The Threatened Sea: Overfishing and its Consequences
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
Fishing until nothing is left – that apparently is the motto of the massively growing fishing industry. For according to a UN report, 33 per cent of all stocks are considered overfished and 60 per cent are maximally exploited. In the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, even two-thirds of all fish species are caught in greater quantities than can naturally replenish. This has fatal consequences for our world's oceans.
A stock is considered overfished when so much fish is caught that the species can no longer regenerate through natural reproduction. This leads to overexploitation of existing resources, as a result of which several fish species have already become extinct or declined extremely. Moreover, overfishing also interferes externally with the food chains in the sea. For when a fish species declines particularly sharply, those species that urgently need this fish as a food source also suffer. Ultimately, this leads to considerable changes in the balance of the marine ecosystem.
The European Union decides, within the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), how much fish may be caught per year. In doing so, they are actually advised by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Nevertheless, catch quantities are significantly higher than what scientists recommend. Worldwide, more and more fish is being eaten; since 1961, consumption has increased by over three per cent every year. According to the UN, in 2018 each person ate an average of 20 kilogrammes of fish, and further growth is to be expected – this demand must be met. Behind the overfishing of the seas, then, lies a huge industry that makes considerable profit from our fish consumption.
Domestic fish stocks are therefore no longer sufficient. In Germany, for example, only 12 per cent of demand can be met from domestic catches. As a result, fish must be imported in massive quantities, which becomes disastrous for local fishers. For 800 million people worldwide, fish is one of the most important sources of income and food. Due to overfishing by industrialised nations, their existence is threatened. China plays an important role in this, as it possesses by far the world's largest fishing fleet. They fish in the waters of East and West Africa, off the Galápagos Islands, in Iran and, according to studies, also secretly off North Korea. Local fishers have been protesting for years against the interference of other countries in their waters, since nothing is left for them as a result. However, little attention is paid to their protests.
The methods of fishing are also particularly dangerous. The tonne-heavy bottom trawl nets cause devastating damage to the seabed by, for example, destroying important coral reefs. The so-called bycatch also presents an immense problem. For the waters are not only fished for those fish that ultimately end up in our markets. It is estimated that approximately 300,000 whales and dolphins drown annually after becoming entangled in fishing nets. For numerous sea turtles and seabirds, fishing methods also mean death. Additionally, millions of tonnes of fish are thrown back into the seas every year, dying or severely injured, because higher-value fish sell better.
Underwater life, the environment and also the existence of numerous people are thus extremely threatened by overfishing. If no changes occur, eventually nothing will be left. The future for our oceans looks bleak.
Liora Shahrestani Mayer