January Feature: Exotic Fish The world is in the grip of a fisheries crisis that transcends political boundaries and affects north and south alike. Nearly everywhere, fisheries that have sustained coastal communities for generations have suffered catastrophic declines. In some areas, excessive fishing has driven staple species such as the Atlantic cod and the Atlantic halibut to commercial extinction. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that 70 per cent of the world's commercially important marine fish stocks are either fully fished, overexploited, deleted, or slowly recovering. Gone forever are the historical estimates that marine catches could top 500 million metric tons per year. Without doubt, we have exceeded the limit of the seas. To make matters worse, evidence is mounting that modern fisheries significantly affect the physical environment of the oceans and represent a serious threat to marine biological diversity. According to the FAO, indiscriminate fishing practices kill and waste between 18 and 40 million metric tonnes of unwanted fish, seabirds, sea turtles, marine mammals, and other ocean life annually-fully one-third of the world catch. Unsustainable, `dirty' fishing has become an industrial addiction... Learn MORE About Fish... Endangered Seas Campaign Water Information Resources

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