Over 90 endangered fish and invertebrates are caught in industrial fisheries.

ABSTRACT: Industrial-scale harvest of species at risk of extinction is controversial and usually highly regulated on land and for charismatic marine animals (e.g. whales). In contrast, threatened marine fish species can be legally caught in industrial fisheries. To determine the magnitude and extent of this problem, we analyze global fisheries catch and import data and find reported catch records of 91 globally threatened species. Thirteen of the species are traded internationally and predominantly consumed in European nations. Targeted industrial fishing for 73 of the threatened species accounts for nearly all (99%) of the threatened species catch volume and value. Our results are a conservative estimate of threatened species catch and trade because we only consider species-level data, excluding gr

SUBMITTER: Roberson LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7506527 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature