Overfishing

摘要

Oceans have received only slight consideration in recent discussions of the global fisheries crisis, even though fisheries provide much-needed protein, jobs, and income, especially in poor rural communities of developing countries. Systematic overfishing of fresh waters is largely unrecognized because of weak reporting and because fishery declines take place within a complex of other pressures. Moreover, the ecosystem consequences of changes to the species, size, and tropic composition of fish assemblages are poorly understood. These complexities underline the paradox that overexploitation of a fishery may not be marked by declines in total yield, even when individual species and long-term sustainability are highly threatened.