Terryorisms

Report Claims Over-Fishing as Major Threat June 5, 2006

Report Claims Over-Fishing as Major Threat | Outside Online
(Picture is of a giant piece of 500 year old gorgonian coral being hoisted out of a bottom trawl net.) Specifically, World Wildlife Fund spokesman Tom Lalley, cited the legal practice of bottom-trawling as a culprit in the practice of over fishing. The practice, Lalley said, involves scraping “the bottom of the sea clean,” and heavily damaging to the marine environment.

The report, released ahead of meeting in New York for the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, cites an over-capacity of authorized fleets, over-fishing of stocks under catch limits and the absence of rebuilding strategies for depleted populations, Reuters reported.

“What it’s saying is the current governance structure has failed,” Lalley said. Citing the bluefin tuna and orange roughy as examples of over-exploited species, Lalley said the purpose of the report was to identify weaknesses and to improve the current regulatory system.