Assignment task: In a response to two of your peers, state whether you agree or disagree with their assessment of their own issue. Why or why not? Find a post you do not necessarily agree with and provide an opposing viewpoint on why another conservation issue for fish should rank higher.
Peer 1:
The issue I have selected for this argument is pollution. Pollution from things such as waste and/or nutrients runoff has negatively impacted the overall well being of more than 60% of bays and coastal rivers today. While such a prevalent issue exists due to human activity, I believe that eliminating this issue should be prioritized in the effort of improving wetlands both nationwide and globally. Every ecosystem on earth functions with water, and if water incurs toxicity due to pollution, our ecosystems will begin to experience massive amounts of die-off and collapse. For example, an article in the Tennessean states that a water treatment plant in Monterey, TN released untreated wastewater into the Cumberland River. Upon further investigation, the plant reported that they had released wastewater over 145 times since March of 2020. The Riverkeeper of the Cumberland River is in the process of suin* the treatment plant for their overflow and release of wastewater (Mealin, 2025). Rivers not only serve as the main water source for inland communities, it they even further create an outflow to the ocean. It is from examples like these that I believe that focusing on the pollution issue in consideration of wetlands and the fisheries that we host in them, should be prioritized and mitigated. Need Assignment Help?
Peer 2:
Chosen issue: pollution
From industrial waste, agricultural runoff, to even chemical contaminants. Pollution stands as the most severe and immediate concern to our ecosystems. These contaminants are disrupting aquatic ecosystems, contributing to habitat degradation, biodiversity loss, and a decline to fish population. In fact, 60% of our coastal rivers and bay are being degraded by nutrient runoff. This is a widespread issue that has long-term consequences.
Impact on fish populations
Chemical contaminants and bioaccumulation is a pressing and rising issue due to the ever increase in industrial building. These metals enter the water system through industrial waste, atmosphere sources, and other metal-based businessess (Khushbu et al., 2022). This type of pollution creates physical abnormalities in aquatic species, decrease hatching rate, and bioaccumulation in the tissues (Khushbu et al., 2022). All of this leads to a decrease in fish population and contribute to species decline.
Eutrophication and dead zones are another leading stressor on marine ecosystems (Diaz & Rosenberg, 2008). Agricultural runoff containing nitrogen and phosphorus cause algae blooms, which lead to hypoxia and creation of "dead zones". In these areas, there is a decline in oxygen needed for fish to survive, and therefore there is a decline in fish population. These dead zones have been increasing due to riverine runoff of fertilizers that are coming from our farms and the burning of fossil fuels (Diaz & Rosenberg, 2008).
Why it matters
Pollution does not just impact one area. It is a problem that affects everyone. From both freshwater and marine environments, to us. Take for example the bioaccumulation that occurs from metals. It has an indirect impact on our own health as we feed on these contaminated fish. On top of that, a decline in any specific fish population could have catostrophic cascading affects on the rest of the food chain. Pollution causes long-term consequences that will be hard to come back from, unless we start making changes now.