane tender in commission from 1943 to 1946 Other [ edit ] Chincoteague (crater) , impact crater in the Cebrenia quadrangle of Mars Chincoteague Fire Department ,
728-673: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing ) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery 's existing fish stock ), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds , wetlands , rivers , lakes or oceans , and can result in resource depletion , reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation , where
780-864: Is an important stop on the Atlantic Flyway . The E.A. Vaughn Wildlife Management Area and parts of the Sinepuxent Bay Wildlife Management Area are located on the Maryland portion of the Bay, and the Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge form its eastern shore. This article about a location in Worcester County , Maryland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Accomack County, Virginia state location article
832-574: Is gained. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty deals with aspects of overfishing in articles 61, 62, and 65. According to some observers, overfishing can be viewed as an example of the tragedy of the commons ; appropriate solutions would therefore promote property rights through, for instance, privatization and fish farming . Daniel K. Benjamin, in Fisheries are Classic Example of
884-434: Is generally accomplished by placing moratoriums, quotas , and minimum size limits on a fish population. Ecosystem overfishing occurs when the balance of the ecosystem is altered by overfishing. With declines in the abundance of large predatory species, the abundance of small forage type increases causing a shift in the balance of the ecosystem towards smaller fish species. Examples of overfishing exist in areas such as
936-426: Is reduced, resulting in the opposite outcome from the one desired for fisheries. Thus, a displacement of the fleet from one locality to another will generally have little effect if the same quota is taken. As a result, management measures such as temporary closures or establishing a marine protected area of fishing areas are ineffective when not combined with individual fishing quotas. An inherent problem with quotas
988-432: Is smaller than the size that would produce the maximum yield per recruit. A recruit is an individual that makes it to maturity, or into the limits specified by a fishery, which are usually size or age. This makes the total yield less than it would be if the fish were allowed to grow to an appropriate size. It can be countered by reducing fishing mortality to lower levels and increasing the average size of harvested fish to
1040-640: Is that fish populations vary from year to year. A study has found that fish populations rise dramatically after stormy years due to more nutrients reaching the surface and therefore greater primary production. To fish sustainably, quotas need to be changed each year to account for fish population. Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are fishery rationalization instruments defined under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act as limited access permits to harvest quantities of fish. Fisheries scientists decide
1092-519: Is the Harvest Control Rule (HCR), which is a set of tools and protocols with which management has some direct control of harvest rates and strategies in relation to predicting stock status, and long-term maximum sustainable yields. Constant catch and constant fishing mortality are two types of simple harvest control rules. Fishing capacity can also be defined using an input or output orientation. Technical efficiency of each vessel of
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#17327729920521144-584: The North Sea , the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the East China Sea . In these locations, overfishing has not only proved disastrous to fish stocks, but also to the fishing communities relying on the harvest. Like other extractive industries such as forestry and hunting, fisheries are susceptible to economic interaction between ownership or stewardship and sustainability , otherwise known as
1196-613: The United States . In 2008, a large-scale study of fisheries that used ITQs compared to ones that did not provide strong evidence that ITQs can help to prevent collapses and restore fisheries that appear to be in decline. China bans fishing in the South China Sea for a period each year. Several countries are now effectively managing their fisheries. Examples include Iceland and New Zealand . The United States has turned many of its fisheries around from being in
1248-608: The World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), asserts that half the world's fishing fleet could be scrapped with no change in catch. In addition, the biomass of global fish stocks have been allowed to run down to the point where it is no longer possible to catch the amount of fish that could be caught. Increased incidence of schistosomiasis in Africa has been linked to declines of fish species that eat
1300-406: The tragedy of the commons . Overfishing not only causes negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but also reduces fish production, which subsequently leads to negative social and economic consequences. According to a 2008 UN report, the world's fishing fleets are losing US$ 50 billion each year due to depleted stocks and poor fisheries management . The report, produced jointly by
1352-558: The 'Tragedy of the Commons' , cites research by Grafton, Squires and Fox to support the idea that privatization can solve the overfishing problem: According to recent research on the British Columbia halibut fishery, where the commons has been at least partly privatized, substantial ecological and economic benefits have resulted. There is less damage to fish stocks, the fishing is safer, and fewer resources are needed to achieve
1404-480: The Eastern Central Pacific, Northeast Pacific (Area 67), Northwest Pacific (Area 61), Western Central Pacific and Southwest Pacific had the lowest proportion (13 to 17%) of fish stocks at biologically unsustainable levels. Daniel Pauly , a fisheries scientist known for pioneering work on the human impacts on global fisheries, has commented: It is almost as though we use our military to fight
1456-461: The MSC's environmental standard. This enables consumers to play a part in reversing the decline of fish stocks. As of February 2012, over 100 fisheries around the world have been independently assessed and certified as meeting the MSC standard. Their where-to-buy page lists the currently available certified seafood. As of February 2012, over 13,000 MSC-labelled products are available in 74 countries around
1508-444: The Sea , certify seafood fisheries as sustainable. The Marine Stewardship Council has developed an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Environmentally responsible fisheries management and practices are rewarded with the use of its blue product ecolabel . Consumers concerned about overfishing and its consequences are increasingly able to choose seafood products that have been independently assessed against
1560-417: The animals in the ocean. We are gradually winning this war to exterminate them. And to see this destruction happen, for nothing really – for no reason – that is a bit frustrating. Strangely enough, these effects are all reversible, all the animals that have disappeared would reappear, all the animals that were small would grow, all the relationships that you can't see any more would re-establish themselves, and
1612-409: The availability of family planning services. The resulting smaller populations have a decreased environmental footprint and reduced food needs. Controlling consumer behavior and demand is critical in mitigating action. Worldwide, a number of initiatives emerged to provide consumers with information regarding the conservation status of the seafood available to them. The "Guide to Good Fish Guides" lists
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1664-482: The change in competitive equilibria and take over in a way that makes it impossible for the trout to re-establish a breeding population. Since the growth of global fishing enterprises after the 1950s, intensive fishing has spread from a few concentrated areas to encompass nearly all fisheries. The scraping of the ocean floor in bottom dragging is devastating to coral , sponges and other slower-growing benthic species that do not recover quickly, and that provide
1716-558: The depths with state-of-the-art technology. In a few hours, massive nets weighing up to 15 tons, dragged along the bottom by deep-water trawlers , can destroy deep-sea corals and sponge beds that have taken centuries or millennia to grow. The trawlers can target orange roughy , grenadiers , or sharks. These fish are usually long-lived and late maturing, and their populations take decades, even centuries to recover. Fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly and economist Ussif Rashid Sumaila have examined subsidies paid to bottom trawl fleets around
1768-421: The ecological destruction of the oceans, movements have sprung up to encourage abstinence —not eating any seafood—or eating only "sustainable seafood". Sustainable seafood is a movement that has gained momentum as more people become aware of overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods . Sustainable seafood is seafood from either fished or farmed sources that can maintain or increase production in
1820-447: The entire breeding cycle of the fish, with fish being bred in captivity. Some fish prove difficult to breed in captivity and can be caught in the wild as juveniles and brought into captivity to increase their weight. With scientific progress, more species are being made to breed in captivity. This was the case with southern bluefin tuna , which were first bred in captivity in 2009. As global citizens become more aware of overfishing and
1872-485: The fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the overfishing of sharks , has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems . Types of overfishing include growth overfishing, recruitment overfishing, and ecosystem overfishing. Overfishing not only causes negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but also reduces fish production, which subsequently leads to negative social and economic consequences. The ability of
1924-546: The fleet is assumed necessary to attain this maximum catch. The degree of capacity utilization results from the comparison of the actual level of output (input) and the capacity output (input) of a vessel or a fleet. In order to meet the problems of overfishing, a precautionary approach and Harvest Control Rule (HCR) management principles have been introduced in the main fisheries around the world. The Traffic Light color convention introduces sets of rules based on predefined critical values, which can be adjusted as more information
1976-481: The future without jeopardizing the ecosystems from which it was acquired. In general, slow-growing fish that reproduce late in life, such as orange roughy, are vulnerable to overfishing. Seafood species that grow quickly and breed young, such as anchovies and sardines , are much more resistant to overfishing. Several organizations, including the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and Friend of
2028-533: The journal Nature asserted that the "primary cause" of ocean defaunation is overfishing. Other studies have shown that overfishing has reduced fish and marine mammal biomass by 60% since the 1800s, and is currently driving over one-third of sharks and rays to extinction. The notion of overfishing hinges on what is meant by an "acceptable level" of fishing. More precise biological and bioeconomic terms define acceptable level as follows: A model proposed in 2010 for predicting acceptable levels of fishing
2080-571: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chincoteague Bay was well known for its shellfish industry, which shipped oysters , crabs , and clams to Baltimore , Philadelphia , and New York . The shellfish industry was based in several landings and small towns: Taylors Landing at Girdletree, Maryland , George Island Landing at Stockton, Maryland , and Franklin City and Greenbackville in Virginia . Girdletree, Stockton, and Franklin City were all on
2132-409: The mass of bycatch is five times larger than that of the shrimp caught. A report by FAO in 2020 stated that "in 2017, 34 percent of the fish stocks of the world's marine fisheries were classified as overfished". Mitigation options include: Government regulation, removal of subsidies , minimizing fishing impact, aquaculture and consumer awareness . Overfishing has stripped many fisheries around
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2184-411: The much less abundant wild salmon runs. Aquaculture played a minor role in the harvesting of marine organisms until the 1970s. Growth in aquaculture increased rapidly in the 1990s when the rate of wild capture plateaued. Aquaculture now provides approximately half of all harvested aquatic organisms. Aquaculture production rates continue to grow while wild harvest remains steady. Fish farming can enclose
2236-461: The now-defunct southern end of what is today the Maryland and Delaware Railroad that ran south from Snow Hill, Maryland . Overfishing depleted shellfish stocks, which have still not recovered. Currently, the largest settlements on the Bay are Public Landing, Maryland , Greenbackville, Captain's Cove (a planned residential community near Greenbackville), and the town of Chincoteague. The bay
2288-531: The optimal amount of fish ( total allowable catch ) to be harvested in a certain fishery. The decision considers carrying capacity, regeneration rates and future values. Under ITQs, members of a fishery are granted rights to a percentage of the total allowable catch that can be harvested each year. These quotas can be fished, bought, sold, or leased allowing for the least-cost vessels to be used. ITQs are used in New Zealand , Australia , Iceland , Canada , and
2340-555: The proportion of underfished stocks decreased continuously from 1974 to 2015, the maximally sustainably fished stocks decreased from 1974 to 1989, and then increased to 59.9% in 2015. In 2015, among the 16 major statistical areas, the Mediterranean and Black Sea had the highest percentage (62.2%) of unsustainable stocks, closely followed by the Southeast Pacific 61.5% and Southwest Atlantic 58.8%. In contrast,
2392-452: The snails carrying the disease-causing parasites. Massive growth of jellyfish populations threaten fish stocks, as they compete with fish for food, eat fish eggs, and poison or swarm fish, and can survive in oxygen depleted environments where fish cannot; they wreak massive havoc on commercial fisheries. Overfishing eliminates a major jellyfish competitor and predator, exacerbating the jellyfish population explosion. Both climate change and
2444-534: The species, making them more susceptible to disease, and less likely to adapt to their stressors and the environment. Additionally, catching smaller fish leads to breeding of smaller offspring, which can be problematic for fish. In many species, the smaller the female, the less fecund it is, impacting the fish population. There are three recognized types of biological overfishing: growth overfishing, recruit overfishing, and ecosystem overfishing. Growth overfishing occurs when fish are harvested at an average size that
2496-622: The system would re-emerge. According to the Secretary General of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development , "Overfishing cannot continue, the depletion of fisheries poses a major threat to the food supply of millions of people." The fishing down the food web is something that occurs when overfishing arises. Once all larger fish are caught, the fisherman will start to fish the smaller individuals, which would lead to more fish needing to be caught to keep up with demand. This decreases fish populations, as well as genetic diversity of
2548-504: The title Chincoteague . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chincoteague&oldid=930635933 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Chincoteague Bay During
2600-544: The world of their stocks . The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in a 2018 report that 33.1% of world fish stocks are subject to overfishing. Significant overfishing has been observed in pre-industrial times. In particular, the overfishing of the western Atlantic Ocean from the earliest days of European colonisation of the Americas has been well documented. The fraction of fish stocks that are within biologically sustainable levels has exhibited
2652-420: The world. Fish & Kids is an MSC project to teach schoolchildren about marine environmental issues, including overfishing. The Monterey Bay Aquarium 's Seafood Watch Program, although not an official certifying body like the MSC, also provides guidance on the sustainability of certain fish species. Some seafood restaurants have begun to offer more sustainable seafood options. The Seafood Choices Alliance
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#17327729920522704-440: The world. They found that US$ 152 million per year are paid to deep-sea fisheries. Without these subsidies, global deep-sea fisheries would operate at a loss of US$ 50 million a year. A great deal of the subsidies paid to deep-sea trawlers is to subsidize the large amount of fuel required to travel beyond the 200 mile limit and drag weighted nets. "There is surely a better way for governments to spend money than by paying subsidies to
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