Overfishing

Oceans have received only slight consideration in recent discussions of the global fisheries crisis, even though fisheries provide much-needed protein, jobs, and income, especially in poor rural communities of developing countries. Systematic overfishing of fresh waters is largely unrecognized because of weak reporting and because fishery declines take place within a complex of other pressures. Moreover, the ecosystem consequences of changes to the species, size, and tropic composition of fish assemblages are poorly understood. These complexities underline the paradox that overexploitation of a fishery may not be marked by declines in total yield, even when individual species and long-term sustainability are highly threatened. Around the world, over-fishing is leading to severe depletion of valuable fisheries. This is as true in many parts of the world. According to the United Nations Environment Program, fully 25 percent of fisheries worldwide are in jeopardy of collapse due to over-fishing. Overfishing is a common problem worldwide. For example, it is estimated that we have removed 90% of the large fish (e.g., sharks, swordfish) from the ocean. And as a result of overfishing, the price of fish has gone way upl. In this section, we will explore why overfishing is common, and what can be done about it. Ecosystem considerations may be incorporated into fisheries management by modifying existing overfishing paradigms or by developing new approaches to account for ecosystem structure and function in relation to harvesting. Ecosystembased overfishing concepts are to assume a greater role in management, unambiguous, quantifiable, and predictive measures of ecosystem state and flux. Ecosystem considerations do not need to substitute for existing overfishing concepts, practice, they emphasize the need to manage fishing capacity, supported by broader use of technical measures such as marine protected areas and gear restrictions.