It has been said that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, though if you teach a man to fish you feed him for life. But times have changed. Now we know that only if you save species of fish from overexploitation will there be hope of providing food for a lifetime, let alone for generations that follow.

Fish and other sea creatures historically valued solely as commodities are critically important to healthy ocean ecosystems, which in turn provide benefits to humankind. Yet the ocean is in deep trouble. Fish populations once thought to be inexhaustible now face the prospect of becoming extinct for any commercial purpose – and even completely disappearing – if policy changes are not made soon.

Iconic species such as bluefin tuna (pdf) and many kinds of sharks demonstrate the gravity of the issue. Optimistic reports find that between 18% and 28% of Atlantic bluefin tuna remain from the number in the sea half a century ago; others estimate that there are fewer than 10%. Meanwhile, a number of shark species (pdf) have declined by more than 90% in some areas, due largely to the growing international trade in shark fins.

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