Fisheries
Over fishing is widely acknowledged to be one of the major threats to marine biodiversity. Seas At Risk promotes sustainable fisheries management for the benefit of both fishers and the environment.
Currently 75% of global fish stocks are either fully exploited or over fished, and according to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) the situation in the North East Atlantic is even worse. Over fishing not only dramatically reduces fish stocks but the methods used also have devastating impacts on marine habitats and on non-target species such as dolphins and turtles; bottom trawling and by-catch are of particular concern. Over fishing can even cause shifts in the balance of entire marine ecosystems through the large scale removal of predatory fish and the current trend to “fish down the food web”.
Over fishing also impacts on fishing communities. A clear example of this is the collapse of the cod fishery off Newfoundland in 1992 which led to the loss of 40,000 fishing-related jobs. Dwindling stocks is one of the main causes for the steady decline in fishing-related employment.
Seas At Risk is currently working on the management of deep water fisheries, high seas bottom trawling, the protection of vulnerable habitats around the Azores, European fisheries in the context of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, and harmful fuel subsidies.
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