Assignment | Applying Mixed Methods Research to Business

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Applying Mixed Methods Research to Business
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Introduction
Aquaculture and fisheries provide basic nutrition, food, and employment to many
individuals across the world. Globally, about 80 million tons of fish are harvested from capture
fisheries and another 26 million are gotten from marine aquaculture. This industry has employed
about 260 million people, most being small scale fishermen in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
Fish are important for food security, as they give around 3 billion people the much-needed
animal proteins. However, the intense exploitation of fish, especially in their natural habitat, has
facilitated widespread overfishing, with 90 percent of fish stocks being exploited maximumly
leading to overfishing. Overfishing has other dire implications such as the degradation of the
ecosystem and the destruction of natural habitat. It has been quite difficult for shareholders in the
fishing industry to strike a balance between economic gains, food production, and overall
sustainability of the fisheries ecosystem. Overall, several unethical fishing practices continue to
negatively affect the habitation and the ecosystem of fisheries. However, many states are
advocating for sustainable fishing practices to protect these aquatic species. Some of the states
have banned fishing in certain regions of their territorial waters and also advise the fishermen to
control their fishing practices. Additionally, the consumer is increasingly becoming aware of the
implications of unsustainable fishing practices, and there is a growing trend of sustainability that
is influencing contemporary consumer purchasing behavior.
Consumers of fish need to choose their purchase from sustainable and well-managed
fisheries. The consumer needs to understand where the fish comes from and the methods that
have been used to harvest the fish. The growing trends of sustainability in the world are
informing new practices, with consumers highly aware of the need to protect the marine
ecosystem and reduce overexploitation of fish (Retsikas 2017, 228). The consumer needs to

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understand what overfishing entails. This involves exploiting too many fish or fish species, or
fishing too much of one species in an area. This also involves the considerations of the whole
fish ecosystem and understanding that when fishing is done in adverse levels, it affects the whole
marine ecosystem. For example, there is an increase in lobster population on the east coast of the
Pacific, due to overfishing of its natural predator, the cod. There are various steps that the
consumer can take to influence the market and fishing practices. This includes advocating for
sustainable seafood. In an era of sustainability, the consumer should insist on only buying
products from the store that protect the environment and practices sustainable fishing methods
(Bastardie, et al. 2017, 332). Following the consumer concern, the stores communicate to their
distributors on the importance of sustainable fishing methods and this will help curb the
overexploitation of marine ecosystem. The consumer can additionally, influence the fish market
by changing shopping habits. Currently, the demand for Bluefin Tuna is high and this leads to
overfishing of that certain species. The consumer can change the type of fish they want and
incorporate other fish in their diets such as tilapia, salmons, and Nile perch. There has been
growing concerns over fish farming, and these confusions do not help the consumer in making
sustainable choices (Kirby, Candice and Quentin 2018, 135). Consumers have the obligation of
researching various aquaculture providers and only buying the fish from sources that practice
ethical and sustainable fishing methods (Fleming, et al. 2017, 100). The consumer should buy
products that are only marked with green or yellow labels, as this indicates that the source is
sustainable.
The advancement of technology and high demand for aquatic food by the consumer has
led to new fishing practices that are depleting the fish populations at a very high rate. Every year,
about 78 billion kilograms of marine creatures are harvested by fishermen around the world.