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Jack mackerel caught by a Chilean purse seiner Fishing down the food web. Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area.
This prompted major amendments in 1996 and 2006. The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a report to Congress in 2010 on the status of U.S. fisheries. It reported that of the 192 stocks monitored for overfishing 38 stocks (20%) still have fish "mortality rates that exceed the overfishing threshold … and 42 stocks (22%) are overfished". [12]
As with other countries, the 200 nautical miles (370 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of the United States gives its fishing industry special fishing rights. [6] It covers 11.4 million square kilometres (4.38 million sq mi), which is the second largest zone in the world, exceeding the land area of the United States. [5]
The overfishing list reflects species that have an unsustainably high harvest rate. NOAA also keeps a list of overfished stocks. Those are species that have a total population size that is too low.
The Great Fish Market, painted by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Fishing is a prehistoric practice dating back at least 70,000 years. Since the 16th century, fishing vessels have been able to cross oceans in pursuit of fish, and since the 19th century it has been possible to use larger vessels and in some cases process the fish on board.
During the period between 2000 and 2001, a field study was conducted in Oman to simulate the catch rate of fishing gear that has been lost in the ocean (ghost fishing), by setting nets at various depths in fishing grounds across cities in Oman. [25]
Overfishing is occurring in one third of world fish stocks, according to a 2018 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [9] In addition, industry observers believe illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. [10]
The port of San Francisco boomed and expanded very rapidly to a California state census population of about 32,000 in 1852 (San Francisco—the largest city in the state—U.S. California Census of 1850 was burned in one of the frequent fires in San Francisco [60]).