Oceans

 A halving of the worlds’ fishing fleet by 2005.

 Measures to eliminate bycatch and prevent further damage to marine biodiversity.

 Ratification and implementation of the 1995 UN fisheries Agreement. 

 UN figures indicate that most major fisheries are over exploited.

 One quarter of all marine life caught worldwide is thrown back dead

 90% of SBT caught is traded on Japanese markets.

 Scientists predict that the Patagonian Toothfish could be commercially extinct by 2002, if current fishing levels continue.

 In 1997, the illegal catch of Patagonian Toothfish was around 100,000 tonnes and worth more than $500 million.

 Scientists estimate that illegal fishing for Patagonian Toothfish was responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 seabirds mostly albatrosses and petrels) in 1997.

At least 44,000 albatross are killed annually on tuna longlines.

 Many small crustaceans and shellfish are killed and their habitats destroyed by repeated trawling over the same area.

Fishing may be an ancient tradition, but sophisticated technology and a global boom in the industry during the past 50 years have out-stripped nature’s ability to replenish the seas. Wasteful and destructive fishing practices are decimating global fish stocks, damaging marine ecosystems, threatening food security, economic stability, and the livelihoods of tens of millions of people. Around the globe some one million industrial scale and two million smaller fishing boats compete for what remains of dwindling fish stocks. Wasteful and indiscriminate fishing methods - vast trawler nets large enough to hold several aeroplanes; mammoth factory ships capable of catching and processing several hundred tonnes of fish every day; fishing lines up to 130 kilometres long and dripping in thousands of baited hooks -threaten the delicate web of marine life. It is estimated that about 27 million tonnes of dead and dying ocean creatures, caught as unwanted bycatch, are thrown back into the oceans every year. Overfishing is not simply a question of running out of fish, but of the potential collapse of the entire ocean ecosystem. And it isn’t only those creatures beneath the waves that are at risk from modern fishing. The albatross, the world’s largest flying bird, is also threatened by commercial fishing. Thousands of albatross die each year when, attracted by longline baits sitting just below the surface of the water, they are hooked, dragged underwater and drowned. At least 44,000 albatross are killed every year by longline fishing vessels operating in the southern hemisphere.