New report points to continuing crisis in oceans
The number of creatures in our oceans has halved in the last 40 years, and mackerel and tuna populations have fallen by a shocking 74%, according to a new report by WWF and Zoological Society of London.
Overfishing is still the biggest cause of this decline, and the global fishing fleet is now 2-3 times larger than the ocean can sustainably support. In the UK, the vulnerable porbeagle shark and critically endangered leatherback turtle have undergone particularly precipitous declines.
The findings point to disaster for the estimated 1 billion people globally that rely on fish as their main source of protein, and according to Dr Louise Heaps, Chief Advisor on Marine Policy at WWF-UK point to a clear ‘ecological and economic catastrophe’. Dr Heaps advises that; “Every one of us can take meaningful action, starting today, by ensuring that all the seafood we eat is responsibly sourced’.
The full report can be found on WWF’s website
Sustainable Fish Cities is aiming to make all fish on UK menus sustainably-sourced. If you serve fish, please help us by signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge today.
Published Wednesday 16 September 2015
Sustainable Fish: A campaign to protect precious marine environments and fishing livelihoods, and call for fish to be bought from sustainable sources. We want to show what can be done if people and organisations make a concerted effort to change their buying habits.
