Overfishing

The oceans are a bountiful source of food for people all over the world. However, current commercial fishing practices are overtaxing populations of marine life, causing many populations to drop to dangerously low levels. In addition, many types of nets and lines result in bycatch or other forms of unintentional damage. Also included here are pollution, see also Chemicals

See also: Food Scarcity, Ocean and Water as well as Acidification/Coral Reefs, Info on Marine Bio Major, also Global Warming and Plastic. As well as Marine Mammals and Ocean Research UCSC resources.

Overviews and Websites

EDF has extensive coverage

CQ Researcher August 2, 2002 • Volume 12, Issue 27.

Strange Days on Planet Earth from National Geographic. Overfishing video.

Video overview.

Oceana

EarthJustice (because sometimes the earth needs a good lawyer).

Articles and Reports

Aquaculture: UCSC's Pallab Sarker, an associate research professor in environmental studies, has received support from the Coastal Sea Grant program to fund his research into the development of sustainable feed for farmed fish. Sarker is collaborating with environmental studies professor Anne Kapuscinski 3/20

Grad student Melissa Cronin wins Seafood Sustainability Contest: $45,000 prize will support Cronin’s efforts to to reduce the mortality of manta rays and devil rays incidentally caught during tuna fishing 3/20

"Ghost gear" Dumped fishing gear is biggest plastic polluter in ocean, finds report 11/19.

A new study of the climate impacts of seafood products reveals that the processing of Alaskan pollock into fish sticks, imitation crab, and fish fillets generates significant greenhouse gas emissions by Brandi McKuin, a postdoctoral researcher in environmental studies at UCSC. 1/20

Ocean Conservation Expert Carl Safina on the Tuna That Sold for $3 Million 1/19.

Ghost nets 5/18. see Plastic.

Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Forces With Mexican Government to Save the World's Most Endangered Marine Mammal: Rampant overfishing has driven Mexico's native vaquita to the brink of extinction, with less than 30 individuals left in the wild. 11/17.

Whales, Sea Turtles Threatened by Trump Administration Proposal 11/17.

As Northwest Salmon Economy Teeters on Brink, Trump Gives It a Push 11/17.

New Agreement Offers Brighter Future for Pacific Bluefin Tuna 9/17.

Sardine Population Down 95% Since 2006, Fishery Shut Down for Third Consecutive Year Most Pacific sardines are exported and sold as bait for foreign fisheries or feed for penned bluefin tuna or canned overseas for human consumption. Left in the water, Pacific sardines are an important food fish for many dependent predators from whales, sea lions and Chinook salmon, to brown pelicans, common murres and least terns. "Over the last four years we've witnessed starved California sea lion pups washing up on beaches and brown pelicans failing to produce chicks because moms are unable to find enough forage fish" 4/17.

How an Army of Ocean Farmers Is Starting an Economic Revolution 4/16. but Fish Farms have problems too: EcoWatch 9/17.

A Deadly Kind of Fishing Net Was Banned Decades Ago, but It's Still Being Used—and Killing Countless Animals (disturbing images) Drift nets 3/16.

World's Biggest Sockeye Run Shut Down as Wild Pacific Salmon Fight for Survival 9/16.

Atlantic Salmon Is Basically Extinct: You’re Eating a Genetically Eroded Version 3/16.

CSA Dock to Fish. Grist.org

‘Shrimp’ Made From Algae: The Latest in Fake Meat: New Wave Foods, a San Francisco-based sustainable seafood startup, is developing a lab-grown “shrimp” made from algae that could be as nutritious as the real deal. They also have fake shark fin; See Entrepreneurship.

Dead Humpback Calf Found Entangled in Illegal Gillnet 12/15.

Food Chain Collapse Predicted in World's Oceans 10/15.

Supermarkets Selling Shrimp Peeled by Slaves 12/15.

Rapidly Warming Waters Have Thwarted Efforts to Save the Cod 10/15.

The world’s oceans on which much of human life depends are under severe pressure, a new report says. Overfishing has dramatically reduced fish stocks. The thousands of tonnes of rubbish dumped in the oceans wreak havoc on marine life, while climate change is warming and acidifying them, putting them under further stress.

ARCTIC NATIONS TO BAR FISHING FLEETS FROM FAST-THAWING SEAS AROUND NORTH POLE 7/15.

Breaking: Palau Authorities Burn Vietnamese Illegal Fishing Boats Saying ‘We Will Not Tolerate Poachers in Our Ocean’ 6/15.

NOAA: US Overfished Stocks on the Rebound 4/15

World’s Largest Contiguous Marine Reserve Created to Stop Illegal Fishing

discuss warming waters in this lovely short film (see also bunch of hungry sea lion pups) 3/15.

Is the Tuna You Buy Contributing to the Destruction of the Ocean? 3/15.

Seafood's Dirty Secret: How Harvesting Shrimp Has Become Bad For Our Health and the Environment.

Mediterranean Sardines Swim North to Keep Cool in a Changing Climate 2/15

Shrimp and fish often mis-labelled to fool us 10/13.

How Morro Bay went from a national disaster to a sustainable success story/model for cooperation. 7/14.

Imported Seafood May Be Cheaper, But What's the Catch? 7/14 In his new book "American Catch," author Paul Greenberg reveals how the U.S. imports about 90 percent of the seafood we eat, even though we control more ocean than any other country in the world. (audio).

Pacific Bluefin Tuna Population at Brink of Collapse 7/14.

Fishermen Are Throwing Fish Away, And They're Losing Millions Of Dollars Because Of It (infographic) 6/14.

Obama Calls On Agencies To Crack Down On Illegal Seafood 6/14.

Why not eat insects? Marcel Dicke wants us to reconsider our relationship with insects, promoting bugs as a tasty -- and ecologically sound -- alternative to meat in an increasingly hungry world. TEDtalk video. If not, how about for fish farming?

9 Most Wasteful Fisheries in the U.S. Revealed map & graphs. 3/14

Historical photos show big changes see also NPR story 3/14.

Can farmed fish go vegetarian? 2/14

Forget Salmon and Tuna—It's Time to Start Eating 'Trash Fish' 1/14.

California fishery stats 2006 pdf.

Proposed protection for Bluefin Tuna which are amazing: warm blooded and incredibly fast.

Shrimp Fishing Banned In Gulf Of Maine For 2014 Due To Overfishing, Warming Oceans 12/13.

Sardines in decline (an important part of food chain, like mehaden) [although 11/13 big upsurge in Monterey bay, happy humpback whales (video), we're not quite sure why]. Politely avoid eating divers. see Whales.

EU To Ban Fish Imports From Cambodia, Belize And Guinea

Study Links Mercury Levels In Fish To Coal-Fired Power Plants 9/13.

Old Menus show fish population changes 8/13.

Edible QR codes for sushi could put an end to fish fraud 7/13.

Illegal Fishing Costs Billions Of Dollars Per Year, New Study Shows 5/13

Santa Cruz sustainable fishing catches on 6/13.

A Leading Marine Biologist Works to Create a ‘Wired Ocean.’ Stanford University scientist Barbara Block heads a program that has placed satellite tags on thousands of sharks, bluefin tuna, and other marine predators to better understand their life cycles. 3/13/.

Europe takes action 3/13.

Genetically Modified Seafood: Whole Foods, Trader Joe's And Others Vow Not To Sell GMO Fish 3/13

Effects on marine mammals food supply. 3/13

Catch shares help corporations more than fish populations 3/13.

Interpol goes after pirate fishing 2/13. US goes after fish fraud.

SF Oyster controversy 2/13.

Sustainable Seafood Labeling Brings On Host Of Challenges: NPR Report (audio) 2/13. another study show mis-labelling.

Fish DNA database aims to fight seafood fraud and promote conservation 1/13.

Pacific Bluefin Tuna Overfishing Has Led To 96 Percent Population Reduction, Study Says 1/13.

Rising Ocean Temperatures Threaten Ocean Food Chain 10/12.

Menhaden are a really important forage fish that many species depend on, but they are being harvested for fish oil. activist site and another. See Franklin in Books section.

The Fisher King:Sacrificing the oceans in pursuit of an unholy grail by Jay Griffiths Orion Magazine.

Climate Change To Shrink Fish By 2050 As Oceans Warm 10/12

North Sea cod study explains why age matters 9/12.

Bottom Trawling Smoothes Seafloor And Potentially Destroys Habitat, Study Finds 9/12.

New Study: Overfishing Costs Southeast and Gulf Regions Millions Per Year 9/12.

Seafood Watch's new dirty dozen fish that are bad for you and the planet (and better alternatives and data).

A ruling by a federal court in California threatens to upset a controversial new fishing management plan embraced by environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy. 3/12

New report on fish farming 10/11

Shrimp has 10x the carbon footprint of beef 2/12

Ocean 2012 has nice map of fish stocks animated version.

Maps and Images

9 Most Wasteful Fisheries in the U.S. Revealed map & graphs. 3/14

Historical photos show big changes see also NPR story 3/14.

Video

Tuna fishing, beautiful art activism.

'After The Fish Are Gone' Documentary Depicts Plight Of World Fisheries (VIDEO).

Strange Days on Planet Earth from National Geographic. Overfishing

The End of the Line documentary on fishing.

Sea Change imagines a world without fish.

Overfishing by trawlers depletes stocks and endanger poor fishermen Link 3/09

Daniel Pauly shows us onstage at Mission Blue, each time the baseline drops, we call it the new "normal." Pauly is the principal investigator at the Sea Around Us Project, which studies the impact of the world's fisheries on marine ecosystems.

Video overview

Census of Marine Life see also (video). New TEDtalk: Paul Snelgrove shares the results of the 10-year Census of Marine Life, and shares amazing photos of some of their surprising undersea finds. Related: Forage fish are important but declining. 11/11. UCSC alum has published an important book which got legal protection.

Greg Stone was a key driver in the establishment of the Phoenix Island Protected Area in the island nation of Kiribati. The second-largest marine protected area in the world. TEDtalk

Jellyfish Burgers or How We Changed the Oceans and They Changed Us : Marine biologist Daniel Pauly, University of British Columbia, warns that modern fishing practices, left unmanaged, will leave little but jellyfish and plankton in the sea for future generations to eat — a frightening vision of our oceans and our lives. 6/12.

UCSC's Mark Carr is featured in PBS NewsHour video segment on new marine reserves 3/11

Food for 9 Billion: Turning the Population Tide in the Philippines: While Philippine leaders debate, poor fishing families embrace birth control to ease pressure on over-fished reefs. Part of a new project called Food for 9 Billion that looks at the challenges of feeding the world in a time of social and environmental change. See Population.

One Fish Two Fish: Monitoring Marine Protected Areas KQED Quest 9/11.

Marine biologist Barbara Block fits tuna with tracking tags (complete with transponders) that record unprecedented amounts of data about these gorgeous, threatened fish and the ocean habitats they move through. TEDtalk

California Salmon QUEST KQED.

Kristina Gjerde studies the law of the high seas -- the 64 percent of our ocean that isn't protected by any national law at all. Gorgeous photos show the hidden worlds that Gjerde and other lawyers are working to protect from trawling and trash-dumping TEDtalk video.

Climate has enormous impacts on the marine life off California, influencing its major fisheries and the abundance of krill, seabirds and mammals. Join Tony Koslow as he shows how a 60-year ocean observation program, the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (or CalCOFI) is unraveling the impacts of the El Niño/La Niña cycle and human-induced climate. UCTV First Aired: 3/15/2010 52 minutes.

Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain. TEDtalk.

Audio

Imported Seafood May Be Cheaper, But What's the Catch? 7/14 In his new book "American Catch," author Paul Greenberg reveals how the U.S. imports about 90 percent of the seafood we eat, even though we control more ocean than any other country in the world. (audio).

Sustainable Seafood Labeling Brings On Host Of Challenges: NPR Report (audio) 2/13.

Several efforts are being made to eat invasive species, including Asian carp. 8/12

Mark Kurlansky , Author, Cod, Salt and The World Without Fish. Link to talk5/11 Former commercial fisherman and best-selling author Kurlansky examines the devastating effects of industrialized fishing and shares simple rules that families can use to help support sustainable fishing.

Paul Greenberg, author of "Four Fish: the Future of the Last Wild Food," interview 8/10

Paul Greenberg: The Future Of 'Wild Fish', interview with author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food (also links to related stories) excerpt.

Dwindling Stocks of Wild Fish Put Fish Farms on the Table San Diego promoters say an open-ocean fish farm could satisfy our demand for seafood and help protect dwindling species. A small pilot version could be operating in a couple of years. But skeptics say the proposed farm would cause more harm than good.

Books

In his new book "American Catch," author Paul Greenberg reveals how the U.S. imports about 90 percent of the seafood we eat, even though we control more ocean than any other country in the world. (audio) Imported Seafood May Be Cheaper, But What's the Catch? 7/14.

The Death and Life of Monterey Bay by Steve Palumbi and Carolyn Sotka, see also TEDtalk. Palumbi on why he does science (video).

Oceans : the threats to our seas and what you can do to turn the tide : a participant media guide / edited by Jon Bowermaster UCSC S&E Stacks GC1018 .O26 2010 excerpt

In her new book, Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean, veteran journalist Julia Whitty (many articles here) reaches back over a 30-year career devoted to the oceans and synthesizes her experiences into a work that is equal parts personal memoir and environmental history book. Deep Blue Home (excerpt) delves into the influence of oceans in human culture and spirit, while at the same time documenting how human technological ingenuity, fueled by greed and accompanied by a lack of foresight, is devastating the undersea world. Whitty, an environmental correspondent for Mother Jones, is first a documentary filmmaker, with more than 70 nature documentaries to her credit. She also wrote The Fragile Edge, a book on coral reefs, winner of numerous awards.

Let Them Eat Shrimp: The Tragic Disappearance of the Rainforests of the Sea, Kennedy Warne (published by Island Press, a Slug) excerpt. audio interview.

The Most Important Fish in the Sea :Menhaden and America by H. Bruce Franklin Forage fish are important but declining. UCSC alum has published this important book which got legal protection. Related: The Empty Ocean by Richard Ellis, Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky, Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg, The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat by Charles Clover Link.

Juliet Eilperin's brand new book Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks (audio interview and excerpt) says that in reality, it's the sharks that should be afraid of human predators.

Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood, the Canadian journalist Taras Grescoe takes a hard look at the Asian operations that supply our shrimp. His conclusion: "The simple fact is, if you're eating cheap shrimp today, it almost certainly comes from a turbid, pesticide- and antibiotic-filled, virus-laden pond in the tropical climes of one of the world's poorest nations."

Report on Bycatch 2002 27 pp.

Sea Slugs

(See Slugs in Action for more complete list.

List of UCSC departments involved in researching the ocean.

Some current UCSC ocean research 9/10

UCSC Alumni

Kathryn Sullivan--oceanographer, astronaut, educator wins Global Oceans Award, which recognizes Sullivan for her outstanding contributions to the understanding and conservation of the oceans. The primary goal of the first of her three shuttle missions was to survey the Earth, the atmosphere, and the oceans. She worked on the 2003 Pew report on the oceans.

Teresa Ish helps comsumers find sustainable fish.

Brock Dolman (College Eight '92, Environmental Studies/Biology), Director of The WATER Institute Ecologist Permaculture Program

John Francis, vice president of research, conservation, and exploration for the National Geographic Society works with Crittercam

Current Students Grad student Melissa Cronin wins Seafood Sustainability Contest: $45,000 prize will support Cronin’s efforts to to reduce the mortality of manta rays and devil rays incidentally caught during tuna fishing 3/20.

A new study of the climate impacts of seafood products reveals that the processing of Alaskan pollock into fish sticks, imitation crab, and fish fillets generates significant greenhouse gas emissions by Brandi McKuin, a postdoctoral researcher in environmental studies at UCSC. 1/20

Melinda Fowler tags very large elephant seals

Hoyt Peckham studies endangered turtles

Allison Luengenstudies toxins in the ocean

Engineering students develop a coral reef monitoring system.

Faculty (not complete, see also Slugs in Action)

Aquaculture: UCSC's Pallab Sarker, an associate research professor in environmental studies, has received support from the Coastal Sea Grant program to fund his research into the development of sustainable feed for farmed fish. Sarker is collaborating with environmental studies professor Anne Kapuscinski 3/20

Rachel Barnett-Johnson, a fisheries biologist, investigates salmon population.

Giacomo Bernardi is in Evolutionary Biology. His Post Doc was at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station at Pacific Grove. His research focus is on the molecular ecology and evolution of coral reef fishes. He does his research in California, the Sea of Cortez, French Polynesia, the Caribbean, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa and the Mozambique Channel. His research areas include speciation, population genetics, and ecology of coral reef fishes. (video of fish tool use).

Mark Carr and Peter Raimondi, professors of ecology and evolutionary biology, lead ocean monitoring effort. PBS NewsHour video segment on new marine reserves 3/11

Dan Costa and his students are tagging marine life to send back realtime information never before available. You can follow activities at TOPP and see Video from KQED's Quest. Video update 5/11. New TOPP comprehensive study of hot spots. 5/11

Christina Diaz is one of a handful of experts in the world specializing in studying, identifying and classifying intertidal and tropical sponges. (video).

Global Warming research is being done by Christina Ravelo, a professor of ocean sciences and James Zachos, professor of Earth and planetary sciences.

Raphael Kudela, professor of ocean sciences, participated in a study that links seabird deaths to soap-like foam produced by red-tide algae. His team is trying to predict when toxin-producing algae will strike again with computer models. 9/10 update

John Pearse, a pioneer in ocean research, studies temporal patterns of reproduction in marine invertebrate. Works with NOAA Limpets, high school monitoring program link. More, includinghis role as President of the California Academy of Sciences. UCSC and the Academy recently established links which allow graduate students with interests in systematic biology to be co-sponsored by Academy scientists.

Take Action

See also Volunteer Opportunities and Online Campaigns

Local internships: Ecology Action California Dept. of Fish and Game National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [Link

Long Marine Lab docent Link}}

Baykeeper Program Fellow, rosalind@baykeeper.org. weblink.

CalPIRG ongoing campaigns: Global Warming Solutions, 21st Century Transportation, Health Care Work, Getting to Graduation Campaigns,High-Speed Rail Campaigns, New Voters Project , Higher Education Campaigns, Textbooks, Hunger & Homelessness, Save Our Otters/Oceans. Interested in internships, volunteering? Contact by e-mail/phone, or drop by our office: 3rd Floor Student Union 459-4649 Campus Organizer: Carolina Van Horn [1]Link

Surfrider Monthly Cleanup. Register now at: link}}

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots organization that seeks to conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active ocean stewards and citizen scientists. They do annual fish counts and trips. They have several stations in the area. Other groups.

Friends of the Sea Otter has some new and exciting programs: Program 1: Marine Water Monitoring Water quality plays a significant role in sea otter health, which is why FSO is teaming up with the California Department of Public Health and asking volunteers to collect water samples all along the coast of California. The data from the water samples will ultimately be received and used by researchers working with otters and other sea mammals. Volunteers are needed to collect samples at locations along the coast where the southern sea otter call home (San Francisco to Santa Barbara). Sampling takes only about 15 minutes and must be done weekly; if we get enough interest, teams can be created so that individuals can take turns with sampling throughout the month.

Program 2: Otter Recovery The California Sea Otter Research Group needs help with otter recovery on Friday afternoons and weekends. This job would entail removing dead or hurt otters from the shoreline. Volunteers would need to walk along the shoreline and then take care of any otters that are found.

Program 3: Data Compilation and Organization. People with a scientific background are needed to help the California Sea Otter Research Group in Santa Cruz compile data. A great deal of sea otter data has already been collected and is in desperate need of organization. This work would be done in their laboratories located in Santa Cruz.Link.

Marine Mammal Rescue Center: Various opportunities including rescuing stranded animals at the Marine Mammal Rescue Center Here is info on local rescue volunteering. Video.
See also Marine Mammal Physiology Project (MMPP) at UCSC's Long Marine Laboratory.

Earthwatch recruits close to 4,000 volunteers every year to collect field data in the areas of rainforest ecology, wildlife conservation, marine science, archaeology, and more. Through this process, we educate, inspire, and involve a diversity of people, who actively contribute to conserving our planet [participants help fund expeditions]. Link}}

O'Neill Sea Odyssey|ongoing|O'Neill Sea Odyssey (OSO) was founded in 1996 by wetsuit innovator and surfer Jack O'Neill. A living classroom was created on board a 65-foot catamaran sailing the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary where 4th - 6th grade students from schools throughout Central California receive hands-on lessons about the marine habitat and the importance of the relationship between the living sea and the environment. The program is conducted on board the catamaran with follow-up lessons at the shore-side Education Center at the Santa Cruz Harbor. It is free of charge, but students earn their way into the program by designing and performing a project to benefit their community. Link

Save Our Shores|ongoing|Save Our Shores is a non-profit marine conservation organization in Santa Cruz, California. Our mission is marine conservation through policy research, education and citizen involvement (see calendar for frequent activities such as beach cleanup) Internships available. Link

Institute of Marine Sciences UCSC|ongoing|Many opportunities to do hands-on science Link

National River Cleanup Day (and creeks) May 12, 2012.

PISCO, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans is a long-term ecosystem research and monitoring program established with the goals of understanding dynamics of the coastal ocean ecosystem along the U.S. west coast (internships).

Pinniped Cognition & Sensory Systems Laboratory. |ongoing| Our program is powered by a group of hard working volunteer research assistants. These individuals typically work 12-15 hours per week in the laboratory and receive comprehensive training in all areas of the research program. Preference is generally given to UCSC students in the natural, behavioral, or physical sciences, or to individuals with a background in computer sciences/engineering. For more information about the program, including instructions on how to apply for a volunteer research position, please contact us at akbernar@ucsc.edu.

Intern. We offer 3-4 month internships to individuals that are recent college graduates with an interest in marine mammalogy, bioacoustics, comparative cognition, and/or animal husbandry. Interns complete an intensive training program followed by participation in all aspects of the program, including specialized roles in upcoming and ongoing research projects. Interns typically work five full days per week, mainly in the laboratory and occasionally in field research settings. Internships are not paid positions, and applicants are responsible for their own housing arrangements. For more information about the program, including instructions on how to apply for an internship, please contact us at akbernar@ucsc.edu. Link.

EarthJustice (because sometimes the earth needs a good lawyer) urges us to support Implement Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Amendments to Protect Forage Species (NOAA-NMFS-2015-0123) contact Regional Administrator William Stelle. 1/16