Who’s taking the bait on over-fishing?

Since the 1950s, when large-scale commercial fishing began, our seas have been increasingly depleted of fish. This is causing an alarming imbalance in the oceans ecosystems, not to mention the impact its having on the fishing industry. A key indicator is that the ocean’s renowned predator species, the shark, is rapidly disappearing. CNNMoney.com reports that by 2048, tuna, cod, swordfish, flounder, and other popular large fish may no longer be available, at market or at sea.

Legislators, marine biologists, environmentalists, and even some fisheries are trying to tackle this issue, albeit with very different approaches. Lawmakers are deadlocked in revising the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to include more stringent conservation regulations. Experts in the field hope to see efforts made to protect entire ecosystems - not just the species at risk, which would involve more research and better instrumentation to track populations underwater, according to washingtonpost.com. Some companies in the industry, like Kona Blue, have started to cultivate fish from controlled deepwater conditions within the ocean, a practice known as aquaculture.