Overfishing has already depleted the populations of many fish in
coastal regions and on the continental shelf. As a result,
fishing's moved ever deeper into the oceans. Unfortunately, in
the dark and cold, fish grow slowly, and some species take as
long as humans do to reach reproductive age. A study reported in
the New Scientist shows that fishing has caused five deep water
species to reach critically endangered status in only 15 years,
with some populations dropping by over 95 percent. Even more
depressing, three of the species weren't even used for food -
they were simply accidentally caught along with the other two.
In a similar vein, the New York Times covers the decimation of
shark populations, with the results going to feed the
increasingly global taste for what was formerly a rare Asian
delicacy: shark fin soup. In this case, the rest of the shark
goes to waste, as the meat isn't valuable. Many shark
populations have dropped by 70 percent in the last 15 years.
Although countries aren't getting their a