An urgent call is being made by scientists to stop unsustainable fisheries and commercial fishing in the ocean. The earth’s largest ecosystem, which some call ‘deep sea’ or ‘high seas’, is being depleted of its creatures and this can lead to extinctions of some species.
A team of marine scientists from every corner of the world is recommending stopping fishing in deep sea water. Instead they are suggesting to fish in productive water nearer to consumers. In a complete analysis published by the journal Marine Policy, experts show how, with rare exceptions, deep-sea fisheries are unsustainable.
According to experts and scientists, deep sea is the worst area on earth to fish as these fishes are vulnerable and take time to reproduce after being overfished. In the cold depths of the oceans, life processes is at a low pace and food is scarce compare to near the lagoon or sea surface. Deep sea corals can live for more than 4,000 years and fishes’ lifespan is of more than a century but when massive destruction from trawlers rip life from this depth it might take more than a lifetime to repair the damages. The high sea contribute only 1% of seafood in the world and this commercial fishing started in 1970s when coastal fisheries were depleted and fishing fleets moved into deep waters. Dr Selina Heppell said that in deep sea it’s impossible to monitor or control the amount of fishing occurring and its effect can be devastating.
