15 Species of Fish Most At Risk From Overfishing

 

15 Species of Fish Most At Risk From Overfishing

Our planet's life source, our oceans, are in a silent and relentless crisis. Thus, the insatiable appetite towards seafood has lead to the absolute and in some cases to the over crushing of the global fisheries. Overfishing, what this is called, isn't simply an overpopulation of numbers. Here we explore the 15 animals that've found themselves in the crosshairs of the global "overfishing crisis"-the reasons their survival is important, and what we can do to help turn the tide.

1. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The Atlantic Bluefin is a sea titan, that can travel between different oceans and has been clocked at formidable speeds. Due to its precocious fat, it is the master of the sushi market, and can charge the landlord's price. This market has created enormous fishing pressure such that it has become one of the most iconic "ocean endangered species of fish." Despite the effects of international quotas the recovery of the population remains a major challenge because of illegal fishing and the management problems associated with a species which migrates across national borders.

2. Southern Bluefin Tuna

The Atlantic Bluefin tuna's cousin, the Southern Bluefin tuna is in an equally critical situation, also with continuously dropping populations. Its population has been estimated to have suffered a drastic depletion as a harsh symptom of the effects of the unregulated fishing during the 20th century. With tighter controls in place, recovery of this species is a painfully slow process due to their slow rate of reproduction.

3. Chilean Toothfish

If marketed right the scenario can change. Formerly prompting controversy as the Patagonian toothfish, the rechristening to Chilean seabass massively leapt up its demand. This deepwater fish grows slowly and lives more than 50 years, thus it is extremely susceptible to overexploitation. For this deep-sea delicacy, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is the prime hazard.

4. Atlantic Cod

Probably the most famous fisheries cautionary tale is that of the Atlantic cod. Thousands lost their jobs as the Canadian Grand Banks cod fishery collapsed in the early 1990s and became the global poster child of "overfishing." A moratorium was placed on fishing but the cod haven't recovered meaning that some ecosystems when broken, can never fully recover.

5. Orange Roughy

This deep ocean fish suffers from long life. Orange roughy can live for more than a century, thus they breed slowly and are poorly able to cope with industrialised fishing. Because they tend to live in tight aggregates, they're vulnerable to bottom trawlers-a destructive form of fishing that also damages the ancient deep-sea coral habitats they live in.

6. Beluga Sturgeon

It is the caviar that has pushed this species, called Beluga sturgeon, into endangerment. This prehistoric fish, which can attain gigantic proportion, is killed practically for its precious eggs only. The result of poaching and the fact that the flooding of their migratory spawning grounds is made worse by man-made dams has left the species teetering on the brink of extinction.

7. European Eel

The European eel's life cycle is an incredible and mysterious process from the Sargasso Sea to European rivers. Now, it is also a tragic one. Overfishing for glass eels (juveniles), loss of habitat, pollution and even changes in ocean currents have contributed to a catastrophic decline that has resulted from the species now being listed as critically endangered.

8. Vaquita

Of the more than 70 marine mammals, the vaquita, a small porpoise that lives in Mexico's Gulf of California, is easily the most endangered marine mammal. With only few individuals estimated to remaining, they're heading for extinction as bycatch. The illegal gillnets are set for another "threatened fish species," or totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is sold on the traditional medicine market in Mexico, and the fish are drawn into the gillnets.

9. Nassau Grouper

The Nassau grouper (E rencontre-laetérait), a keystone species of lagoon reefs, forms large groups at some locations and times of the year that aggregate for mating. Because of this predictable behavior, they're so easy to overfish. Collectively, these spawning aggregations have been so heavily exploited that they are currently considered to be valued natural resources threatened throughout the Caribbean.

10. Hammerhead and Whitetip

It's not one species but many. Sharks are being killed for their fins to meet the demand of shark fin soup-a horrible practice in which shark fins are frequently removed at sea, leaving the living shark to drown. As top predators they inflict a destructive top-down effect on the entire marine food web.

11. Blue Marlin

The Atlantic blue marlin is prized as a recreational sportfish and is also a victim of commercial "bycatch" in longline fisheries that catch tuna and swordfish. Their size, coupled with their slow rate of increase means that they themselves can rapidly replace diminished populations under such aggressive fishing pressure.

12. King Mackerel

Some populations of king mackerel have undergone severe declines due to intensive exploitation and this fish species is heavily harvested by both commercial and recreational fisheries. Science-based fishing rules have been established to manage their stocks and make sure that their numbers remain stable - including strict size and bag limits cannot hurt either.

13. Atlantic Halibut

This large number flatfish was an important species of the North Atlantic, but is now commercially extinct in most areas. Its slow growth and late age at maturity make this highly vulnerable to problems of overfishing. Although the red grouper is normally not targeted, it is taken as bycatch in other ground-fishery operations.

14. Humphead Wrasse

An appealing and distinctive coral reef fish, the humphead wrasse is much in demand for the live reef fish food trade in southeast Asia. With a complex life history and slow reproductive rate in combination with severe fishing pressure, this species has become endangered.

15. Winter Skate

While not as glamorous as tuna, the winter skate is an important part of our ecosystem of the Northwest Atlantic. This species has collapsed due to intensive bottom trawling. Its story highlights further that the so-called "overfishing crisis" afflicts all taxa of the marine biosphere, and is not limited to the "charismatic megafauna."

How You Can Make Your Communities a Solution

The earth's abundance in the ocean is not inexhaustible. By changing our appetite towards "sustainable seafood", and supporting strong conservation efforts, we can assure these magnificent 'endangered ocean fish' do not become a thing for our future generations to remember only. "Our oceans and the planet rest on each other, and responsible stewardship for the planet starts right here, today."