Aquatic resources can be grouped into two categories; renewable and non-renewable. A renewable resource is one that may be replaced over time by natural processes, such as fish populations or water vegetation, or is inexhaustible. Non- renewable resources are those in limited supply that cannot be replaced or can be replaced only over extremely long periods of time. Non-renewable aquatic resources include fossil fuels and mineral deposits, such as petroleum, iron ore and gold ore. Whether renewable or non-renewable aquatic resources are faced with over exploitation by man and measures should be taken to ensure a sustainable use and protection of these aquatic resources. This type of measure of ensuring sustainable use and protection of aquatic resources is referred to as conservation and management of aquatic resources.
However, the goal of conservation and management of aquatic resources for renewable resources is to ensure that resources are not consumed faster than they are replaced. While conservation and management activities for non-renewable resources focus on maintaining an adequate supply of these resources well into the future. Aquatic resources are conserved and managed for their biological, economic and recreational values, as well as their natural beauty and importance to local cultures.
The challenge of conservation and management of aquatic resources is to understand the complex connections among aquatic resources and balance resources with protection to ensure an adequate supply for the future usages. In order to accomplish this goal, a variety of conservation and management methods are used. These include reducing consumption of resources; protecting them from contamination or pollution; recycling resources when possible; and fully protecting, or preserving resources.
The water as aquatic resource critically needs to be taking into consideration when it comes to conservation and management of aquatic resources. Clean freshwater resources are essential for drinking, bathing, cooking, irrigation,, industry and for plant and animal survival. Unfortunately, the global supply of freshwater is distributed unevenly and even these freshwater are under severe and increasing environmental stress because of over use, water pollution and ecosystem degradation. Over 95% of urban sewage in developing countries is discharged untreated into surface waters such as rivers and seas. These sewages destroy the water for house use and adversely affect the fresh and other aquatic animals in the water. Fertilizers apply to crops in the areas around water body find their way into the water through runoffs also pollute the water body and affect the organisms in the water and may eventually leads to deaths of fish and other water organisms. Pollution in water body reduces biodiversity of organisms in the water leaving only those organisms that can tolerate the pollutants and their effects. Therefore, water conservation requires a reduction in wasteful practices like inefficient irrigation, reforms in agriculture and industry, strict pollution controls should be embarked on. Law should be made by the government to these effects. Farmers should be trained through seminars and workshops on how to practice efficient agricultural practices that will support water conservation. And industrial personnel should also be trained on the proper ways of disposing their wastes. Punishment should be attached to improper disposal of waste into water body.
Also, water supplies can be increased through effective management of watersheds. By restoring natural vegetation to forests or fields, communities can increase the storage and filtering capacity of these watersheds and minimize wasteful flooding and erosion.
The aquatic organisms (plants and animals) most especially fishes are affected by the above mentioned problems (i.e. inefficient agricultural practices like inefficient irrigation, and dumping of industrial waste). Aquatic plants are very important in aquatic system in so many ways which include:
- Production of oxygen for the water organisms through photosynthesis
- Provision of food for aquatic organisms (primary producers)
- Direct or indirect provision of shelter for fish and invertebrates
- Consolidation of river bed and banks
- Marginal plants provide resting sites and food source for waste birds
- Provision of aesthetic appeal to water body
- Provision of spawning medium for some fishes.
These important plants species are often exploited by man activities like encroachment, navigation, construction, boating and even fishing and cultural purposes. When this problem of poor exploitation occur the animals depending on those plants species are affected due to the low production of primary producers to produce food for the animals and eventually result in low aquatic productivity (fish kills may result). Also plants population increases in some aquatic environment due to their proximity to sewage effluent and agricultural practices (fertilization) that release nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) to the water through runoffs. This causes increase in the growth of aquatic weeds and algae bloom that often cause fish kills and inhibit the growth of other animals in the water. Means of controlling these weeds and blooms to desirable level in the aquatic body to provide better survival for endangered animals’ species should be put in place. Control can be by mechanical measures i.e. by hand picking.
Aquatic animals such as fish, crustaceans (crabs, crayfish) e.t.c are important for man livelihood. They are rich in protein. These animals are good means of recreation, industrial, mechanical and household purposes. Due to their enormous usefulness man over exploit them for their own use. Fish population is in a drastical decline and this may be a attributed to:
- Over harvesting as a result of human population growth and economic importance.
- The use of modern, more efficient gear such as monofilament nets.
- Environmental degradation.
Today scientists consider many fisheries to be fished beyond the capacity of the resources. Current harvest rates are thought to be unsustainable-that is, unable to be maintained year after year without depletion of the fish stock. Experts believed that increase in world fish supply will require better management of the resources as well as the increased use of fish farming or aquaculture. Fisheries management includes:
i. Setting policies and objectives for each fishery or stock to be managed.
ii. Determining and implementing the measures necessary to reach the objectives.
iii. Consulting and negotiating with other users of the resources or area.
iv. Reviewing management objectives and measures to ensure adequacy and adoption.
v. Accessing by government, users and the public on management performance.
In conserving fisheries dams, ponds can be constructed for aquaculture purpose to rear fish and other aquatic animals like crabs, crayfish e.t.c. Also those constructed reservoirs, dams, and ponds are means of conserving water itself. Laws should be made by government on gear usage; gear that catch bigger fish and leave the smaller ones should be used for echo-sounders, light to attract fish to gear, electric fishing gear to catch large population of fish which is posing a big threat (decline) to fish supply and some species are even going into extinction. In this case government should make laws that will control the quantity of fish caught and the size of fish to be caught. Also, endangered species should be collected from the wild for aquaculture to prevent them from going into extinction. For example, in Japan, the salmon fishery and several other fisheries depend upon hatcheries- where fish reproduction and survival is enhanced- to provide the young fish (Anderson, 2007). Infact, now aquaculture production is becoming an essential part of the world’s fish supply, aquaculture has steadily increased over the past two decades and now accounts for nearly 20 percent of world harvest (Anderson, 2007). Another, greatest challenge in fisheries management is the control of bycatch; the unintentional killing of species not intended to be caught, such as low value fish, immature fish or even marine mammals. Although measures such as controlled use of gear have been employed, the wasteful harvest of bycatch animal is still a major problem world wide.
The world energy supply depends on many different resources including aquatic resources; water is significant in generating hydroelectric powering many countries like Nigeria. Fossil fuels (petroleum, coal) account for more than 90 percent of global energy production (Hartman, 2007). They are non-renewable, therefore, there is need to increase their conservation and the use of renewable energy resources. Renewable alternatives such as solar energy (using the energy from the sun), wind energy (using the energy of the wind or air currents), and geothermal energy (using energy contained in hot-water deposits within the earth crust) which have found to be efficient and practicable by experts should be diverted to for energy supply for proper conservation of those fossil fuels. Laws to guide exploitation of these fuels should also be made.
Minerals deposits in aquatic environment such as iron, and gold ore are quickly running off and they are non-renewable. Therefore, drastical measures must be taking to conserve them. Recycling of products made from these minerals should be employed by industries. Recycling is the collection, processing and reuse of materials that would otherwise be thrown away; this process reclaims the original materials and uses it in new products; by this exploitation of ore will be reduced, thereby conserving these ores deposits.
However, these (aquatic resources mentioned in this paper) and many more are essential for humans livelihood therefore all hands must be on desk; including the government, users and the masses, to conserve the non-renewable aquatic resources and manage the renewable ones for continuous optimum supply to meet humans demands.
References
Anderson, J.L. (2007); Fishery management. Microsoft student 2008 DVD.
Redmond, W.A. (2007): Endangered! Exploring a world at risk. http://www.amnh.org/ exhibition.
Online cited: Water Resources.http.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/water_resources.htm
Steven, C. and S. Susk (2007): Conservation of aquatic resources through the use of freshwater
protected areas: Opportunities and challenges. Biodiversity and Conservation, vol. 16, No.7, pp2015-2029(15).
Thanks for time
©Thomas Idowu
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