More Pressure on Global Fish Stocks as Scientists Warn of Underreporting of Catches

Scientists have long known that global fish stocks were in trouble. Countries overfish and deplete stocks without thought to long-term consequences and population collapses. Researchers from the Sea Around Us, an international research group based at the University of British Columbia, visited 20 locations, talked to locals and estimated the amount of fish that were caught. They reached the conclusion that countries are grossly underestimating the amount of fish caught. For example, in the American Samoa, the actual catches were 16.6 times higher than the reported figures. Additionally, countries sometimes do not report recreation or subsistence catches. The new findings suggest that without changes in consumption habits, some fish stocks could be close to extinction. – YaleGlobal