Hey there, ocean lovers! 🌎🐠 Have you ever wondered how many fish are in the sea? Well, the United Nations has some news for us. According to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 35% of the world’s ocean fish stocks are still being overfished! That’s more than one out of every three fish populations!
So, what does “overfished” mean? It means that people are catching fish faster than the fish can reproduce and grow. That can lead to fewer fish in the ocean, which isn’t good for anyone – not the fish, not the ocean, and not us humans who love to eat fish sticks or sushi! 🍣🍤
The FAO’s report, called the Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources 2025, was released at the UN Ocean Conference. It shows that while some progress has been made, there’s still a lot of work to do.
Here’s the scoop:
- About 64.5% of fish stocks are being fished at sustainable levels. That means they’re being caught at a rate where the fish can still thrive.
- But 35.5% are overfished, which is not so great.
Some areas are doing better than others:
- In the Northeast Pacific, they’re doing an awesome job! 🌟 About 92.7% of fish stocks there are sustainable.
- The Southwest Pacific is also doing well, with 85% sustainability.
But other regions need our help:
- In the Southeast Pacific, only 46% of fish stocks are sustainable.
- The Eastern Central Atlantic is at 47.4% sustainability.
Guess what? The Antarctic region reported 100% sustainability! That’s super cool! ❄️🐧
Qu Dongyu, the director-general of the FAO, said, “Effective management remains the most powerful tool for conserving fisheries resources.” That means if we take care of how we fish, we can keep our oceans healthy!
This important report was made by over 650 experts from 92 countries, who studied 2,570 fish stocks around the world. That’s a lot of fish! 🐟🐠🐡
So, what can we do to help? We can support sustainable fishing practices and be mindful of the seafood we eat. Next time you’re at the store, maybe look for labels that say “sustainably sourced.” Every little bit helps to keep our oceans full of life! 🌊💙
Reference(s):
Over one third of global marine fish stocks still overfished, FAO says
cgtn.com
