Overfishing is when fisherman and vessels capture fish at a faster rate than the population can reproduce, leading to declines in marine wildlife populations. It affects billions of marine animals including widely known examples such as Atlantic halibut, bluefin tuna, various shark species, and more. The number of species victimized by overfishing has more than tripled in the past 50 years, and the UN has stated that more than a third of fisheries around the world are "beyond their biological limits". An approximated 4 million fishing vessels sail the seas today, creating even more depletions of aquatic populations. Overfishing is not caused by a high consumption rate of these species by humans, instead, one of the biggest factors of overfishing is money, and illegal fishing. The biggest blows to many of the overfished populations is illegal fishing, which allows those fishing illegally to avoid fees and costs that come with fishing, and it is estimated that around $36 billion is made through selling or trading illegally caught aquatic species every year. Depleting fish stocks have many impacts on the ocean and humans. Firstly, overfishing leads to changes in the food chains of many ecosystems, as well as the predators of these overfished species getting less nutrition and becoming smaller, and changing reproduction rates. The overfished species experience lower reproduction rates due to the population decline and therefore having less fish able to reproduce. Another impact of overfishing is on the economy. Fish is a $362 billion global food industry and the demand for fish is still rising today. There are many businesses such as fisheries and restaurants that are dependent on fish, and with a declining population for many fish species, it will become detrimental to these businesses and the economy and consumers as well. Also, approximately half the world's human population relies on fish as their main source of protein, so these people will be affected greatly as well. The continually rising demand for fish, overfishing, and illegal fishing all together are a huge threat to not only marine wildlife populations and ecosystems, but also our economies and consumers of fish products as well. Author: Anonymous
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