If One read the Home page, One would have learned about the environmental impacts of algae blooms, but these are not the only negative results of farming, both on land and in water.
Legal fisheries are entities that have permits to go out and catch fish and seafood (Think Deadliest Catch, but without all the drama.) Though in terms of government legislation, fisheries with permits are legal, the ramifications of this fishing can be great. For example, permitted shrimp fishing is legal, but it is bad for the environment. Read about that here.
Another way that some fisheries go about catching a great amount of seafood is by introducing new species fish into an environment. The environmental impacts of this technique are horrible because it often ends up upsetting the ecosystem. Like with algal blooms, many consequences cannot be foreseen until it’s too late.
Though legal fishing can become an issue when done carelessly, illegal fishing is a very large issue and rarely is ever done with care. This pirate fishing (Arr, matey!) is usually detrimental for the environment because without regulation ecosystems can be overfished and this can upset the balance. Not only is this an unsustainable way of fishing, it takes away opportunities from legal and sustainable fishing organizations. Luckily, this is where organizations like the MSC step in. The MSC requires “all fisheries taking part in our certification program to demonstrate that they meet all relevant local, national and international laws. Even legally-operating fisheries cannot be certified if other vessels are operating illegally in the same fishery and causing the fish stock to be overfished.” (source: MSC)
Another way to produce large amounts of fish is to farm them. Salmon, for example, is farmed quite often. If you click here you can read more about salmon. There are many different farming techniques, each with their own unique benefits and drawbacks.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website outlines a wide variety of these techniques. For example, the Bag/Rack technique allows shellfish farmers to create large stocks of shellfish without damaging the ecosystem. Another technique is called the raceway system. This technique is helpful because it is very similar to the environment of a river. However without proper regulation and management, this system can be harmful to the creatures nearby. If any of the fish or untreated water escapes the system, they can spread disease to the marine ecosystems they join. To read more techniques of fishing and farming, click here to visit the Seafood Watch website.