Question: Has fish production reached the point of diminishing returns?
According to a study used in the article (NBC News), seafood consumption is averaged at
16.6 pounds per person in 2004 versus 15.2 pounds per person in 2000. Worldwide fishing
produces a revenue of $80 billion and as many as 1 billion people, many of whom are
poor, depend on fish as their main source of protein. To meet the demands of its customers
and to increase production, companies can hire more workers and update their
techniques/technology for mass fishing. Although harvests and production are kept at a
rapid pace some scientists say there is a decline in fish stock, one that can decrease so
much that by 2050 most fish species will be endangered. Though overfishing is not the
primary cause of the decline. It is also caused by pollution and global warming, both of
which affect the decline in fish stock. This is a prime example of diminishing returns.
Diminishing Returns is a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than
the amount of money or energy invested.
As the demand for seafood is rising, companies can try to invest in meeting demands to the
best of their ability in order to keep production going and a revenue coming in. Rising
production and harvests come at a cost to both the company and our ecosystem. The
opportunity cost for the increase in production is the inevitable endangerment of fish stock.