The world’s major fisheries

World’s Aquatic habitats. Image credit utexas.edu

• Fresh water fishing is important in localized communities.
• In most cases the world’s fish comes from the ocean.
• Most of the world’s productive ocean fisheries are located in the shallow waters of continental shelves close to coastlines.
• These shallow waters usually have upwelling water that mixes easily.
• It is rich in oxygen and allows sunlight to penetrate.
• These conditions allow the growth of plankton.
• Plankton is small weeds and organisms that provide food for small fish species.
• The larger species are attracted to the same areas by the small fish and by the presence of minute sea organisms they feed on.
• The world’s major fisheries include the west and east coast of North America, the coast of Peru, Brazil and Uruguay in South America among others.
• Most of these coasts are washed by cold ocean currents which are rich in nutrients.
• Fish production is low in deep ocean waters and in warm waters of the tropics, as a result of poor nutrients and little fish food.

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