Recently scientists have been puzzled by the mysterious disappearance of fish species that we have never actually targeted with our fishing efforts. An example is the barndoor skate, which is in decline along with many other species even though we have never fished for it. This statement is not based on a formal study, but the fact is obvious to coastal dwellers, especially older individuals, who remember a constant abundance of these little sea creatures living in the shallows when they were children. Now is it hard to spot anything moving in the water. Due to the incredible bulk of animal life that man has managed to pull out of the ocean, the entire ecosystem is now suffering from a shortage of nutrients.
Every level is hungry.
The marine creatures maintained a balance for eons before we entered the picture and physically removed too many of them. Their dead bodies continually replenished the system by providing food for other mouths. But then men unwisely removed from the ecosystem everything they could catch. Initially the ocean was so full of life that it seemed to withstand our fishing pressure for a while. But as the number of fish decreased, we improved the efficiency of our fishing technology and the downward spiral for all marine species is now rapidly speeding up.