Marine rewilding

1.2 Fishing pressures

In 2018 it was estimated that nearly 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks were fully exploited, overexploited or depleted.

Overfishing is defined as too many fish being caught so there are not enough adults to breed and sustain a healthy population (Marine Stewardship Council, n.d.).

In addition to overfishing, certain methods of fishing have a greater negative impact than others. For example, trawling and dredging can damage sensitive seabed habitats.

Click on the icons below to reveal two more examples.

Click here for an accessible description

All of these pressures mean there is an urgent need to:

• rewild the sea and promote wild fish populations and marine and coastal habitats to recover
• enhance natural processes including those that help mitigate climate change
• support coastal communities.