Over fishing

Since the dawn of time humans have relied on fish as a main part of their diet. Stock full with omega 3 fatty acids and lean proteins fish provide a healthy option for everyone. And with the many different kinds of fish in the ocean it was thought that the demand would never oversee the supply. Fish are infinite...aren't they?

Recently the opposite is beginning to be see with harbours all over the world putting low quotas on the amount of fish allowed to be caught or banning fishing of certain species. Overfishing is defined as, "The practice of commercial and non-commercial fishing which depletes a fishery by catching so many adult fish that not enough remain to breed and replenish the population. Overfishing exceeds the carrying capacity of a fishery." Currently fishing fleets worldwide are catching 2-3 times more fish than is actually being bought or used. According to SOFIA an biannual report done by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization 52% or fish stocks are depleted meaning that fish no longer live there or are no reproducing in these areas. 47% of fish stocks are over exploited meaning they are close to being depleted in nothing changes as the number of fish being taken is too large and unsustainable. The last 1% of fish stocks are recovering from depletion as organisms begin to inhabit these areas once again. This relates to two major issues; we are loosing a valuable food source as the world population continues to increase, and the loss of numerous species in such a bio diverse area can have many unforeseen problems

One of the main concerns with this is the ever expanding human population. As the world population has risen the demand for food increases greatly. However, most of the arable land on earth is being used or has previously been used so unseasonably that we are turning to the plentiful resource of food that lies in our oceans. But how plentiful is this food source? Well, we can see from the SOFIA report that it is ever decreasing and is being used at an unsustainable rate. With the largest fish (based on weight) the most desired many male fish are being removed from their natural habitat and put on your plate making reproduction near impossible.

So what can you do? The effects of overfishing are still reversible if we act quick! Become informed on how fish are farmed and caught in the ocean. Read the Guide to Good Fish for tips on how to select fish for meals. Also, spread the word about overfishing. Tell friends and family about the current issues, write to your MP's and local representatives, and use social networking sites to inform the masses.