Overfishing and its effects
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish from a body of water at a rate that the species cannot replenish, resulting in those species becoming under populated in that area. In a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2018 report, the FAO estimates that one-third of world fish stocks were overfished by 2015. Over 30 billion euros in public subsidies are directed to fisheries annually.
Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds, rivers, lakes or oceans, and can result in resource depletion, reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation, where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the overfishing of sharks, has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems.
The ability of a fishery to recover from overfishing depends on whether the ecosystem's conditions are suitable for the recovery. Dramatic changes in species composition can result in an ecosystem shift, where other equilibrium energy flows involve species compositions different from those that had been present before the depletion of the original fish stock. For example, once trout have been overfished, carp might take over in a way that makes it impossible for the trout to re-establish a breeding population.
In this Research Topic collection we invite researchers to submit manuscripts along the following themes:
Manuscript contributions that deal with Fish by-catch, Recent advances in sustainable aquaculture, Fisheries management, etc..
- Interdisciplinary research, observational field studies, experiments or manipulations, meta-analyses, reviews or modeling approaches are also welcome.
Journal of Fisheries Research is now accepting submissions on this topic. A standard EDITORIAL TRACKING SYSTEM is utilized for manuscript submission, review, editorial processing and tracking which can be securely accessed by the authors, reviewers and editors for monitoring and tracking the article processing. Manuscripts can be uploaded online at Editorial Tracking System (https://www.scholarscentral.org/submissions/fisheries-research.html) or forwarded to the Editorial Office at fisheriesres@emedscholar.com
Anna D Parker
Journal Manager
Journal of Fisheries Research
Email: fisheriesres@emedscholar.com