Oceans: Overfishing

An article focusing specifically on some of the dangers of overfishing. This includes impacts to local economies and employment, in addition to numerous ecological repercussions.

Decades of harvesting the seas have disrupted the delicate balance of marine ecosystems—despite global efforts to mitigate the damage.

A brief look into why our oceans may be at the point of no return.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated three billion people world-wide rely on seafood as a source of protein.

Overfishing involves taking more fish from the water than is sustainable, which means the number of individuals removed is more than the breeding or recovery rate of the population.

Facts, effects and overfishing solutions

Entanglement in fishing gear is the leading threat for whales and dolphins around the globe – estimated to cause at least 300,000 deaths per year.

The emergence of longline fishing around the world has been concomitant with an increase in depredation-interactions by odontocete whales (removal of fish caught on hooks), resulting in substantial socio-economic and ecological impacts.

There are only about 400 North Atlantic right whales left in the world.

The biggest killer of whales and dolphins across the world is accidental capture in fishing gear, or ‘bycatch’.

The risk that whales can get entangled in fishing nets appears to have been underestimated, according to a new study.

In 1987, a biologist went undercover on a commercial tuna fishing vessel...

The biggest threat to juvenile and adult sea turtles in the ocean is their incidental capture during fishing activities.

Sea turtles and other protected species are accidentally caught in many types of commercial and recreational fishing gear.

Sea Turtles face many threats in the wild. Some are natural, such as their predators and diseases...