The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations measures how many of each species of each fish were caught each year. Using these numbers, we can see how some fish catches have peaked, meaning that there are simply not enough fish left to catch. Other fish’s catch numbers are still rising, meaning that demand for that fish is increasing: if we keep fishing the way we are, those populations will also start to drop and potentially die out.
—GOOD Magazine
Click the graphic for a larger view. The above graphic is via GOOD Magazine
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Unfortunately we seem to have an innate drive to overexploit and only when a population reaches critical levels do we take action. A belated management approach on the shoulders of officials, consumers and industry is not sufficient to sustain populations in the long-term nor is it economically viable for the future of our fisheries industry itself. Too bad we have a real problem getting past short term profits, as is evident when more than 30% of the world’s major fish stocks are overexploited.
Scott-