For decades now we ve been taking fish from the sea much faster than it can replace them, with dire consequences. Many are in danger of being wiped out. Fish and shellfish at risk include bluefin tuna, cod, flounder, swordfish, blue marlin, Atlantic lobster, red snapper, salmon and a number of sharks, to name just a few from a long list that grows longer every year. The numbers of most species of marine fish are at an all-time low, and the chief culprit is overfishing to meet an unprecedented demand for seafood. Modern, technologically-advanced fishing fleets have the capacity to push most fish populations to the brink.
Some fleets throw away more fish than they keep.
When fish populations decline or collapse, everyone is the poorer. Most salt water fish spend all or at least part of their lives in coastal waters, where their environment is continually assaulted by pollution and development. The massive destruction of wetlands and other vital habitats directly reduces the number of fish the ocean can support. Just as ominous are unforeseen and possibly permanent changes in the ocean food chains caused by overfishing. Overkill at the top widespread depletion of the ocean s apex predators, the sharks, tunas and billfishes can upset predator-prey relationships that took millions of years to evolve.