While the destruction of terrestrial ecosystems is now plain for all to see, and measures — however insufficient — are being taken to try to reverse the situation, beneath the surface of seas and oceans, far from our eyes, the devastation is proceeding at unimaginable rates. Marine ecosystems must once have resembled the Serengeti, characterised by a state of abundance that was almost inconceivable. At one time, for example, according to marine biologist Callum Roberts, it is estimated that certain shoals of herring swimming along the British coastline could obscure the seabed for forty kilometres. Fishing has transformed marine life everywhere, to a greater extent than we tend to think, decimating species and upsetting ecosystem balances.

Fish dependance day

Confirmation of this damaging trend comes from the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report (Sofia) published by the Fao, according to which around 33 per cent of global fish stocks are in a state of overexploitation and around 60 per cent are being fished at maximum capacity. It is also estimated that on 9 July Europe reached its Fish Dependence Day — meaning it exhausted its own fish stocks and, until the end of the year, will depend on imports of fish, crustaceans and molluscs to meet consumer demand. This year, European Fish Dependence Day arrived a month earlier than it did in 2000; up to thirty years ago, Europe was able to satisfy its own domestic demand through local fishing and fish farming until September or October.

We are eating more and more fish

The fish has run out because, quite simply, we have eaten more than can be caught or farmed. It is estimated that each of us eats an average of 25 kilograms of fish per year, almost double the figure of 50 years ago. Global fish consumption, according to data reported by Wwf, has increased by 3.2 per cent, and over eight hundred million people continue to depend on this resource for their survival.

Italy "without" fish since 6 April

Europe ran out of fish on average on 9 July, but Italy fared worse, having consumed its fish stocks as early as 6 April. "In just over three months, Italy has consumed the equivalent of its entire annual national fish production and for the rest of the year it will depend on fish imports, above all from developing countries," declared Donatella Bianchi, president of Wwf Italia. "It is our duty to manage the oceans more carefully if we want fish to continue feeding future generations: today we are witnessing a paradigm shift — the fishing sector is in crisis, the number of fishermen is falling but the fishing effort is not. This means we are catching less, but doing so worse."

One in three fish dies in vain

In addition to catching an unsustainable volume of fish, an incredible quantity of the catch goes to waste. Around 35 per cent of the animals caught are thrown away, making their deaths pointless. The first stage of waste occurs immediately after capture; according to the Fao, large fishing vessels are responsible for around a quarter of this waste. Unwanted fish — those euphemistically described as "bycatch" (but, as Jonathan Safran Foer has written, "it is not really by accident, because bycatch is a constituent part of contemporary fishing methods that generate abnormal catches with abnormal quantities of bycatch") — are thrown back into the sea, already dead, because they are too small or belong to an unwanted species. The Fao has called for at least some of these animals to be used to produce fishmeal, rather than simply being discarded. The main waste, however, occurs in developing countries, where fish simply rot before they can reach a factory or a market. This is because local fishermen lack the knowledge or equipment needed to preserve fish. The Fao maintains that 27 per cent of fish that reaches land is never consumed. To try to reduce waste, the UN organisation has launched several initiatives — for example, working with fishermen on Lake Tanganyika in Burundi and encouraging the use of raised racks for drying fish.

How to stop the emptying of the seas

Marine wildlife is threatened by overfishing and by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, to say nothing of climate change and the terrible environmental catastrophe represented by plastic and microplastics. Although there are still some self-sufficient countries in Europe — that is, countries capable of catching and producing as much as they consume domestically, such as Croatia, the Netherlands, Estonia and Ireland — the vast majority consume more than they are able to catch and produce. To save fish, and the people who depend on them, before it is too late, what is needed above all is global policy that regulates fishing more strictly. Consumers also play an important role, however: to increase awareness of the social and environmental impacts of fish consumption, help them choose sustainable fish and ease the pressure on fish stocks, Wwf has launched the Fish Forward project.