World’s fish stocks ‘facing collapse by 2048’

THE world’s fish and seafood supplies could disappear by 2048 as overfishing and pollution destroy ocean ecosystems at an accelerating pace, US and Canadian researchers have reported.

If current global trends continue, the loss of fish and seafood will threaten food supplies and the environment, according to the most exhaustive study to date on the subject, published in yesterday’s issue of the US journal Science.

“Our analyses suggest that business as usual would foreshadow serious threats to global food security, coastal water quality, and ecosystem stability, affecting current and future generations,” the international team of ecologists and economists wrote in Impact of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services.