Let the Ocean Off the Hook

There actually aren’t more fish in the sea. Overfishing is quickly becoming one of the biggest global catastrophes in recent history.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 47% of global fish stocks are fully exploited, thus offering no reasonable expectations for further expansion, and another 18% are reported as overexploited.

The bottom line is: we’re exhausting one of the most volatile resources on the planet, and if we don’t stop soon, there won’t be any left. Many of the best-known species: bluefin tuna and cod, are expected to be extinct within the next few years.

We’re the stewards of the planet, and we can’t let these magnificent animals disappear from the earth forever. The ecological implications of extinction of certain species is staggering, the sudden disappearance of species like bluefin would have devastating results within marine ecosystems.

Today's fishing technology is highly elaborate. Fishing lines can reach as much as 120 km, complete with thousands of hooks. These hooks don’t only catch fish—Some trawlers reach 170 meters in length and can take on board the volume equivalent of 12 jumbo jets, and drift nets can exceed 60 km in length. These drift nets are catastrophic, sweeping up every life form in its reach: sharks, dolphins, turtles—even whales have been known to be victims of this destructive tactic.

Destructive bottom trawling involves powerful boats dragging heavy, weighted nets across the ocean floor to catch the maximum possible amount of bottom-dwelling life. Trawling decimates everything in its path, namely coral, which takes millennia to develop. Scientists estimate coral will be extinct within the next twenty years. Coral is one of the major players in cancer research, and has shown the potential to reverse the disease. Protecting this species is vital to saving millions of lives.

If extinction doesn’t scare you, let’s look at the impact on human populations.

An estimated one billion people, mostly in low-income countries, depend on fish as their primary source of food. Most of these low-income fisherman can’t compete with the super-trawlers and fishing industries of first-world countries fishing their waters. Our seemingly insatiable appetite is sending negative shockwaves through more than just schools of fish. If we continue to fish at our current rate, we’ll be facing the biggest global health crisis in history—millions of people will starve to death, and that’s not an exaggeration.

Will you let that happen on your watch?


Challenge #13: Make sustainable seafood choices and educate yourself about overfishing.

What you can do:

Join Monteray Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. Get access to pamphlets, seafood guides and apps.

Watch End of the Line, a documentary about overfishing.

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