94. Is there any clanger of overfishing? 



In some areas of the world, overfishing is already a problem for some 

 species. Stocks have been depleted in heavily fished areas such as the 

 continental shelves of Europe, particularly the North Sea. Cessation of 

 fishing during two World Wars proved that a decrease in fishing could 

 result in an increase in the number of large specimens. 



The U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries has listed the following 

 species as being seriously depleted: Pacific sardine, Atlantic salmon, 

 Atlantic sturgeon, blue whale, fin whale, Atlantic shad, sperm whale, 

 humpback whale, oyster, and sea otter. Depletion of these species is 

 not caused entirely by overfishing; disease, predators, and water pollu- 

 tion all take their toll. 



When the catch of a species reaches the point where the reproductive 

 capacity is unable to compensate for the losses sustained, the species is 

 headed for extinction. However, before this point is reached, operation 

 of fisheries becomes uneconomical, and fishing of many species to 

 extinction is thus prevented. 



There is little agreement among fisheries experts on how much the 

 world's fisheries could be increased. Estimates of the percentage of po- 

 tential yield have varied from 1 percent to 75 percent. Undoubtedly the 

 fish catch could be increased through exploitation of areas in the 

 Southern Hemisphere and through fishing for species not now widely 

 used for food. 



Pell, Claiborne (Senator) 



Challenge of the Seven Seas, William Morrow and Company, 1966. 

 U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office 



Science and the Sea, Washington, D. C, 1967. 

 Van Camp Sea Food Company 



Potential Resources of the Ocean, Long Beach, California, 1965. 



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