Overfishing and Fisheries Depletion

Fisheries are depleted and overfished when aquatic wildlife from fresh or salt water decreases at a rate that is faster than the ecosystem can replenish naturally. While overfishing is most often thought of as the result of indiscriminate human retrieval of fish, it can also be the result of natural and nonhuman changes within the aquatic environment, which cause fish and shellfish mortality rates to rise unsustainably. The most recent report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2012) reports that more than 50% of the world’s fisheries are exploited and 7% of the world’s fisheries are completely depleted. The annual total global catch equals 124 million metric tons of fish. Fish are captured from the Earth’s water systems by commercial, ...