Final answer:
Overharvesting is the use of a natural resource at an unsustainable rate, with aquaculture proposed as a solution. It is linked to the Tragedy of the Commons when common resources like fish are exploited without individual ownership. Measures to prevent overharvesting include fishing regulations, marine protected areas, and catch shares.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Overharvesting in Fisheries
Raising fish in underwater pens as a solution to the overharvesting problem is known as aquaculture or fish farming. Overharvesting refers to the use of a natural resource, such as fish in the oceans, rivers, and lakes, at an unsustainable rate that can lead to the collapse of ecosystems and species populations. It is particularly a threat in aquatic environments where examples such as the western Atlantic cod fishery, which collapsed despite being a hugely productive fishery for 400 years.
This phenomenon is also described by the Tragedy of the Commons, wherein common resources are exploited beyond sustainability because the incentive to individually conserve is insufficient when ownership is shared. Economic and political issues factor into this, as is exemplified by the loss of motivation among fishers to conserve fish populations when they don't own the fisheries. To combat the pressure on fisheries, strategies like establishing marine protected areas and dedicated access privileges have been suggested.
One of the ways to prevent the collapse of fish stocks due to overharvesting is to regulate the fisheries with measures such as fishing licenses, harvest limits, and the implementation of catch shares where a total allowable catch is set and divided among fishers. In extreme cases, governments may ban the harvesting of certain species to allow populations to recover, as seen in the case of the conch, which has been banned in the U.S. since 1986.