Types of Overfishing
Overfishing occurs in two ways: Legal, or unregulated, and Illegal.
Legal and Unregulated Overfishing:
- Commercial fleets 2-3 times larger than the ocean’s fish capacity
- Harmful practices such as Long-Line and Trawling
- Unintended Consequences such as Bycatch and Habitat Destruction
- Long-Line: fishing with a multi-baited line that extends behind the boat for up to 50 miles
- Trawling: method of churning up the seafloor with large nets and trawlers to obtain maximum catch
- Bycatch: the unintended species that get caught up in the Longline or Trawling nets, sometimes up to 6 pounds of ocean species discarded per every 1 pound caught
- Habitat Destruction: occurs when trawlers tear up ocean-floor habitats
Illegal Overfishing:
- “Pirates”- those fishing without a license
- Fishing out of regulated season
- Fishing out of regulated ocean area
- Catching more than the allowed amount