Olivia Møller
Freediver - Activist - Explorer
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Olivia Møller
Freediver - Activist - Explorer
Imagine standing on a pier, casting a line into the sea, and waiting. Hours pass. The waves lap gently against the concrete. The sun sets, yet your line remains still. No bites, no tension, nothing. It's not a bad day for fishing. It's a sign of something much deeper.
In 1974, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that 90% of global fish stocks were being fished within biologically sustainable levels. By 2021, this figure had dropped to just 62.3%. That means nearly 40% of the world’s fish stocks are overfished—harvested at a rate that compromises their ability to replenish. Some species have vanished from certain waters altogether. What was once abundant is now elusive.
This is not a future problem. It’s already here. We just haven’t felt the full weight of it yet.
For millennia, the sea seemed limitless. Generations of fishermen filled their boats without question. In coastal communities from Greece to Ghana, from Norway to New Zealand, fish were not just food. They were culture. Identity. Economy. Myth.
But the industrialization of fishing changed everything. As sonar, satellite mapping, and supertrawlers entered the picture, the scale of extraction became unprecedented. A single trawler today can catch more fish in a week than an entire fleet could a century ago. Efficiency turned into overreach.
By the late 20th century, warnings began to surface. Cod populations in the North Atlantic crashed. Sardine stocks in the Pacific dwindled. Tuna, particularly bluefin, became a luxury commodity. Yet global demand only grew.
Fish do more than feed us. They are the keystones of marine ecosystems. When they vanish, chains collapse. Overfishing disrupts food webs. Remove a predator like grouper, and its prey—often algae-grazing fish—flourish unchecked. Coral reefs, already under siege from warming waters and acidification, suffer further as algal overgrowth smothers them. Meanwhile, the mass removal of forage fish like anchovies and sardines deprives larger species of nourishment.
Methods matter, too. Bottom trawling devastates seafloor habitats. Bycatch—the unintentional capture of non-target species—kills dolphins, turtles, sharks, and juvenile fish before they ever reproduce. And so, ecosystems unravel. Often silently.
Over 3 billion people depend on seafood for protein. In regions like Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the South Pacific, fish are not just dinner—they are economic lifelines. Women process and sell fish in markets. Children grow up casting nets. As stocks decline, competition intensifies. Coastal fishers find themselves pushed further out to sea, often risking their lives. Conflicts flare between artisanal and industrial fleets, and between countries.
In West Africa, foreign trawlers—often from Europe and China—fish waters under questionable licenses, undermining local fishers. In places like the Philippines, families report fishing harder and longer for a fraction of the catch their grandparents once hauled. It is the poor who suffer most from the depletion of a public good.
Climate change is not the root cause of fish stock decline, but it is gasoline on the fire. Warming waters shift fish populations poleward. Tropical fish migrate to cooler latitudes. In some regions, traditional fish disappear; in others, unfamiliar species arrive. For example, mackerel have moved into Icelandic waters in greater numbers, prompting geopolitical disputes over quotas.
Ocean acidification, caused by increased CO2 absorption, affects shellfish and the food chains that support larger fish. Deoxygenation zones—dead areas in the ocean where fish cannot survive—are expanding. Extreme weather events damage fisheries infrastructure. Coral bleaching events remove critical nursery habitats. The interplay between climate and overfishing creates a perfect storm.
There are tools. Satellite tracking can monitor illegal fishing. DNA barcoding helps detect seafood fraud. Aquaculture—fish farming—now provides more than 50% of seafood consumed globally. But aquaculture has its own environmental costs: pollution, disease transfer, reliance on wild-caught fish for feed. Technology must be part of the solution, but it cannot substitute for policy and enforcement.
The Common Fisheries Policy in the EU, NOAA's regulations in the US, and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) all attempt to manage shared resources. But enforcement is spotty, especially on the high seas. Subsidies often prop up overcapacity. According to the World Trade Organization, over $22 billion annually goes toward harmful fishing subsidies that encourage overfishing.
MPAs—Marine Protected Areas—are promising but underutilized. Only 8% of the ocean is protected, and enforcement within MPAs varies widely. Effective management requires cooperation, transparency, and long-term thinking—qualities often lacking in geopolitical negotiations.
In many cultures, fish are sacred. In Japan, Shinto rituals honor the spirits of fish. In the Mediterranean, generations have passed down the knowledge of spawning cycles and fishing seasons. Yet globalization has changed how we relate to seafood. Sushi, once a seasonal luxury, is now a 24/7 commodity in supermarkets from Toronto to Thessaloniki. Demand has outpaced ecological logic.
Rebuilding a culture of respect for the sea means restoring not just fish, but wisdom.
1. Enforce science-based quotas. Management must follow biology, not economics or politics.
2. End harmful subsidies. Public money should not fund ecosystem destruction.
3. Expand and monitor MPAs. These must be well-designed and enforceable.
4. Improve transparency. Traceable supply chains can deter illegal and unsustainable practices.
5. Support local fishers. Empowering small-scale, community-managed fisheries often leads to better outcomes.
6. Change consumption habits. Eat lower on the food chain. Try lesser-known species. Eat local and seasonal.
7. Hold corporations accountable. Retailers and suppliers must commit to sustainability beyond certifications.
We once thought the sea was infinite. That was our first mistake. Our second was refusing to correct course when the signs became obvious. Now we face a choice. Will we continue to extract without thought, or will we treat the ocean as the living system it is?
What we do in the next decade will determine whether our grandchildren inherit seas teeming with life or deserts of water. Recovery is possible. Fish stocks can rebound. But only if we listen, learn, and act—before the silence becomes irreversible.
Sources: FAO, World Bank, MSC, UNEP, Ocean Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Global Fishing Watch.