EMECO

Overfishing

Europe's oceans have been fished for centuries. Traditionally, the fishing industry has been the mainstay for many coastal town, cities, and villages.  However, recent years have seen wide-spread drastic declines in fish stocks, which have been largely attributed to overfishing and climate change and have had severe adverse impacts on the fishing industry and the marine community structure.

As fishing technology advanced enabling more and more fish to be caught and demand for fish increased, Europe's marine resources were under unprecedented pressure and fishing became unsustainable. With too many fishers chasing too few fish, many business were forced to close with devastating consequences for many fishery dependent coastal communities.

Not only does overfishing reduce stocks and ultimately affect livelihoods, but the methods used can also have destructive impacts on habitats and non-target species such as dolphins as a result of dredging and bycatch.