UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (UPI) -- Several species of fish and sharks are in danger of depletion, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned.
Some 25 percent of all fish stocks monitored by the agency are either over-exploited, depleted or recovering from depletion, said an FAO report released Monday. It said more than half of highly migratory ocean sharks and two-thirds of high-seas fish including hakes, Atlantic cod, halibut, orange roughy and blue fin tuna are either depleted or at high risk of collapse.
"While these stocks represent only a small fraction of the world's fishery resources, they are key indicators of the state of a massive piece of the ocean ecosystem," said Ichiro Nomura, FAO's assistant director-general for fisheries.
Globally, fish and fishery products are the most traded food in the world, said the report. The trade has reached a record high, with an export value of $71.5 billion, up 23 percent from 2000.
The report said the monitoring of fishing on the high seas is inadequate, which makes it difficult to responsibly manage stocks and assess them accurately. The report calls for bolstering the world's regional fisheries management organizations, which are multilateral institutions established by governments to further cooperation on curbing exploitation of fish stocks.
Strengthening these organizations is crucial in order to conserve and manage fish stocks more effectively. According to the report, this "remains the major challenge facing international fisheries governance."
