Overfishing
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Overfishing means catching so many fish that the ones remaining cannot reproduce fast enough to keep up the numbers. When this happens fish become so rare that fisherman can't make a living. Between 1950 and 1994 the volume of fish caught increased by 400%. In 1989 the world's catch leveled off at ~82million metric tons of fish per year. All the world's fisheries are declining or have already collapsed.
Contents |
Understanding the issue
The causes
Evidence
Cost-benefit analysis
What are the solutions
Organisations that work on overfishing
Greenpeace is on their single largest expedition ever to bear witness to the threats of the oceans. One of the largest threats to marine ecosystems according to scientists is overfishing. This is due to large scale industrial fishing which begun in the 1950's, since then 90 percent of the large fish that many of us love to eat, such as tuna, swordfish, marlin, cod, halibut, skate, and flounder - have been fished out. This can endanger the structure and functionality of the marine ecosystems. To find out more check out the website: Greenpeace Defending Our Oceans
