National Geographic: The Global Fish Crisis

Here are some key facts I noted from an Article titled "The Global Fish Crisis" in the recent edition of National Geographic.

• Nearly one third of the world's fish stocks are overfished--the Atlantic is the hardest hit
• Majority of the world's fishing fleet is concentrated in Asian waters
• Trawling, though banned in many countries, bulldozes the seabed and catches sea life indiscriminantely--more than 50% that are caught are discarded
• In Africa, only the carcasses of the NIle perch are affordable sources of protein for some Tanzanians living around Lake Victoria
• Perch fillets are stripped in 35 lakeside processing plants and shipped north, mainly to Europe, but also Israel
• With years of overfishing in Africa, perch stocks have fallen drastically--imperiling the livelihoods of more than 100,000 fisherman, and depriving local people of food
• To suply the world's sushi markets, the giant bluefin tuna is fished in the Mediterranean at four times the sustainable rate
• The bluefin tuna is being fattened off the coast of Spain--69 ranches have been created in the Mediterranean Sea in the last 10 years--this is demolishing the fish stocks
• In Europe, fisheries management is difficult, due to the number of countries bordering the seas
• Aquaculture now contributes to nearly 50% of the world's seafood--filling the void left by declining stocks in the wild